The Long Island Daily

Village of East Hampton first to pass law to boost ICE accountability

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The Long Island Rail Road will begin summer service schedules on May 18 on the Montauk, Long Beach and Ronkonkoma lines — including more weekday trains to Montauk. Peter Gill reports in NEWSDAY that separately, beginning May 11, some midday weekday trains on various branches will see their departure times adjusted by a few minutes to accommodate maintenance work and accessibility upgrades outside of rush hour.

All the changes will be viewable on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s TrainTime app later this week, according to the LIRR.

Beginning Monday, May 18, the 5:13 p.m. train from Penn Station to Speonk — which normally runs to Montauk on summer Thursdays and Fridays — will continue on to Montauk, making all stops Mondays through Fridays throughout the summer. Likewise, the 11:37 a.m. and 4:18 p.m. trains on Sundays (Mondays on holiday weekends) from Montauk will operate through to Penn Station.

The additional summer weekday trains to Montauk were first rolled out last summer. They are in addition to the Cannonball trains that offer express service to and from the South Fork on summer weekends.

"As we head into the busy summer season, we’re expanding service to give customers more flexibility," said LIRR President Rob Free in a statement yesterday.

Regarding the north fork, midday weekday train service east of Ronkonkoma to and from Greenport will resume on May 11; it had been substituted with busing for several months for track maintenance.

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The New York attorney general, Letitia James, on Friday sued to block the Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $73 million in highway funding for the state.

The lawsuit, which A.G. James filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, asks the court to overturn the U.S. Department of Transportation’s decision and to restore the funding. Samantha Latson reports in THE NY TIMES that the Department of Transportation said last week that it would withhold financial support because New York refused to revoke commercial driver’s licenses it said were issued illegally. Ms. James said the trucking licenses were in compliance with state and federal regulations and only issued to people with legal status.

“New Yorkers depend on safe, reliable roads and bridges to get to work, take their kids to school and keep our economy moving,” Ms. James said. “The administration cannot promise funding to our state and then abruptly yank it away.”

Last week, the Transportation Department said it would also withhold an additional $147 million in future funding. The federal aid funds road maintenance, safety improvements and infrastructure. The attorney general said the aid block could interfere with “critical” transportation projects, increase costs and effect local economies across the state.

“I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers,” said Sean P. Duffy, the U.S. transportation secretary, in a statement. “I’m delivering on that promise today by refusing to fund Governor Hochul’s dangerous, anti-American policies. My message to New York’s far left leadership is clear: Families must be prioritized on American roads.”

The trucking licenses have been part of a protracted battle between New York and the department for months. Mr. Duffy said in June 2025 that the federal government would audit state licensing practices because millions of people entered the United States illegally, leaving the truck licensing system vulnerable to exploitation. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit released in December found that 107 of New York’s commercial driver’s licenses were issued illegally out of 200 sampled records. The agency said the state issued commercial licenses to foreign drivers without providing evidence that it had verified the driver’s legal status.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Friday that the department’s claims were false and that the blocking of federal funds was “political payback.”

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Beth Young in EAST END BEACON reports that that there are 3 important civic gatherings this evening:

The League of Women Voters of the Hamptons will host a program titled “Learning About Serving on Your East Hampton, Southampton and Shelter Island Town Board Advisory Committees” this evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the East Hampton Library, at 159 Main Street. The program will include LWV members from the three towns speaking about how to participate on the town advisory committees, when they meet, what the committees’ responsibilities are, and what they’ve accomplished. For more information, visit lwvhsinf.org

The Mattituck and Cutchogue Civic Associations host a joint public forum on “The State of Mattituck-Cutchogue Schools” this evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Veterans Park, on Peconic Bay Boulevard in Mattituck. Find Out More.

The Hampton Bays Civic Association meets this evening at 7 p.m. at the Hampton Bays Senior Center. They’re expecting to hear from a septic system installer about grants available for new septic systems, and from a member of the Southampton Town Board about local issues.

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The Village of East Hampton has become the first municipality on the East End to enact a law, drafted by OLA of Eastern Long Island, Inc. (Organización Latino Americana), that is meant to boost accountability in the event of federal immigration action.

What the blueprint drafted by OLA aims to do, primarily, is establish a series of procedures and training programs that would help deter the impersonation of federal officers and adopt local requirements for reporting enforcement activity up and down the chain, with the goal of making that information publicly available. The purpose is to boost public safety and accountability and clarify the place that local governments occupy in the event of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, raid.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that East Hampton Village officials adopted a version that is stronger than the final version that OLA is promoting. This is primarily because the village law, unlike OLA’s draft, blocks village officials from entering 287(g) agreements, which essentially allow local and federal officers to work in partnership for immigration detentions. OLA removed this provision, thinking that blocking 287(g) agreements could be a stumbling block, after receiving feedback from local officials.

Another point where East Hampton Village officials gave the law extra teeth is in blocking federal officials from accessing data from the village’s Flock, or license plate reader, cameras. Data that has not been flagged in connection with a criminal investigation will be deleted within 30 days.

East Hampton Village officials enacting the law, which was drafted via a collaboration between OLA and former NYS Assemblyman Fred Thiele, came right on the heels of a public hearing, held on April 22, during which OLA advocates spoke up.

Of the 10 twin forks towns and villages with a police department, East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village have been spearheading the OLA law, while others are continuing discussions with OLA about what the law will entail.

OLA Legal Advocate Erika Padilla said the law is not about hindering federal enforcement but protecting the safety and integrity of the local community. The law will provide a simple, common sense solution, Padilla said.

The East Hampton Town Board, which lent support to the law after a discussion on April 7, plans to hold a public hearing on May 7.

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The Town of Southold struck two words from its zoning code in a move officials say could spur more accessory apartments and boost affordable housing on the North Fork. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the change approved April 21 allows accessory apartments to be built in new detached structures on residential property. Previously, Southold Town law required accessory apartments be built in “presently existing” structures including garages, barns and storage buildings.

The town board approved the change as part of a broader effort to update zoning laws to encourage accessory dwelling units in a competitive, expensive housing market.

Southold’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which reviews applications to build accessory apartments, supported the change.

Leslie Weisman, the board’s chair, said the town removed a roadblock and could allow residents to have tiny homes on their properties.

Weisman cited a recent denial on a property where a homeowner sought to build a detached apartment for their son to live in. “We couldn’t say yes, because it was not existing,” Weisman said in an interview.

Adding affordable housing is a key priority in Southold’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan. The need is dire, Weisman said.

“Enrollment in our public school systems on the North Fork [is] dwindling dramatically,” Weisman said, noting that young families cannot afford to live in the region. “We’re going to lose generational vitality if we don’t do something about housing.”

The Town of Southold is considering tapping its Community Housing Fund to provide no-interest loans to homeowners looking to build accessory apartments.

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A Riverside Wastewater Forum at Flanders Community Center is scheduled for this coming Wednesday evening April 29 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Southampton Town representatives will discuss the latest on Riverside’s Water Resource Recovery Facility in an informational program for the community.

That’s this Wednesday at 7 p.m. in David W. Crohan Community Center, 655 Flanders Road, Riverhead, NY 11901.

***

New York school leaders have until today to file their 2026-27 budgets, but for many it’s a guessing game as negotiations over the state budget — including billions of dollars in school aid — continue in Albany. Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that public school district leaders say they can only estimate how much state funding they’ll receive as they look to balance the state’s contribution with what they need to raise from taxpayers.

At the same time, many schools are feeling the pinch from the rising cost of everything from health insurance to utilities, and some are having to make cuts based on those estimates, school leaders said.

“When the legislature and governor can’t finalize the budget, it is extremely difficult for us,” Hampton Bays schools Superintendent Lars Clemensen told Newsday. “It keeps a community in limbo for important things that we deliver for our kids during a school year.”

NYS lawmakers last week passed a sixth budget extender as discussions over the more than $263 billion proposed budget continue nearly a month after the April 1 deadline. A vote for a seventh extender is slated for today.

Negotiations between Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, and Democratic legislative leaders, are still largely divided over policy issues, including Hochul’s plans to push back the state’s climate goals, reduce car insurance costs by targeting fraud, and ease environmental reviews that can delay building projects. They also are discussing ways to increase protections for immigrants from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a tax on second homes in New York City valued at $5 million or more. Hochul and all 213 legislative seats are up for election in November.

More than $39 billion in school aid has yet to be negotiated, according to legislative leaders.

School districts’ budget votes aren’t until May 19, but their budget processes are outlined in state law with strict deadlines. Military ballots had to be mailed out by April 24. And districts must file what’s known as a “property tax report card” with the state Education Department by today.

Districts have “had some practice” with late state budgets, said Robert Lowry, deputy director for the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

Budgets have been late the last four years under Hochul, though not as late as in 1997 and 1999 when they ran into August.

Hampton Bays Public Schools, which has 1,930 students, is staying within its tax cap with a $69 million budget that cuts three teaching positions and downgrades an administration position, all through attrition, Clemensen said.

State aid makes up about 20% of the district’s budget, he said.

"It makes sense to play this conservatively, mitigating how much reserve funding is used because it takes multiple years to build that back,” he said. “You assume a little bit lower so that anything extra, you’re in a better position.”

Rotovirus on rise on Long Island, and nationwide

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The confessed serial killer, Rex Heuermann, told family members that the woman whose body was found in a wooded area in North Sea was indeed the first murder he committed and the only one that was not planned ahead of time.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that in a documentary released yesterday on the streaming service Peacock, Heuermann’s wife and daughter recounted conversations they had with him last summer in which he admitted to them to have killed eight women between 1993 and 2010.

The first, they said he told them, was Sandra Costilla, whose body was found in a small section of woodlands off Fish Cove Road, just north of Noyac Road.

His wife, Asa Ellerup, says in the documentary that he told her he killed Costilla, who was a sex worker he had hired and arranged to meet over the phone, inside an SUV he owned at the time, a two-tone blue Dodge Ramcharger.

“He said he killed Sandra Costilla in the Dodge — that was his first murder, before I married him,” Ellerup says in the “The Gilgo Beach Killer" fourth and final episode.

Heuermann would have been 29 in November 1993, when Sandra Costilla, 28, disappeared. Her body was discovered by two Southampton waterfowl hunters early on the morning of November 20, 1993.

“He said ‘The first one, I had no idea I was going to kill at the time, I just randomly did it,’” therapist Alison Winter, tells the documentary cameras, after speaking with Heuermann, with Ellerup, in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside in August 2025.

Costilla’s murder had been the earliest one that Suffolk County Distirct Attorney Ray Tierney’s office had linked to Heuermann since 2024, when a new examination of DNA evidence in cold case murders following Heuermann’s 2023 arrest linked him to the decades old Southampton case.

Costilla’s body was found, still partially clothed. Her body had been mutilated but was not disremembered, like many of the other victims, and only feint effort had been made to avoid the body being found.

“She was lying on her back with her arms outstretched over her head — her legs were uncovered, a shirt was pressed over her head,” Tierney said at a press conference in 2024, the day he announced the new charges against Heuermann. “The victim suffered numerous sharp force injuries, 25 in all, which we believed were post-mortem.”

Neither the D.A.’s office, nor the documentary, has shed any light on how Heuermann arrived at the small plot of undeveloped land in North Sea as the disposal site for Costilla’s body. The other bodies of his victims were found in dense brambles off a remote stretch of the Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach and in the woods of the Long Island Pine Barrens in Manorville.

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There will not be a Republican Party candidate for East Hampton Town supervisor for the second straight election cycle, giving the winner of this year’s highly contested Democratic primary race a straight shot at the town’s top office. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen has, for months now, been running a challenge against incumbent Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, who was formally endorsed for a third term by the established Town Democratic Committee in January.

Besides running a fiery campaign for town supervisor, Larsen has been backing a push to reshape the local Democratic Committee in his image by unseating the lion’s share of the 38 sitting committee members and putting his allies in their place.

Throughout the campaign, Larsen has defended his political identity from establishment Democrats who say the Larsen-backed slate of committee candidates is sprinkled with longtime Republicans who appear to have switched their registration to wrest power from the local ruling party.

Larsen said of the Republicans failing to nominate a candidate that “the election is really decided in June for the foreseeable future.”

Burke-Gonzalez, in November, won reelection for a two-year term, in another uncontested general election, but a New York State law, which lined up local elections with the national calendar, truncated her term to one year – and put her right back on the campaign trail.

This week, Larsen wrote off the possibility of him running with a third party, which would have been possible in the event of a Burke-Gonzalez win in the June primary election: “Democrat only,” he told The East Hampton Press.

The candidates, Burke-Gonzalez and Larsen, will face off at a debate at LTV Studios in Wainscott on May 13 at 6 p.m. Express News Group Consulting Editor Joseph P. Shaw will serve as the moderator.

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North Fork Scouts are busy this year making Southold a better place, starting just steps from the side door to Town Hall. Mattituck High School Junior Madison Tomaszewski is planning a Celebration Garden in a neglected space just outside of Southold Town Hall as part of her Gold Award project, while Brendan Boyle of Southold is placing first aid stations at a number of preserves throughout the town as an Eagle Scout project.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that regarding Madison Tomaszewski’s Celebration Garden, Southold Supervisor Al Krupski told Town Clerk Denis Noncarrow to get ready for a slew of applications for weddings at Town Hall.

“Quite a few weddings take place here already,” he said. “This serves as an example to younger girls, to see the kind of things they can do to help the community.”

Regarding Brendan Boyle’s project, Southold Land Management Coordinator John Sepenoski told the Southold Town Board this week that Boyle’s first aid stations will be placed at Ruth Oliva Preserve in East Marion, Arshamomaque and Pipes Cove preserves in Greenport, Paul Stoutenburgh Preserve in Southold, Downs Farm Preserve in Cutchogue and Laurel Park in Laurel.

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Suffolk County sheriff’s deputies are testing out high-tech guns that will be mounted on police car bumpers to fire GPS darts onto suspects’ vehicles’ during high-speed chases.

The new technology, known as StarChase, already led to the tracking and arrest of a drunk driver who refused to pull over, authorities announced yesterday.

Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that the program was launched several weeks ago and is being piloted by the department’s DWI enforcement unit — the first agency in the county with access to the tech.

“We have seen dozens of people try to evade arrest causing dangerous situations for themselves, our officers and the community at large,” said Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. “With our DWI team equipped with the StarChase GPS technology, it will help them apprehend subjects during high-risk events by safely giving our officers access to their real-time location, speed and direction,” the sheriff said. Once a driver makes it clear they have no intentions of pulling over, police are authorized to shoot the adhesive GPS tag onto the back of the fleeing vehicle, authorities said. It isn’t clear what the dart guns’ maximum range is.

The dart then latches onto the car, giving officers and dispatch the ability to monitor the target’s real-time location, speed and direction without having to chase them through the streets.

Once the driver believes they got away and comes to a stop, the tracking officers are then able to swoop in and make the surprise arrest.

The system, according to officials, boasts an 85% success rate across a range of offenses — from drunk driving and stolen vehicles to human trafficking and narcotics — and could possibly find itself implemented in police vehicles across the county to use beyond DWI enforcement.

With the new pilot program launching just weeks ago, Suffolk County joins neighboring New York City and Old Westbury cops in Nassau County who both implemented the tech back in 2023.

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The president of the LIRR expressed optimism yesterday that a deal could be reached to avert a railroad union strike less than a month away. Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that ahead of a planned virtual conference with LIRR labor leaders Monday, Long Island Rail Road president Rob Free said he "absolutely" believes a settlement to the three-year-long contract dispute is within reach.

The two sides have already agreed on raises totaling 9.5% over the first three years of a new contract — terms already accepted by most Metropolitan Transportation Authority union workers. But the five LIRR labor organizations are demanding a fourth year at 5%. The MTA has countered with an offered 4.5% raise in the fourth year of the contract, but tied it to productivity increases and work rule givebacks.

"We want to talk to them. We're almost there," Free said at a Jamaica news conference. "Three years we're in agreement on. We're talking about a fourth year, and I don't think we're that far apart in what the raise would actually be."

The five labor organizations embroiled in the contract dispute represent nearly half the LIRR’s union workforce, including locomotive engineers, signal workers, machinists, ticket agents and electricians.

The unions have said the 15% in total raises they’re seeking is necessary to keep up with the rising cost of living, and with raises given to other union workers throughout the railroad industry. The LIRR’s offer, the unions have said, would amount to a pay cut.

Free said Wednesday that paying higher-than-expected wages would create added costs in the MTA’s operating budget, which is funded in part through riders’ fares. "Who’s going to pay for it?" Free asked.

Jeff Klein, general chairman of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 589, the union representing LIRR electricians, said he, too, remains optimistic that a deal can be made, but believes that raises for workers should not be "an unexpected operational expense."

"The MTA should not expect its workforce to subsidize its many inefficiencies by accepting a lower standard of living," Klein said.

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Shiloh Piano and Cello Duo presents Touch the Sky Taking a Journey Through Song this coming Sunday afternoon from 3 to 4:15 p.m. at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton.

Shiloh is the premier piano and cello duo on Long Island, and they will take you on a journey through various musical genres, performing their unique arrangements of popular songs. From the melodic strains of Danny Boy to the fun and edgy Theme from Mission Impossible, Shiloh will take you on an exploration of musical tones and textures. Genres include traditional music, jazz, hip hop, pop, film scores, anime, country, and good old rock and roll—all presented “Shiloh-Style.”

Registration is required for this event.

To register go to rogersmemorial.librarycalendar.com

That’s this Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Rogers Memorial Library, Southampton, N.Y. 11968

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Rotavirus, the highly contagious disease that can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea in babies and young children, is on the rise on Long Island, the rest of the metropolitan area and nationwide. Doctors warn children infected can get so dehydrated they may need to go to the hospital for intravenous fluids. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that earlier this year, federal health officials dropped the rotavirus vaccination from the list of recommended childhood vaccines, a move that infectious disease experts said could cause fewer parents to get the vaccine for their babies in the coming years.

Before 2006, when the latest vaccine became available, rotavirus resulted in up to 70,000 hospitalizations and 20 to 60 deaths a year among children, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the percentage of positive rotavirus cases in the northeast United States was 9.6% for the week ending April 11. That’s higher than the previous two years around the same time. Experts said rotavirus usually appears in the spring but there are several factors that could lead to a rise in cases this year.

"During the long winter, kids spend more time indoors,” said Dr. Asif Noor, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at NYU Langone—Long Island, adding he has seen an increase in cases across the hospital system that mirrors the regional and national trend.

"Rotavirus comes on pretty quickly and spreads pretty quickly," Noor said.

The virus is passed through an infected person’s stool which can be present in microscopic amounts on hands, hard surfaces and even food, according to the CDC. Family members can easily pick up the virus from children in the home.

"It can be found in your stool two days before your diarrhea onset and up to 10 days after your initial symptoms,” said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. "So you go back to school, go back to work, the kids go back to day care and they are still infectious.”

Good hand hygiene can help but it’s not enough to stop the spread of the disease, the CDC said. The rotavirus vaccine, which is dispensed in oral drops, is given two months after birth and then given one or two more times before the age of 6 months, depending on the formulation.

Nachman said the rotavirus vaccine is 98% protective against severe illness, and 96% protective against hospitalization and emergency department visits.

An increase in vaccine hesitancy and the Department of Health and Human Services decision earlier this year to leave it off the list of recommended vaccines for children may cause a "catastrophic” number of cases next year and beyond, she said.

Tick-borne illnesses on the rise across all of Long Island

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Since the early 1980s, Long Island has become a hotbed for ticks and an epicenter for the diseases they can carry, such as Lyme disease, babesiosis and more recently, alpha-gal syndrome, the meat allergy sparked by a tick bite. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that predicting whether this will be a "bad" tick year is difficult because population is driven by factors such as weather, vegetation and availability of hosts — such as deer and mice — to feed on, said Scott Campbell, Suffolk County's chief entomologist.

Every year, he oversees tick surveillance in Suffolk to see which species are in the environment and which pathogens they are carrying.

"I’ve never seen a shortage of ticks," Campbell said. "You still have to take precautions whether you are in contact with one tick or 100 ticks."

But there are some signs it will be a busy season

Snow, blanketed Long Island this winter, can insulate ticks from cold temperatures.

"The question is always, 'It's been a terrible winter — will there be fewer ticks?' " entomologist Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann told members of the Adirondacks Club's Long Island Chapter at a meeting this month. "We were snow covered for a whole month at least. That means the ticks and all the insects that are under the snow are buffered from the very cold."

Ticks can be active when the temperatures are about 37 degrees or higher. They are less likely to survive in dry conditions, whether they are extremely hot or cold.

Gangloff-Kaufmann said an abundant acorn season, called an "acorn mast," two years ago may also foretell a tough tick season because it can lead to a burst in the mouse and chipmunk population. Mice are a common reservoir for disease.

7:06am - 7:07:30am

Are tick-borne illnesses going up?

"The trends are up for everything you measure," said Nicole Baumgarth, director of the Lyme and Tickborne Diseases Research and Education Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. "The question is whether [tick-borne diseases] are being diagnosed more, or are they more prevalent?" Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that emergency department visits for tick bites have been rising. For the most recent week in April available, 168 out of every 100,000 visits to emergency departments in the Northeast were for a tick bite, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the same week last year it was 107 out of every 100,000 visits.

Stony Brook Southampton Hospital's Tick-Borne Disease Clinic in Hampton Bays has received a steady stream of calls and appointment requests over the last two weeks.

"We're starting to see more tick activity and more tick bites," said Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children's Hospital who has a focus on tick-borne illnesses. "I expect in the coming weeks to start seeing cases of tick-borne diseases."

Researchers in the United States and Australia spent years piecing together the mystery of why some people were developing an allergy to meat. Scientists at the University of Virginia found a "range of evidence" by 2010 to link it to the bite of a lone star tick, and specifically a sugar molecule in the tick's saliva that can cause an overactive immune response.

Dr. Erin McGintee, an allergist and immunologist at ENT and Allergy Associates in Southampton, started diagnosing cases on Long Island around 2011 and has treated more than 1,000 patients with the allergy since that time.

McGintee, an alpha-gal expert, said cases were once more common on the East End of Long Island but now show up in patients from various places including Port Jefferson, Islip, Stony Brook and Smithtown.

"It's following where the deer are going and the lone star tick is spreading," she said.

Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that wildlife experts believe much of Suffolk County’s large tick population can be attributed to the warming climate and a growing wildlife population, in particular white-tail deer that provide a food source and mode of transportation for ticks.

The region's deer population, almost wiped out at the start of the 20th century due to over hunting and other issues, rebounded in recent decades due to conservation efforts and the lack of natural predators.

"The deer population on Long Island exploded," said entomologist Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, associate director at Cornell’s Integrated Pest Management program. She is based in Babylon.

Scott Campbell, Suffolk County's chief entomologist, said the deer on Long Island are moving westward as their numbers grow and they search for food.

"Decades ago, people in Huntington, Smithtown, Islip didn’t have problems with ticks," said Campbell. There's less food for deer in forests, so they "come into residential areas to feed on the arborvitae or plantings in our yards and they bring those ticks with them."

If you do have a tick bite, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital's Tick-Borne Disease Clinic recommends taking a photo of it, removing it with pointy tweezers, and placing it in a container of alcohol. This will kill the tick and preserve it in case it's needed later to be identified and tested for bacteria that causes disease in humans.

Not all ticks carry bacteria and viruses that cause disease, but removing one quickly lowers the chance of transmission. Watch for symptoms including fever, headache, swollen joints and a rash, and follow up with your health care provider.

***

A white-tailed deer with rare nearly all-white coloring has been frequenting a grassy yard on eastern Long Island.

A resident, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect the animal and whose exact location Newsday is keeping private, said the deer started showing up in his backyard, which borders a wooded area, in December, and he began snapping photos.

Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that the deer has a genetic trait called leucism, which causes a loss of pigment. Deer with leucism can be nearly all white, like this one, or spotted like a pinto pony — a variation commonly called piebald. The condition can affect nearly any animal, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish.

Leucism is the result of a recessive gene, so both parents must carry that gene in order to produce a leucistic fawn. Only about 1% of deer have this trait, according to The Nature Conservancy. It’s different from albinism, also a genetic mutation, which results in a complete lack of melanin. A leucistic deer will still have dark eyes, nose, and hooves.

Leslie Lupo, a wildlife biologist at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Stony Brook office, said she’d never seen a deer with leucism on Long Island.

This rare Long Island animal seems content to browse on tender spring greens, the east end resident said, sometimes alone and sometimes accompanied by a more conventionally attired companion.

"I was and still am very fortunate to see this deer," the man told NEWSDAY. "I realized how lucky I am when something that rare chooses your yard to feel safe in."

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Frustration with the slow pace of progress in the cleanup of the former Grumman superfund site in Calverton has residents and government officials fed up. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that in a grassroots effort, members of the Calverton Restoration Advisory Board, community members and county and town officials have scheduled their own meeting outside of the Navy’s twice-annual cleanup updates in order to receive data obtained through an investigation by Suffolk County health department officials. The meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 28 at the Manorville Fire Department headquarters.

At the last Calverton Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting on Feb. 10, the Navy would not allow Suffolk County health department staff to present well-testing data they’d collected over the prior year.

Calverton RAB member and clean water advocate Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said the county sampling was requested through the RAB, the data collection was completed, and members expected it would be shared as part of the Navy’s public process.

Addison Phoenix, the Navy’s current project manager for the Calverton site, said that Navy representatives and contractors are authorized to discuss “Navy-generated data associated with the environmental restoration program.”

Esposito called that decision “very unhelpful,” because it undermined the idea of agencies working together in partnership. Further, she said, the information would “educate members of the public” and “add to the understanding of what is a concern and what is not a concern” as a result of groundwater contamination at the site and a plume of contamination that has been migrating off-site.

Members of the RAB are appointed by the Navy to provide citizen input on the environmental cleanup and restoration of the former military manufacturing and testing facility. Its meetings are intended to provide the community with periodic updates from the Navy on the status of its investigation and cleanup/restoration efforts — as well as an opportunity to give the Navy feedback and ask questions.

The first Calverton RAB meeting was convened on April 28, 1998. The most recent meeting held in February was the Calverton RAB’s 62nd meeting.

The flyer being circulated by organizers of the April 28 community meeting bluntly states that the Navy has been dragging its feet for decades and “it’s time for accountability and action NOW!”

This coming Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Manorville Fire Department headquarters, 16 Silas Carter Road, Manorville.

More info available on line.

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In order to ensure effective communications during emergencies, the Southold Fire Department would like to install a wireless tower at its Baywater Avenue substation.

The Southold-Peconic Civic Association is hosting a community discussion about the Southold Fire Department’s planned wireless tower and Southold Town wireless rules this coming Saturday at 10 a.m. at the fire department substation, 650 Baywater Avenue in Southold.

The Southold Peconic Civic Association was founded in 2022 to preserve and enhance the unique hamlets of Southold and Peconic by promoting civic engagement, ensuring residents are given a forum to learn, consider and act upon issues that affect our north fork communities.

That discussion is this Saturday at 10 a.m. In the Southold Fire House on Baywater Avenue.

***

Noise complaints linked to flights at East Hampton Town Airport in Wainscott have dropped by more than 61% over the past four years, a sharp decline as the number of overall flights also fell, according to a new report. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that aircraft noise complaints fell for four straight years — from 47,096 in 2021 to 18,169 in 2025. The number of flights logged at the airport declined by nearly 22%, from 32,298 in 2021 to 25,252 last year.

Flights at the airport spiked in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic, which saw people forgo international trips and travel to the Hamptons instead, East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said.

The steep drop holds across most aircraft types, including helicopters, which remain the largest source of the noise complaints. Helicopter operations generate about twice as many complaints as fixed-wing aircraft, according to the data.

For years, residents in Wainscott and across the East End have complained about incessant flight noise. Amid a debate on whether to close the airport, the Town of East Hampton has tried to set new rules to curb noise, but those efforts have been thwarted by lawsuits.

Recent measures targeted at noise reduction, including designated flight routes and a nighttime curfew — both voluntary — may be contributing to the shift, officials said this week. They took the decline as an encouraging sign.

Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte said, “…I'm encouraged … that there has been some improvement, and I also appreciate that it seems like there's a lot of voluntary compliance.”

Matthew Simon of HMMH, an aviation consulting firm based in Burlington, Massachusetts, presented the report to the town board during a work session on Tuesday.

Simon said most complaints occur during peak air traffic periods, particularly in summer and during high-traffic travel windows such as Thursday, Friday and Sunday evenings, as well as Monday mornings.

Many of the complaints stem from a relatively small number of households, Simon's data showed. While most residents filed only a handful of reports over the past five years, a limited number of households filed hundreds or even thousands of complaints.

Among the skeptics, Teresa McCaskie, who lives on the North Fork in Mattituck, said the drop reflects apathy rather than meaningful improvements.

“There’s a reduction in complaints because many people have given up,” McCaskie, who attended the presentation, told Newsday.

Shifting flight routes is only a temporary solution because “eventually somebody is going to be suffering from the noise,” said McCaskie, chairwoman of Southold Town’s Aircraft Noise Committee.

Barry Raebeck of Wainscott, who leads a group that advocates for restrictions at the airport, said he knows people who recently sold their homes because they lived under the flight path and couldn’t stand the noise. Most flights don’t occur overnight, making the curfew practically “non-existent,” he said.

The findings come as the airport remains the focus of a long-running debate. The Town of East Hampton attempted to close the public airport in 2022 and reopen it as a private facility, a move that would have given officials more control over air traffic and noise. The effort was met with lawsuits from aviation interests and adverse court rulings. The town remains in litigation.

New scientific findings show worsening coastal water conditions

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Commercial landscaping companies and governments on Long Island would be eligible for rebates to transition from gas-powered to electric lawn care and snow removal equipment, under a bill passed by the New York State Legislature.

"Gas-powered landscaping equipment emits a stunning amount of air pollution, not to mention the noise that blights communities across the state," Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), who sponsored the bill, told Newsday in a statement. "This bill will make it easier for New York's landscaping companies to transition to cleaner, quieter equipment."

The proposed legislation — which also applies to nonprofits, universities and school districts — would set up a state rebate program for battery-powered equipment, including leaf blowers, lawn mowers, tree trimmers and snow blowers, as well as batteries and chargers. The bill aims to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and reduce noise pollution," according to the legislative language.

The rebate amount would be set by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA, and be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The funding would come from existing revenues controlled by NYSERDA.

Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that the State Senate yesterday passed the bill by a 54-8 vote, and it was approved by a 99-42 margin in the Assembly on Monday. The measure will now head to the desk of Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose office said she would review the bill.

Assemb. Scott Gray (R-Watertown) was among those who voted against the measure.

"If the product is appealing and the marketplace is doing a good job trying to move the product along, I think government is the last...entity that should step in and put its fingers on the scale in a private marketplace and try to drive customers to a certain product," Gray said on the Assembly floor.

Gray also cited concerns over the use of taxpayer dollars for the program as well as with the safety of lithium-ion batteries.

Statewide, over 69 communities, including several on Long Island, have adopted laws to ban or restrict the use of gas-powered equipment, Assemb. Steven Otis (D-Port Chester), the bill’s sponsor said on the Assembly floor.

The bill also would save taxpayers money by lowering costs for school districts and municipalities purchasing new equipment, Otis said.

Long Island business and landscaping groups favor a rebate program as business owners struggle to meet new municipal restrictions along with the rising cost of gas and oil.

***

Southampton School District parents who wish to enroll their children in the elementary school’s dual language program must attend an upcoming informational session and sign a one-year commitment letter by May 15 to gauge interest, as part of a series of expected changes to the curriculum’s format.

In the event that more students want to participate than there are seats, a lottery will be held on May 20, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Fatima Morrell.

“The whole program is not changing,” Dr. Morrell said during a Board of Education meeting last night. “We do have to think a little bit more systemically, though, about how we use our teachers to get the best for our kids. And I think there were some serious concerns about our program.”

Michelle Trauring reports on 27east.com that a nearly two-hour-long presentation and discussion dominated last night’s meeting, eliciting questions and feedback from board members, parents and students alike. A deeper dive into the proposed changes — some of which are being brought on by decreased enrollment — will be discussed at pre-K informational sessions this coming Friday, April 24, at 8:30 a.m. and on Monday, April 27, at 2 and 6:30 p.m., and kindergarten through third grade sessions on Thursday, April 30, at 8:30 a.m. and Wednesday, May 6, at 2 and 6:30 p.m.

For over 20 years, the dual language program has been a pillar of strength in the district, Morrell said. The Spanish Embassy’s Ministry of Culture, Education and Sports recognizes each of Southampton’s schools as an International Spanish Academy, or ISA, which “implement a Spanish-English dual language immersion curriculum with the support, consultancy and recognition of the Ministry,” according to its website.

Southampton is the only district in the state with this designation, reported Dr. Brian Zahn, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

However, Spanish and English teachers said they often find themselves competing for time, and families also are lacking information about the program. Some parents agreed, saying that they don’t fully understand how the program works and want the ability to choose whether it’s the right fit for their children.

Addressing School Board President Zach Epley, a parent and new Southampton home owner said, “You're saying you're giving us choice, but if we go to a lottery, you're taking away that choice from us, that choice that we've worked very hard for, to sacrifice and be part of this very expensive community.”

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau will host two upcoming events showcasing local young talent, including the 2026 Hamptons Got Talent competition and the 23rd annual Battle of the Bands.

Hamptons Got Talent is scheduled for Friday, May 1, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Westhampton Beach High School. Eleven local middle and high school students will perform in front of a panel of professional judges, competing for prize packages that include gift certificates from Bay Street Theater, the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, Hampton Theatre Company, Dream Recording Studios, Edgewater Restaurant, Guild Hall and Hampton Coffee Co., among others.

Audience members will have the opportunity to win giveaways and vote for a People’s Choice Award. Admission is free and open to the public.

So, Hamptons Got Talent is scheduled for Friday, May 1, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Westhampton Beach High School.

The Southampton Town Youth Bureau is also accepting applications for its 23rd annual Battle of the Bands competition, scheduled for Friday, June 5, from 8 to 11 p.m. at Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays, with a rain date of June 12. Bands interested in participating must submit applications and demo recordings by 4 p.m. on Friday, May 8, 2026. Submissions can be mailed or delivered to the Southampton Youth Bureau, 655 Flanders Road, Flanders, NY 11901.

For more information, call the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/youthbureau.

***

New scientific findings presented yesterday in downtown Riverhead point to worsening threats in Long Island’s coastal waters, including harmful algal blooms, low-oxygen zones and environmental conditions that promote dangerous bacteria, according to Stony Brook University coastal ecologist Christopher Gobler.

Speaking on the Peconic River boardwalk in Riverhead, ahead of Friday’s annual State of the Bays symposium to take place at Stony Brook University in Southampton, Gobler said water bodies across Long Island failed to meet state and federal water quality standards last year and that 2026 is already off to a troubling start. He had a map of Long Island on display depicting “dozens and dozens of locations in our estuaries and our harbors and our bays and our lakes and our ponds” that didn’t meet water quality standards in 2025.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that among the most serious concerns are harmful algal blooms in both freshwater and marine waters, shellfish closures tied to paralytic shellfish poisoning and low-oxygen “dead zones” that harm marine life.

Gobler said three Southold water bodies are currently closed to shellfishing because of paralytic shellfish poisoning and that the western half of Shinnecock Bay is also closed.

Gobler said nearly three dozen Long Island locations are also experiencing hypoxic conditions, with dissolved oxygen levels below the state standard of 3 milligrams per liter.

“Every hour that a water body spends below three milligrams per liter is an hour that is doing harm to marine life,” said Professor Gobler.

The annual State of the Bays symposium is scheduled for this coming Friday in Stony Brook Southampton’s Avram Theater at 7 p.m. The event is free to attend and open to the public. For more information and to reserve free tickets, visit the Stony Brook Southampton website.

***

The Town of East Hampton and the Village of East Hampton are advancing legislation to bar police from cooperating with federal agencies on civil immigration enforcement — becoming the first East End municipalities to back the proposal.

The proposal would also require police departments to notify newly created task forces about Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities if their officers were called to respond to a raid.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the two municipalities are the first to support a "public safety and accountability” bill originally drafted by Organización Latino Americana - OLA of Eastern Long Island, Inc. - a Latino advocacy nonprofit based in East Hampton. Drafting the proposal was also assisted by former NYS Assemb. Fred Thiele, an OLA board member. OLA has been lobbying East End municipalities that have police departments to adopt the proposal since early February.

“It's an important step in reassuring the public that our police department is doing the right thing,” East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said in an interview. “The last thing we want is local police being involved in immigration ... because if people can't trust the local police to report crimes, then things are going to turn bad in the community.”

The East End, home to a large Latino immigrant population, has seen ICE raids as President Donald Trump’s administration ramped up deportation efforts last year.

Both East Hampton proposals would ban Section 287(g) agreements between the Department of Homeland Security and local police departments. Those agreements allow ICE to partner with local law enforcement on certain immigration enforcement activities. Nassau County has deputized 10 Nassau police detectives as ICE agents and rented jail cells to ICE under such an agreement. A ban on those agreements is also being pushed by Democratic state lawmakers.

East Hampton Village trustees will hold a hearing on their bill today. The East Hampton Town board has scheduled a May 7 hearing on its bill.

Both proposals acknowledge the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration laws and do not prohibit local police from cooperating with federal officers in criminal matters or when presented with judicial warrants.

***

East Hampton Town officials are planning to buy the land beneath Pathfinder Day Camp for $7.25 million, with the goal of licensing the land out to keep the space as an affordable summer camp on town-owned property. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that seated on an idyllic peninsula that juts out into the western side of Fort Pond in Montauk, Pathfinder is a camp that dates back over 50 years, to 1964. East Hampton Town officials do not yet know whether the land will be under the stewardship of Pathfinder once the sale is finalized, but they say the goal is to keep a summer camp on the property — with a town-approved licensee overseeing operations.

What the purchase will do, once finalized, is link three pieces of town-owned land to form a contiguous, 11-acre sprawl of town property on the peninsula. The land that houses Pathfinder, located at 134 Second House Road, would be in the middle of that stretch.

Flanking either side of the land are two separate pieces of town-owned land. One, the Carol Morrison Park, spans 4 acres and is located directly to the east. This land is also home to the Fort Pond House, which is used for educational and cultural purposes. The land itself is meant for outdoor recreation. This property has been owned by the town for 15-plus years.

To move forward, East Hampton Town officials approved a resolution for the addition of Pathfinder’s Second House Road address to the Community Preservation Fund plan for a public hearing on May 7. Another public hearing, this one regarding town officials buying the property, will also be held on that same May 7th date.

***

Port of Egypt Marine, a marina that was established as a fishing station by the Lieblein family 80 years ago on a stretch of Route 25 between Southold and Greenport, has been sold to Hinckley Yachts. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the acquisition of Port of Egypt “strengthens Hinckley’s presence in one of the country’s most active boating regions, while extending its ability to deliver best-in-class service, maintenance and support across a broad range of vessels, all to the Hinckley standard,” said Hinckley Yachts in a statement, adding that the purchase “brings together Hinckley’s nearly century-long heritage in yacht building and service with Port of Egypt Marine’s 80-year legacy as a family-run marina on Long Island’s East End.”

The Liebleins will still be involved as partners in the property, according to Hinckley Yachts, which announced the sale yesterday, and the Port of Egypt name will remain, along with the restaurant on the property, A Lure. Existing slipholders will be able to stay and there will be no changes to dockage for the season.

“In Hinckley, we found a partner who truly understands what makes Port of Egypt special,” said Port of Egypt General Managers Will and Yvonne Lieblein. “Their commitment to craftsmanship, stewardship, and service reflects the values we have upheld here over eight decades and gives us great confidence in what comes next. We are proud of what we’ve built, and excited to see it thoughtfully enhanced and carried forward.”

Hinckley Yachts is a nearly century-old boatbuilding company with roots on Mount Desert Island in Maine, where the Hinkley family got its start servicing local lobster boats and yachts of summer residents in 1928.

Monitor Clipper Partners, a private equity firm in Boston, is currently the majority owner of Hinckley, which is now known for small luxury motor yachts with lobster boat-style “downeast” lines, including the 36-foot Picnic Boat. It also builds sailboats, most notably the Bermuda 40. The company still manufactures its boats in Maine.

Hinckley Yachts says it plans a significant investment in the Port of Egypt property, including “the conversion of a 24,000-square-foot cold storage facility into heated, year-round storage to support world-class yacht maintenance.

Hinckley says Port of Egypt will now become “a central hub within Hinckley’s growing East Coast network serving the East End, including the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork, as well as key boating communities across Connecticut and the broader Northeast."

In 2025, Port Of Egypt had celebrated 65 years as a dealer of Grady-White boats, beloved by North Fork fishermen since 1960. The marina was the oldest Grady-White dealer in the world. The new company will no longer be a Grady-White dealer.

23 Long Island schools flagged for subpar academic performance

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Twenty-three schools in 16 Long Island districts have been flagged for subpar academic performance in the state's latest accountability ratings, a Newsday analysis has found. More than half of the schools — 15 — were classified as needing targeted support and improvement, also known as TSI. Six were designated as needing additional targeted support and improvement, or ATSI.

Two schools, one in Hempstead and another in Riverhead, were marked as needing comprehensive support and improvement, known as CSI. That designation means the schools are ranked among the bottom 5% of schools statewide. There was good news as well, though. Central Islip had no schools on the state's needs-improvement list for the first time in more than a decade.

Brentwood, Wyandanch, William Floyd, Patchogue-Medford and Westhampton Beach also were taken off the list this year. Maureen Mullarkey reports in NEWSDAY that the number of schools in Nassau and Suffolk on the 2025-26 list dropped from 29 the year prior but was higher than the 11 identified in 2023-24.

Educators have argued that the improvement labels unfairly stigmatize schools. Officials in some of the districts identified in this year’s list criticized the designations, saying they were based on the performance of a small subgroup of students and are not indicative of the student body as a whole. Others cited outside factors, like increased immigration enforcement in their communities, as having a negative impact on their schools.

State officials said the accountability ratings offer “an opportunity” to improve academic outcomes. The data used for identification can help educators zero in on learning gaps, they argued.

Rachel Connors, a NYS Education Department spokeswoman, told NEWSDAY that the accountability system is not intended to "diminish the work of educators, but to highlight where additional support and resources are needed.”

“We understand and respect that educators work incredibly hard every day to support their students, and that no single designation can fully capture the full story of a school community including its culture, relationships, or the progress happening in classrooms,” she emphasized.

***

Crossing Long Island Sound will cost you more after both the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry and the Cross Sound Ferry announced fare increases due to current fuel prices. Dandan Zou and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that this week, the Cross Sound Ferry in Orient listed its fuel surcharge as 9.5%. That's actually down from 10.7% recently, the company reported on its website.

"Due to the volatility of fuel costs, Cross Sound Ferry uses a floating fuel surcharge," the ferry said on its website. "The fuel surcharge is a percentage applied to all published fares, and is based on our most recent fuel costs." Cross Sound Ferry is a passenger and road vehicle ferry service operating between New London, Connecticut and Orient.

As of last Wednesday, the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry enacted a 4.5% fuel surcharge to all ferry fees, increasing one way tickets from $74 to $77 off-peak and from $76 to $79 peak for a vehicle with a passenger.

"This surcharge will be reviewed weekly and may be adjusted upward or downward based on fuel costs and market conditions," the ferry website said. "Any revised fuel surcharge will be posted in advance and, unless otherwise stated, will take effect on Wednesdays."

***

ReWild Long Island will launch the fourth summer of its South Fork internship program in 2026, offering high school students hands-on experience in sustainability, food security and environmental stewardship.

Applications for both interns and volunteers opened April 1 and are available to the end of this month.

ReWild Long Island also welcomes adult mentors and volunteers to support its South Fork chapter.

For more information or to apply, visit the program page at rewildlongisland.org/summerprogram.

***

Framing April 20th NOT as a celebration of cannabis culture but as a public-health warning, Suffolk County officials, law enforcement leaders and addiction treatment providers gathered yesterday at Wellbridge Addiction Treatment and Research in Calverton to sound the alarm about cannabis use disorder, cannabis-induced psychosis, youth access to THC products and drugged driving. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Monday’s event, hosted by Wellbridge, featured Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, District Attorney Ray Tierney, Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr., Suffolk police Chief of Department William Doherty, Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin and clinicians from Wellbridge and Outreach Development Corp.

Again and again, speakers returned to one central point: marijuana may be legal in New York but driving while impaired by cannabis is not.

D.A. Tierney said his office has prosecuted cases involving fatal crashes, children sickened by THC-laced edibles and illegal sales to minors. He cited the 2023 death of Franklin Blake in Southampton, saying the driver who struck and killed him was high on cannabis and Xanax.

But while the public officials focused largely on impaired driving and enforcement, the most detailed warnings about cannabis itself came from the treatment providers and clinicians.

Dr. Edmond Hakimi, Wellbridge’s medical director, said the cannabis now commonly available is far more potent than marijuana used decades ago and argued that the rise in high-THC products has changed the risk profile dramatically.

“It’s not the same drug anymore,” Hakimi said, describing cannabis concentrates with THC levels far above those seen in plant marijuana in past decades.

Hakimi said Wellbridge is seeing patients admitted for treatment for cannabis use alone and said clinicians are increasingly concerned about psychiatric consequences, particularly among frequent users of high-potency products and among younger people whose brains are still developing.

He described patients arriving paranoid, hallucinating and, in some cases, losing touch with reality. He also warned that regular cannabis use can be especially risky for people with a personal or family history of mental illness.

Romaine and Tierney both pressed for changes in state law and better roadside tools for detecting cannabis impairment. Romaine said lawmakers need to address the gap between legalization and enforcement, arguing there is still no marijuana equivalent of a Breathalyzer. Tierney said technology exists but is not yet in use.

That difficulty is reflected in federal guidance as well. The CDC says cannabis can impair driving but also notes that linking THC levels in a person’s body to actual driving impairment is far more complicated than it is with alcohol.

***

Yesterday, the Trump administration took its first steps toward issuing tariff refunds with the launch of a web platform through U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Brianne Ledda reports in NEWSDAY that the system follows a Supreme Court ruling that found the president had exceeded his authority last April when he cited the U.S. trade deficit as a national emergency to invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act {IEEPA} a 1977 emergency powers law. The decision did not order the government to repay the tariffs, but a judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade determined last month that businesses subjected to IEEPA taxes should see refunds.

Customs and Border Protection has noted that the refund process is being rolled out in phases.

"Importers and brokers can visit CBP’s website for resources and step-by-step guidance," an agency spokesperson told Newsday.

Stacey Sikes, acting president and CEO of the Long Island Association, a regional business nonprofit, called the refund portal's launch "welcome news" that could help businesses experiencing tariff-induced financial challenges to recoup money, "especially at a time when they are navigating other uncertainties."

"Hopefully the processing of refunds will be expeditious," she said.

At a media event on Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also highlighted the refunds, as well as the added burdens that tariffs pose as many in the state struggle with continued inflation.

"Remember, everyday New Yorkers also paid the price," she said. "$13.5 billion is the additional cost that has been imposed on New Yorkers alone because of the Trump tariffs, and that's about $1,700 per the average family."

New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with 21 other state attorneys general and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, sued in March to stop tariffs implemented under the Trade Act of 1974, which the administration used to impose a 10% import tax on imports for 150 days starting Feb. 24. The suit also seeks refunds for tariffs collected under the law.

***

Until tomorrow, the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons is accepting applications for scholarship grants through its Karish Education Fund, supporting students pursuing studies in horticulture and related fields.

Eligible applicants include graduating high school seniors, college students and individuals enrolled in professional certification programs in disciplines such as agriculture, botany, landscape architecture, garden design and environmental science. Applications are due by Earth Day, April 22….that’s tomorrow.

The fund honors Paul Karish, a founding member of the organization and noted horticulturalist, who established the endowment through a 1991 bequest. Additional contributions from members have helped expand the program over the years.

Since 2001, the fund has awarded more than $70,000 in scholarships, with 47 individual grants ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 distributed to students pursuing careers in plant science and environmental fields.

Application details and submission instructions are available on the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons website.

***

A federal judge delivered a scathing rebuke of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's alleged tactics in the arrests of two allegedly undocumented immigrants on Long Island, ordering agents to appear in court for a hearing on whether the men were lawfully detained. Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that Judge Sanket J. Bulsara of the Eastern District of New York said in his ruling this past Thursday that several ICE officers involved in the 2026 arrests of Erik Sigfredo Parada Cruz and Rene Antonio Benitez should testify in an April 30 hearing. Both men had been released from detention in February after the court issued preliminary writs of habeas corpus — a legal tool often used to challenge a person’s incarceration.

In his order calling for the hearing, Judge Bulsara, a Biden appointee, criticized some of ICE's alleged practices and what he wrote was the government lawyers' part in shielding the agency's potentially illegal conduct from scrutiny.

When ICE seeks to make an arrest, Bulsara wrote, citing case law, there must be an official Notice to Appear issued, making "removal proceedings initiated before or at the time of the arrest." The Notice to Appear is a necessary predecessor to an arrest warrant, which must be secured before an arrest is made, the judge wrote.

After-the-fact arrest warrants are "fundamentally at odds with and offensive to lawful, constitutional behavior in this country," wrote Judge Bulsara.

But in court papers, the government’s lawyers argued, in part, that the court is without jurisdiction to continue the case because Parada Cruz has been released. They also argued that prior case law cited by the judge should not necessarily apply to all immigration detentions, documents show. The government had requested the cancellation of at least one prior hearing with several ICE officers to consider the legality of Parada Cruz's detention. The federal government made similar arguments in Benitez's case, so Bulsara decided that the forthcoming hearing will cover both cases.

Bulsara, responding to the government's lawyers, said they were either deploying delays or finding excuses "to avoid producing officers for a basic fact-finding hearing."

"Such hide-the-ball litigation tactics corrode both the Court’s and the public’s confidence that Respondents are even trying notionally to adhere to constitutional requirements," he added.

The judge’s rebuke comes after the arrests of Parada Cruz and Benitez earlier this year. Parada Cruz, a Salvadoran national, was commuting to work in Roosevelt when he was arrested on Feb. 26, according to court records.

Benitez, a resident of Brentwood, had lived in the United States for nearly 15 years when officers pulled him over and took him into custody in February, court documents show. He had been driving his daughter to school. Benitez is one of several petitioners in a federal class-action lawsuit accusing ICE of detaining immigrants due to their perceived race and ethnicity. "It’s unfair that only because of looking or sounding Hispanic, that only for that, they detain you," he said in a previous interview in Spanish with Newsday.

Both men have been released from custody, with provisional writs of habeas corpus granted without final decisions, the judge said.

East End police to take part in "No Empty Chair" statewide campaign for safe teen driving

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Southampton Town police said yesterday that they rescued a kayaker marooned on a sandbar due to rough seas in the Great Peconic Bay.

Janon Fisher reports in NEWSDAY that police responded to a 911 call around 4:30 p.m. Sunday from the boater who said that she was stranded about 500 feet northeast of the Shinnecock Canal, in Hampton Bays, according to a news release.

Before help arrived, the kayaker jumped into the water, but was found and pulled from the water by the Southampton Town Marine Patrol.

During the rescue, an officer suffered a leg injury “due to the sea conditions,” according to the release.

Marine Patrol took the woman to the Meschutt County Park where Hampton Bays Volunteer Ambulance workers treated her for hypothermia.

The injured officer was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which also responded, recovered the woman’s kayak.

***

Long Island's homeless population rose 32% between 2022 and 2024, according to a report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office.

According to the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, as of 2024, there were approximately 500 families with children in shelter and over 1,100 single adults in shelter.

Mike Giuffrida, the coalition's associate director, told NEWSDAY that homelessness and displacements are on the rise due to lack of affordable housing in Nassau and Suffolk.

***

Island Water Park Corp., which owns the Calverton amusement park, has filed a new application to amend its site plan to allow drifting events, the use of battery-powered bumper boats on the site’s manmade lake, a floating dock for the boats, a fire-suppression well drawing water from the lake and a zip line over a portion of the water.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that approval of the application would require the Riverhead Town Board to amend a covenant imposed as part of the June 17, 2025, site plan approval prohibiting use of the track by any vehicles other than go-karts. It would also require amendment of an earlier recorded covenant restricting the lake to nonmotorized watercraft.

That go-kart-only restriction was not incidental. It was one of the conditions the Riverhead Town Board relied on in March 2025 when it issued a conditional negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, finding that no further environmental review was required for the then-pending site plan application.

Island Water Park’s new application came before the Town Board at its work session this past Thursday, where Senior Planner Greg Bergman outlined the proposal and cautioned that the track restriction was tied directly to the 2025 SEQRA determination because go-karts were viewed as having more limited impacts than other vehicles.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin, who acknowledged meeting with company representatives some time before the work session, expressed support for the application, and support for following procedures.

“Like every other business in town, you’re here. We want you to be successful. You have a CO. We want to make sure we’re going through every step…and how we can assist them…So thank you for presenting, “said Supervisor Halpin.

***

East End police officers will take part in the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee’s “No Empty Chair” campaign beginning today through Friday, with enforcement and education efforts focused on teen driving safety. School resource officers and patrol officers will participate in outreach and enforcement aimed at reducing dangerous driving during prom and graduation season.

The traffic safety committee’s message to teens is simple.

“Be buckled up. Be a cell-free motorist. Be a sober driver. Be in your chair on graduation day.”

The statewide campaign runs today through Friday, April 24.

The campaign includes daily enforcement themes this week.

Monday, April 20: underage drinking and impaired driving
Tuesday, April 21: seat belts and child restraints
Wednesday, April 22: cell phone use and texting
Thursday, April 23: Operation Safe Stop
Friday, April 24: speeding in school zones

The campaign is intended to raise awareness of highway dangers and promote safe driving habits among young motorists, police said. State and local law enforcement agencies are expected to increase patrols near high schools and focus on violations of the Graduated Driver Licensing law and other traffic offenses.

For more information, visit trafficsafety.ny.gov.

***

East Hampton Town officials are poised to block driving on town-owned portions of Gin Beach in Montauk, a popular destination for bathing, during the summer season between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that this change comes because town officials, at the behest of Marine Patrol, say the beach is a lifeguarded one, popular among families with small children, which means beach driving should be blocked during the times when there is a lifeguard on duty. The change would take effect the Thursday before Memorial Day and run until September 15.

But the move drew pushback at an East Hampton Town Board public hearing earlier this month, with William Jakob from the Montauk Surfcasters Association saying that imposing beach driving restrictions is a slippery slope. Gin Beach, he said, is one with a long history of fishing. Others echoed Jakob’s thoughts, saying that the Town Board should appreciate longstanding local traditions. “The town has been fundamentally available for beach driving for generations,” Jakob said. “This was a fishing town. It still is a fishing town.”

Jakob called for the Town Board to leave beach driving on Gin Beach open to the public and not block that to make way for sunbathing, saying the latter is a new phenomenon that started in the 1900s.

The East Hampton Town Board, though, put itself in a position to move forward with the restrictions, which would only apply to the town-owned portions just north of the parking lot, at a work session last week. A unanimous Town Board backed the changes.

Other beaches in the area that are lifeguarded — like Hither Hills, Indian Wells and Atlantic Avenue — also have seasonal driving restrictions.

Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez spoke supportively for the measure, like her colleagues on the Town Board and Chief Harbormaster Tim Treadwell. With majority support, the measure is ready for adoption when a resolution appears.

“This beach is used by a lot of families with small kids,” Burke-Gonzalez said. “They're not ready to take them to the ocean yet — and we want to protect public safety, so I'm supportive as well.”

***

New York State has receded as a key battleground in the contest for control of the U.S. House, with independent analysts pointing to Texas, North Carolina, Maine and Ohio as better opportunities for Republicans. Billy House reports in NEWSDAY that Long Island and other areas of New York State had been projected to be among the nation's pivotal battlegrounds heading into this fall’s midterm elections. Instead, Republicans have struggled to recruit or keep top-tier candidates in the Hudson Valley, central New York and this past week in Nassau County, where former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito decided not to run.

Nationwide, Democrats need a net pickup of just three districts in the 435-member chamber to wrest the majority from Republicans. That means Republicans need to defend the seats they have and counter any losses with gains elsewhere.

New York had been seen as a key focus of that aim.

"New York is less central to the battle for control of the House because the national environment for Democrats has improved," said Erin Covey, a nonpartisan handicapper with the Cook Political Report.

On Long Island, 3 congressional races in Nassau County seem competitive. Republican Nick LaLota’s 1st Congressional District in eastern Suffolk County is not seen as very competitive.

***

Brookhaven National Laboratory physicist William Morse is part of a team of scientists honored Saturday night with a Breakthrough Prize, one of science's top honors.

Morse and his fellow researchers were honored for their studies of an obscure subatomic particle known as a muon. Scientists believe the muon's unstable nature helps to explain cosmic anomalies such as Mercury's erratic orbit around the sun.

The Breakthrough Prize comes with a $3 million award split among dozens of scientists involved in the research, officials said.

Carl MacGowan reports in NEWSDAY that the 78 year old Morse of East Patchogue and the others are credited with significant scientific advances in a quest begun in Europe six decades ago to fine-tune physicists’ understanding of the enigmatic muon.

The research led Morse and the Brookhaven lab at one point to shut down William Floyd Parkway to carry a 17-ton superconducting magnet more than 3,000 miles by truck and barge to Illinois.

And yet in spite of the award, more work remains, added Morse.

“The theorists say they need another two or three years of calculations,” he said.

***

Allowing a Westhampton property owner to clear brush and trees in the pine barrens to protect against wildfires would set a dangerous precedent for the forest’s ecosystem, the Long Island Central Pine Barrens Commission has ruled. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that commissioners voted unanimously last Wednesday to deny the application made by Joseph Gazza, a commercial property owner who sought to clear up to 100 feet around six properties he owns along Old Riverhead Road. Gazza applied after a wildfire last year caused more than 400 acres of the pine barrens to burn, damaging one of his buildings.

Gazza’s application “has significant precedent setting nature in the [pine barrens] region including potential significant adverse environmental impacts on the pine barrens ecosystem,” the commission said in its denial resolution. The rejection was unanimous, 5-0.

The commission ruled that Gazza’s application was “deficient and without scientific evidence,” and that he did not demonstrate hardship. The pine barrens are protected by a 1993 state law that limits new development. Under that law, land clearing requires a hardship waiver from the commission. Gazza’s buildings were built before the state law was enacted.

“What is it going to take to shock them into doing something and acting responsible?” Gazza told NEWSDAY after the decision. “I don’t think they’re acting reasonably,” Gazza added.

The commission said Gazza can conduct “non-development activities” to his properties, including trimming tree limbs that hang over buildings and removing items from wooded areas, where they could catch fire.

Spanning 105,000 acres, the pine barrens ecosystem purifies the region’s drinking water and supports the health of two estuaries and two major rivers.

The Long Island Pine Barrens Society, an advocacy group, celebrated the commission's ruling.

“I was absolutely delighted that the commission took the stance that we're not going to set a precedent here, and we are going to protect the pine barrens the way the pine barrens are supposed to be protected,” acting executive director Nina Leonhardt said in an interview.

Commission officials said they use prescribed burns to help create buffers that make it harder for wildfires to spread. This year, burns are scheduled in five pine barrens state forests, including in the dwarf pine plains in Westhampton, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Southampton Town Highway Dept. to begin pedestrian enhancement in Noyac

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

After keeping their social distance from trains during the height of the pandemic, weekend Long Island Rail Road riders are back in a big way, and then some, according to a new state report.

Alfonso A. Castillo and Joseph Ostapiuk report in NEWSDAY that according to the report by the office of NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, weekend ridership on the LIRR was 27% higher last year than in 2019 — a year in which the railroad set a modern ridership record. The boom in Saturday and Sunday demand has helped offset lagging weekday rush hour ridership, which remains nearly 40% down from pre-COVID levels, according to MTA data.

Officials and riders attributed the railroad's surging weekend ridership to several factors, such as the boost in service that came with the opening of Grand Central Madison, and the growing cost of driving.

LIRR ticket prices have also recently increased. But new discount promotions have reduced the cost for families traveling on the LIRR on weekends.

The LIRR averaged 267,567 riders each weekend in 2025, up from 210,313 in 2019. The railroad's weekend ridership has been trending up for years, beating 2019 levels in nearly every month since 2023, when the railroad opened Grand Central Madison and significantly boosted service levels to accommodate a second Manhattan terminal.

Although the LIRR's overall ridership has bounced back faster than the MTA predicted, the railroad closed out 2025 still down about 8% from pre-COVID levels.

Among all Metropolitan Transportation Authority agencies, including subways, city buses and Metro-North, the LIRR on weekends is "the only transit mode analyzed where ridership has fully recovered and even improved compared to the pre-pandemic baseline," the report said.

But weekend ridership recovery has outpaced the MTA’s expectations across all its agencies since the pandemic, when trains and buses were largely empty for months. After carrying 91 million passengers in 2019 — the most in 70 years — LIRR ridership plummeted to just 30 million in 2020. Last year, it was nearly 82 million, buoyed by particularly strong weekend crowds.

***

Later this month, Southampton Town Highway Department crews will begin work on a long-awaited pedestrian enhancement project in Noyac that will bring sidewalks and crosswalks to a more than 2-mile stretch of Noyac Road, improving pedestrian accessibility and safety along the busy corridor. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Charles McArdle and engineer Nick Jimenez were on hand at the Noyac Civic Council meeting last week to discuss the plan, which is being fully funded by the Town of Southampton. Jimenez and McArdle said they expected crews to start breaking ground on April 27, but cautioned that the project will take much longer to complete than the recent repaving and restriping of Noyac Road, which was done in about a week. This project could take up to 12 weeks to complete.

On the bright side, McArdle and Jimenez said there was a good chance the sidewalks would be finished before the height of the summer season, as long as the weather cooperates. If there are extended delays, and the traffic becomes untenable as the summer season bears down, it’s possible the project would require a break and then be picked back up in September to complete.

Sidewalks and several crosswalks will be added down a roughly 2.5-mile stretch of Noyac Road, starting at Ruggs Path east of Trout Pond Park and will continue easterly along Noyac Road, past Serene Green, to Cove Avenue East, where it will meet an existing sidewalk that extends all the way to Sag Harbor Village.

The sidewalks will predominantly be on the south side of the road, but will be installed on the north side at certain points, including near MJ Dowlings and Jimmy Jim’s.

Several new crosswalks will be installed, along with the diamond-shaped pedestrian crossing signs with blinking lights.

The Noyac Civic Council leadership strongly urged members who live along that stretch to review the plans, which can be found in detail at noyac.org.

***

Shelter Island Friends of Music presents Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, on piano in concert tomorrow at 6pm in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. A full capacity crowd is expected so you are encouraged to arrive early to get a seat. Due to fire code regulations, organizers cannot guarantee seating once that capacity is reached. Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner has emerged as one of the most compelling pianists of his generation.

Saturday’s concert is free; donations are greatly appreciated.

The performance will begin promptly at 6 pm tomorrow in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church with no intermission.

You are invited to a reception with Llewellyn immediately following the concert!

For further info visit the Shelter Island Friends of Music website at sifriendsofmusic.org

***

Gov. Kathy Hochul…running for reelection as the Democratic party candidate in this year’s gubernatorial race…is getting politically pulled further to the left on New York’s sanctuary policies – now saying she supports banning nearly all cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE. Vaughn Golden reports in The N.Y. POST that Governor Hochul, who proposed a slate of anti-ICE measures at the start of this year, yesterday unveiled several new restrictions that she wants to put into state law as part of the ongoing budget negotiations with the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

“I just want to have more protections in place that I think are long overdue. So I’m anxious to get this done,” Hochul told reporters at a quickly assembled press event in Albany Thursday afternoon.

Among the newly announced measures was a ban on police cooperating with federal immigration enforcement agents — unless it involves a criminal conviction or cops have “probable cause” to suspect someone of a misdemeanor or felony offense. “Local cops should be focused on local crimes, keeping our streets safe … not doing ICE’s job,” she said. Hochul also wants to ban US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from wearing masks, though it’s unclear how the state would be able to enforce such a mandate. The proposed legislation would make it a misdemeanor for an ICE agent to wear a mask in the State of New York.

And it would expand the list of public areas where ICE is prohibited from operating without a judicial warrant, to include virtually any public land like parks, shelters and “housing accommodations.”

Hochul also said that ICE agents, for example, wouldn’t be allowed to operate alongside a local police DWI checkpoint.

“We’re talking about basically separating out civil infractions, vehicle and traffic law, for example, and other areas that they’ve been using as ruses,” she said.

“There’s sometimes ICE officers, are at a DWI stop, are at a traffic stop. Like why are they there? Explain to me why they’re there,” she questioned.

The new policy would also create an overarching ban on any public employee using state resources, including their working hours, to aid federal immigration authorities.

It means New York would essentially have a blanket sanctuary state law on its books. Hochul, during her tenure, has continued to extend an executive order signed in 2018 by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo barring state employees and law enforcement from helping immigration authorities.

The Democratic incumbent is now expanding her initial anti-ICE proposal unveiled in January following talks with the legislature, coinciding with her $263 billion spending and policy plan, which was due April 1.

***

New York will lose more than $73.5 million in federal money because the Transportation Department said yesterday that the State of New York has refused to revoke nearly 33,000 questionable commercial driver's licenses for immigrants since an audit uncovered problems last year.

The department said that more than half of the 200 licenses reviewed during the audit had significant problems such as remaining valid long after an immigrant was authorized to be in the country. So the state was ordered to review all of this type of licenses and revoke illegal ones.

As reported by The Associated Press and posted on NEWSDAY.com, the federal government has reviewed records related to these non-domiciled CDLs in every state since Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy put a spotlight on this issue after an August crash in Florida that killed three people. Most states have either complied or are in negotiations with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, but California has lost $200 million. Several other states — including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina — have been warned they are at risk of losing some funding.

“I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers. I’m delivering on that promise today,” Duffy said.

Duffy has said that immigrants account for about 20% of all truck drivers nationwide, but these non-domiciled licenses immigrants can receive only represent about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses or about 200,000 drivers. New York issued 32,606 of them. New rules the Transportation Department has announced will prevent 97% of those foreign drivers from getting a commercial license again.

New York officials have defended their licensing practices and said they are complying with federal law and that audits during the first Trump administration supported that.

Trucking industry groups have praised the Transportation Department's efforts to get unqualified drivers off the road, crack down on questionable trucking schools and go after trucking companies that violate the rules and then just change their names and keep operating. The industry said that too often unqualified drivers who shouldn’t have licenses or can’t speak English have been allowed to get behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound (about 39,916 kilograms) truck. " Today’s action is an important step toward safer highways and a stronger, more professional trucking industry.” said Todd Spencer, who is president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association trade group.

But immigrant groups say some drivers are now being unfairly targeted. The spotlight has been on Sikh truckers because the driver in the Florida crash and the driver in another fatal crash in California in October are both Sikhs.

***

The Village of Southampton invites you to an informational discussion on “The Clean Water Project,” during which speakers will address Southampton Village’s centralized sewer system proposal. That’s tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Village Hall, 23 Main Street in Southampton. The “The Clean Water Project” is a land swap that would alienate Lola Prentice Memorial Dog Park as part of the plan to build a sewage treatment plant on Windmill Lane.

Once again that meeting is tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Southampton Village Hall, 23 Main Street, Southampton, N.Y. 11968

***

The median price of a home on southeastern Long Island…aka THE HAMPTONS…jumped 18.3% to a record $2.4 million in the first quarter of the year, compared with the same stretch of 2025, according to a report released yesterday.

Severe winter weather contributed to a below-average number of closings, but the sales that did happen were clustered on the high end of the market, said Jonathan Miller, an appraiser and CEO of Miller Samuel in Manhattan, who published the report.

Miller said a strong year for Wall Street helped push prices higher in the Hamptons. The average bonus on Wall Street climbed to a record $246,900 last year, with firms' profits increasing more than 30% to $65.1 billion, Newsday reported last month.

More than 1 in 5 homes sold for $5 million or more during the first quarter. The share of sales at or above that price point, at 21.2%, was a record for the South Fork.

"There was a tremendous shift in the mix toward higher-end properties in the Hamptons," said Miller.

Jonathan LaMantia reports in NEWSDAY that prices rose faster in the Hamptons than elsewhere on Long Island. On the North Fork, the median price rose 5.8% to $999,999, the report showed. That was shy of the record price of nearly $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2025.

On Long Island, excluding the East End, the median price rose 4.7% during the first quarter, compared with the same stretch a year ago, increasing to $738,444. OneKey MLS, the multiple listing service covering Long Island, reported a similar moderate increase in prices in its March report released earlier this week.

Despite the strong performance at the top of the market in the Hamptons, there were only 292 sales during the first quarter, down about 31% year over year. The number of deals also was down nearly 17% compared with the average number of closings that have occurred during the past decade. The data reflects sales of one- to three-family homes and condos, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the number of homes on the market at the end of March in the Hamptons, at 1,037, was down about 10% from the same time a year ago.

"The market is underperforming, and I think that's largely because of the lack of inventory," Miller said.

Paul Brennan, an associate broker at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Bridgehampton, believes many homeowners who would like to upgrade or downsize in the Hamptons don't like the selection or the current prices.

"Much of it is because there's nowhere to go," Brennan said. "There's just not a lot of inventory to go to, and it's going to cost you more money."

Options are particularly limited for buyers searching for properties under $1 million. Those sales represented a record low 13% of all deals in the first quarter, the data showed.

Arrests made over charges of bribery within East Hampton Town

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Arrests made after an investigation cloaked in strict secrecy and undertaken by the Suffolk County district attorney’s office, over charges that staffers were taking bribes to expedite permits, sent shockwaves through East Hampton Town last week.

At the helm in that office at that time was former East Hampton Town Chief Building Inspector Joe Palermo, who was the first to notice — and report — what looked like unusual patterns: Building permits that should take weeks to process were being approved in a matter of days. His reports nearly two years ago ultimately launched an investigation by the district attorney’s office that ultimately led to two people being charged and indicted on five counts of receiving bribes, a class D felony, and five counts of official misconduct, a misdemeanor.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that Evelyn Calderon, a suspended office staffer, and Ryan Benitez, a former building inspector, are now awaiting their next court date, which is slated for May 21.

“We did such a huge volume in the Town Building Department — it's always, always busy,” Palermo said. “A mistake can always happen. But, usually, if something happens, you look into it and you make sure you correct it.”

One example came where a pool was being constructed outside a double setback. The Building Department sent the applicant to the Zoning Board of Appeals, and Palermo realized that the permit was turned around almost immediately. Typically, such a permit would get logged in, and the total turnaround would be around four weeks.

Palermo, at that time, began to get suspicious — and those suspicions were echoed elsewhere in the department. Others began to point out discrepancies.

“That’s when I realized what was going on,” Palermo said.

Palermo, who had been asking town officials what he should do, was told to observe and document — take notes, make copies — any actions that appeared suspicious, as his reports were being investigated.

Suffolk D.A. spokeswoman Emily O’Neill said interviews with the people who are said to have paid Calderon is what ultimately unraveled the scheme. This is how the D.A.’s office got word that Calderon would allegedly send half the money to Benitez as part of the stated operation.

The Suffolk County D.A. investigation did not involve working with the leaders of the local government. Investigations of that nature require strict secrecy, O’Neill said, to bring them to a successful conclusion. However, she said, the East Hampton Town attorney’s office did initially bring the stated issue forward, and a former employee in the Building Department was a “huge help and important resource.”

***

The group of five residents who are suing Southampton Village for following through with a land swap plan that would alienate Lola Prentice Memorial Park as part of a plan to build a sewage treatment plant have filed a petition for civil contempt against the Southampton Village Board. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the filing stems from a vote that the board took at its meeting on March 12 to support the passage of a pair of bills in the New York State Assembly and Senate — sponsored by Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni and Senator Anthony Palumbo — to alienate the park as part of the land swap. The plaintiffs have said that the board’s support of this, and involving the park in the plan, violates a 2019 Suffolk County Supreme Court injunction that ordered the village to use the park “for education or recreational purposes only.”

In the petition, the plaintiffs argue that by voting for this resolution, the board “disobeyed the order” despite alleging that “each respondent had knowledge of the order prior to undertaking the above described actions…The aforesaid actions taken by the village and Village Board, collectively and individually, have impaired, frustrated and prejudiced each of the petitioners’ rights and benefits obtained by the order,” the petition reads.

Southampton Village’s current plan is to acquire the property at 135 Windmill Lane, currently home to The Express News Group, demolish the building and turn it into a new dog park. The plant would be located on village-owned property behind the ambulance barn, while leach fields would be located underground at the current park.

If a judge finds that members of the board acted in contempt of court, they could be subject to fines or possible jail time.

The village is holding an information session about the sewer plan this coming Saturday, April 18, at Southampton Village Hall at 10 a.m. The meeting will also be streamed on Zoom, which multiple attendees lobbied for on April 9.

***

East End police officers will take part in the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee’s “No Empty Chair” campaign during the week of April 20, with enforcement and education efforts focused on teen driving safety. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that school resource officers and patrol officers will participate in outreach and enforcement aimed at reducing dangerous driving during prom and graduation season.

The traffic safety committee’s message to teens is simple.

“Be buckled up. Be a cell-free motorist. Be a sober driver. Be in your chair on graduation day.”

The statewide campaign runs from Monday, April 20, through Friday, April 24.

The campaign includes daily enforcement themes next week.

· Monday, April 20: underage drinking and impaired driving

· Tuesday, April 21: seat belts and child restraints

· Wednesday, April 22: cell phone use and texting

· Thursday, April 23: Operation Safe Stop

· Friday, April 24: speeding in school zones

The campaign is intended to raise awareness of highway dangers and promote safe driving habits among young motorists, police said. The release says New York State and local law enforcement agencies will increase patrols near high schools and focus on violations of the Graduated Driver Licensing law and other traffic offenses.

For more information, visit trafficsafety.ny.gov.

***

State budget talks appeared revived yesterday by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s surprise pied-à-terre tax proposal — but several sticking points remain, including her pitches to implement protest buffer zones around houses of worship and to reform auto insurance. Vaughn Golden reports in THE NY POST that Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) acknowledged “incremental progress” was being made in negotiations behind closed doors, including inching closer to a deal on new anti-ICE measures proposed by Hochul.

The governor’s $263 billion state budget proposal was due for approval by April 1.

Stewart-Cousins expressed optimism about Hochul’s pitch to slap multi-million dollar second homes in New York City with a new tax. “The pied-a-terre is something that we’d considered and pushed our house before,” she said.

Stewart-Cousins said that the Legislature and governor have moved towards compromises on two major issues that were at an impasse – delays to the state’s controversial climate law’s mandates and new policies meant to further restrict local governments’ ability to work with federal immigration enforcement agents.

The New York 4 All bill would effectively implement statewide sanctuary policies.

Still, Stewart Cousins admitted there’s little hope of resolving talks ahead of the three-week-late mark next Tuesday.

Hochul and lawmakers remain far apart on her proposed changes to liability statutes meant to change the definition of “serious injury” as to cut down on car accident fraud and thus theoretically lower insurance rates on everyday drivers.

New issues are also starting to bubble towards the surface of the closed-door negotiations, such as resistance to Hochul’s pitch to restrict protests within 25 feet of a house of worship in response to antisemitic demonstrations outside of synagogues, including a particularly rowdy November protest outside the historic Park East synagogue in Manhattan.

Lawmakers are set to vote again today on another stop gap spending measure to keep state workers paid.

***

The Riverhead Fire Department will host a recruitment event this coming Sunday afternoon, April 19, from 4 to 7 p.m. at department headquarters, 540 Roanoke Ave., in Riverhead…inviting community members to learn what it takes to become a volunteer firefighter. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that all are welcome to stop by and speak with department members and officers about joining the all-volunteer department, training requirements, benefits and the application process, Riverhead Fire Chief Pete Kurzyna said.

The department is seeking new recruits at a time when volunteer fire departments across Long Island and New York continue to face recruitment challenges.

“Once you get the feeling of getting on that truck and helping people out, you want to respond to every call,” Kurzyna said.

To be eligible to join, applicants must be at least 18 years old, live within the Riverhead Fire District and possess a valid New York State driver’s license.

Kurzyna said there is extensive training during a new member’s first year, but the experience is valuable.

“Joining the fire service opens up a lot for your career, especially for a young person,” he said.

The department provides training, gear and equipment at no cost, according to recruitment information posted on the Riverhead Fire Department website. Benefits include participation in the Length of Service Awards Program, a free gym membership, professional training and certifications, and opportunities for leadership and skill development.

The website emphasizes both the practical and personal rewards of volunteering, describing the department as a place where members gain a sense of purpose, lifelong friendships and the pride of serving their community.

People interested in joining or learning more about the Riverhead Fire Department are invited to stop by their Roanoke Avenue headquarters this coming Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

***

While researching the exhibit “Homefront to Battlefront: Southampton During World War II” exhibit, Southampton History Museum Curator Stephen Gould went to Veterans Hall to do some research. While there, he found a dog tag with the name Warren Lutz on it. Intrigued, Gould looked into Lutz and his story, which he included in the exhibit. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the museum has now received a donation of three medals — a Purple Heart, Military Merit Medal and a small metal heart engraved with The Lord’s Prayer — that Lutz was awarded for his service in World War II. The medals enter the museum’s collection to honor Lutz, one of many Southampton residents who died serving their country during the second world war.

Lutz graduated from Southampton High School in 1939 and then trained as a pilot. He was assigned to the 368th Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, of the Army Air Forces, the primarily aerial military branch of the American military before the Air Force’s founding in 1947.

On April 29, 1944, the group flew to outside of Berlin to attack rail yards outside the city. While flying back, the plane was struck from the ground and crashed. Two men survived, though the rest of the crew, and the 23-year-old Lutz died.

But when the Germans went the crash site, they found Lutz’s remains and dog tags. His remains were sent back stateside, where he was buried at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville.

Lutz was one of dozens of Southampton residents who served in World War II.

Lutz and other veterans will be recognized by the Southampton Union Free School District as part of its Wall of Distinction Induction Ceremony tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the Southampton High School auditorium.

***

Peconic Landing hosts a panel discussion with the North Fork Environmental Council, “Rising Tides & Rising Rents,” on how we address the North Fork housing crisis while protecting the environment. That’s tomorrow afternoon from 3 to 4:00 pm at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

Panel Speakers include:

Gwynn Schroeder – Government Liason, Town of Southold
Glynis Barry – Partner, Studio a/b Architects
Andrea Menjivar – Community Development Project Supervisor, Southold Town
Diana “Dinni” Gorden – Chair, Greenport Village Affordable Housing Committee

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the stakes couldn’t be higher: the average home prices in Southold Town have hit $1 million. Some residents repeatedly block affordable housing proposals over “NIMBY” concerns. There are over 1000 short-term rentals, which has exacerbated the affordable housing crisis. The lack of affordable housing is reshaping our economy as small businesses lose year-round employees and customers alike.

On the environmental end, the Peconic Estuary is reeling from severe nitrogen pollution to devastating shellfish die-off’s. There is a growing push to bring in water from up island as the aquifer is pushed to its limits. Climate change and rising sea levels are the elephant in the room.

And while Governor Hochul pushes to streamline New York’s landmark environmental review law, SEQRA, to build more housing, environmental groups argue it risks destroying our environment.

This panel will grapple with these challenges by asking questions such as: can we build housing for everyone who wants to live here, and if so, what would we need to do? Are Governor Hochul’s reforms to SEQRA justified? What role does expanding transit play in both affordable housing and environmental conservation? And is the main problem too many people, or a few people consuming too much?

That’s “Rising Tides & Rising Rents,” tomorrow starting at 3 p.m. in Peconic Landing, 1500 Brecknock Road in Greenport.

Riverhead Country Fair not being held on 50th anniversary

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

A Deer Park orthopedic spinal surgeon, accused of copying and pasting 43 virtually identical surgical reports, has been named in another federal racketeering lawsuit, this time for providing unnecessary spinal surgeries on drivers and passengers involved in allegedly staged motor vehicle crashes with FedEx vehicles.

The wide-ranging lawsuit, filed last week by FedEx in New York's Southern District, alleges that Dr. Alexios Apazidis, along with two dozen other physicians, lawyers, chiropractors and radiologists, conspired to bilk the mammoth delivery company through sham lawsuits and inflated medical bills.

Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that the RICO lawsuit is the latest to pull back the veil on what critics contend is an interconnected fraud scheme in which motorists claim catastrophic injuries from motor vehicle crashes that they deliberately caused and then — at the recommendation of their attorneys — seek treatment at preferred medical providers. All of the accidents cited in the lawsuit occurred in the five N.Y.C. boroughs.

The FedEx lawsuit, which follows the pattern of similar complaints filed across the country by the ridesharing service Uber, comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul has launched a crackdown on staged vehicle crashes that cause drivers’ insurance premiums to escalate.

Long Island, Hochul said recently in Deer Park, has seen an 80% increase in auto premiums since 2019, in large part due to criminal networks that conspire to stage accidents and provide unneeded medical treatment to extort large settlements or insurance payouts.

"The FedEx RICO case underscores exactly why Governor Hochul's auto insurance reforms are needed now," Hochul spokeswoman Kristin Devoe said in a statement. "This case is not unique and New Yorkers are paying the price for a system that allows loopholes to be exploited by bad actors, driving up premiums across the board for everyone. The governor's proposal is about stopping these scams, lowering premiums and protecting law abiding New Yorkers."

Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, an advocacy organization that supports the governor's proposed changes, said the lawsuit should serve as a "wake-up call" to state lawmakers who have resisted Hochul's reform measures.

"States throughout the country are enacting liability reforms for a reason," Stebbins said. "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy, staged car crashes have become big business for crooked doctors and lawyers."

The 2026-27 New York State budget was due April 1st. Disagreements continue over policy items, including a climate bill and car insurance reform as well as this “staged accident issue.”

***

East Hampton Town officials say that multiple pairs of eyes now see each application that comes through the Building Department, ensuring in the wake of a major bribery investigation that all is done above board.

The way the beleaguered Building Department handled applications in the past had been “vertical,” in the words of East Hampton Town officials, meaning that each application went to – and stayed with – one building inspector throughout the process. This approach, which town officials said was new, was described, then, as “horizontal.”

But they say that the process now mirrors that used in departments in western towns, which have exponentially greater populations but roughly the same number of building applications.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that East Hampton Town Principal Building Inspector Richard Normoyle took the helm at the Building Department, which had been plagued with a backlog, turnover and lawsuits, late last year, bringing with him a 30-year background in municipal building operations that included employment in western towns, such as Huntington and Babylon.

“We're ensuring that this type of thing never takes place by breaking apart some of the responsibilities that the building inspectors previously held by themselves,” Normoyle said this week.

“The way the process used to work was once the application came in, the building inspectors would handle the process pretty much from beginning to end,” Normoyle said. “They would review the documents. They would do the inspections. They would write the permit fees. They would write the descriptions. These are now jobs that are going to be broken apart.”

But the investigation conducted by the district attorney’s office, which culminated in charges of receiving bribes against Evelyn Calderon, a suspended office staffer, and Ryan Benitez, a former building inspector, was not the only reason for the changes to departmental operations recently undertaken.

East Hampton Town officials say the procedural changes are also a means of boosting procedural efficiency in the department, bringing it more in line with the processes that Normoyle saw while he worked in western towns.

***

Shelter Island Friends of Music presents Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, on piano in concert this coming Saturday, April 18, at 6pm in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. A full capacity crowd is expected so you are encouraged to arrive early to get a seat. Due to fire code regulations, organizers cannot guarantee seating once that capacity is reached.

Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner has emerged as one of the most compelling pianists of his generation.

Saturday’s concert is free; donations are greatly appreciated.

The performance will begin promptly at 6 pm this coming Saturday in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church with no intermission.

You are invited to a reception with Llewellyn immediately following the concert!

For further info visit the Shelter Island Friends of Music website at sifriendsofmusic.org.

***

A defiant Sag Harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella refused to resign from his post last night after all four of his fellow board members voted in favor of a resolution formally requesting his resignation. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the resolution was one of four additional resolutions that the board added to the meeting agenda related to the mayor’s conduct over the past few months, and to an investigative report that found he’d breached the Village of Sag Harbor’s social media conduct and harassment policies.

The board also presented findings of a “pattern of procedural avoidance,” accusing the mayor of “statutory neglect” and “breach of fiduciary duty” related to the budget development process.

The board introduced a resolution to waive privilege attached to the investigative report prepared by labor attorney Vince Toomey related to Gardella’s behavior on social media, which included screenshots of his social media posts and interactions with various social media users, including members of the community, as well as emails sent to the village detailing concerns about his conduct.

The report recommended that the mayor participate in one-on-one social media and anti-harassment training, which the mayor agreed to at the meeting. The report also stated “that the board may wish to censure the mayor” to “publicly distance” itself from his comments and make it clear they aren’t reflective of the board at large, which the board voted to do.

While Mayor Gardella said he welcomed the opportunity to participate in social media and anti-harassment training, he was not willing to go further than that.

That report also accused Gardella of “a pattern of procedural avoidance” during the budget preparation, including “systematically bypassing” safeguards like consulting with labor counsel and senior administrative staff and the board. They also highlighted that the mayor had engaged in “unauthorized and unvetted negotiations for selective salary adjustments totaling an estimated $250,000 annually, which would have inflicted a $2,865,970 cumulative fiscal burden on taxpayers over the next decade.”

They accused Gardella of assigning indiscriminate raises to staff, and ignoring repeated warnings from senior administrative staff, and said he attempted to shift accountability for his own budget filings onto senior administrative staff.

The Sag Harbor Village Board will get together again this coming Friday at 3 p.m. for a special budget meeting before adopting their 2026-27 budget.

***

The Riverhead Country Fair will not take place this year, the 50th anniversary of the popular event’s founding in 1976. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the country fair committee announced the cancellation in a Facebook post yesterday. The committee has decided to put the country fair “on hold until the downtown construction is completed,” the post said.

“We have no place to be,” Sue Young, who serves on the board of directors of Riverhead Townscape, which produces the October event told Riverheadlocal.

Construction of downtown buildings on the south side of East Main Street makes use of the East End Arts Council grounds and the eastern portion of the Peconic River parking lot infeasible, Young said. The green space of the East End Arts campus hosts the agriculture and homemakers competitions and displays, while the carnival is held in the eastern area of the parking lot. Both of those sites will very soon become or be in close proximity to construction zones.

It’s not clear when the fair might be able to return, or whether the future configuration of the arts council campus or the riverfront parking lot — where a playground is planned —will provide space for the fair after construction is completed, Young said.

The fair as we know it was founded by Riverhead Townscape, an organization established during the American bicentennial year of 1976 to beautify downtown Riverhead. It is held annually on the Sunday of Columbus Day weekend.

But the event is a Riverhead staple that can trace its roots all the way back to the 1840s. From the 1840s until some time during the Great Depression, Riverhead had hosted the annual Suffolk County Agricultural Society Fair at the Suffolk County Fair Grounds, on property off Pulaski Street — later sold to the Riverhead school district. After the Depression it was held “only erratically” until the group of residents who founded Townscape decided in 1976 to resurrect the event, longtime country fair organizer Jim Lull told RiverheadLOCAL in 2010.

The Riverhead County Fair typically takes place rain or shine. But last year, with a nor’easter bearing down on the region, the fair committee decided to cancel the event. With its cancellation this year and likely continued disruption in the next few years, organizers will have to work hard to revive it, Young acknowledged — if there is even a place for it downtown.

***

Southampton Fire Department will open its doors to the public on Sunday, April 19 as part of the statewide RecruitNY Weekend initiative, offering residents an opportunity to learn about volunteering in the fire service.

The open house…this coming Sunday…is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the department’s headquarters at 470 Hampton Road in Southampton. The event is part of a broader effort involving hundreds of volunteer fire departments across New York state aimed at raising awareness about the need for new members.

Volunteer fire departments statewide have faced declining membership alongside increasing call volumes, creating an urgent need to recruit additional volunteers to maintain emergency response capabilities. The Southampton Fire Department is among those seeking to strengthen its ranks to continue providing essential services to the community.

This Sunday in Southampton, visitors will be invited to tour the station and firefighting apparatus, try on gear, observe demonstrations and speak directly with current volunteers about the responsibilities and rewards of service. Firefighters will also be available to answer questions and provide information about how to join.

Officials encourage residents of all ages, including families, to attend and explore the opportunities available through volunteer service.

For more information, visit southamptonfd.org or call the non-emergency phone number at 631-283-0853

***

Today is April 15, 2026….which means if you do not file your income tax by midnight, you will likely face a "failure-to-file" penalty of 5% of your unpaid taxes per month, up to 25%. You should file as soon as possible, even if you cannot pay, to minimize penalties and interest. If you are owed a refund, there is no penalty, but you must file within three years to claim it. If you are mailing your return today you must bring it directly to a post office before closing time…generally 5 p.m. to avoid a penalty.

Most Americans of course have already filed. Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that with tax season almost done, Long Islanders are starting to receive refunds in what the White House has said will be the "biggest tax refund season ever" and the first after major tax reforms passed the U.S. Congress last year.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, as of April 3, the average refund amount was $3,462, up by more than 11% from last year, totaling about $242 billion.

The nonprofit Tax Foundation has said larger refunds and lower liability due at filing this year are largely because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will yield roughly $100 billion in higher refunds, with average refunds increasing between $300 to $1,000 compared with a typical year.

The White House put the average refund increase at $1,000 "or more" and touts them as "putting more money back in the pockets of families, workers, and seniors."

The left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress, using data cited by the White House and congressional Republicans, put the average increase at $331 to $748, with the "vast majority" of that money going to people earning more than $100,000. The think tank said filers with incomes over $200,000 will see refunds averaging $2,046, while those with incomes under $20,000 will get an average of $13.

In Newsday interviews this week, some Long Islanders talked about putting their money toward home improvements; others said they needed it to meet rising costs for food, gas and other goods.

Sag Harbor proposed budget would hike village taxes $600 for median home

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

President Donald Trump’s attack on Pope Leo XIV offended Long Island Catholics who spoke with Newsday yesterday, including some Republicans who otherwise support the president.

They said they disliked Trump saying Leo is "weak on crime" and caters to "the radical left" and Trump subsequently comparing himself to Jesus Christ in an apparently AI-generated image. The image disappeared from Trump's social media on Monday after backlash. Trump then said it was meant to show him working as a doctor for the Red Cross healing people. Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that the Rev. Francis Pizzarelli, a Roman Catholic priest and founder of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson, said that "the president really crossed the line when he disrespected the Holy Father and that should not be acceptable to any God-fearing person…It’s just another thing where the president thinks he can really go after someone with an ad hominem attack if they don’t agree with him." Father Pizzarelli added, "I don’t understand why our political leaders have not called him to task with cleaning up his language and to stop demeaning people. He’s the president of the United States. ... At least treat people respectfully."

The backlash on Long Island, home to 1.2 million baptized Catholics, came after a poll showed President Trump's standing slipping among Catholics nationwide.

Trump won the Catholic vote in the 2024 presidential election by a 12-percentage point margin over Kamala Harris, 55% to 43%. But he now has an approval rating of 48% among Catholics, according to a poll conducted jointly between March 20 and 23 by Republican pollster Shaw & Co. Research and Democratic pollster Beacon Research.

***

The Long Island Rail Road has fired another worker who admitted to possessing a cloned employee ID card that coworkers used to cover up for his absences.

Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that the termination of road car inspector Eric Smith marks the resolution of the last remaining disciplinary case against the 36 employees implicated in the ID card counterfeiting and distribution ring uncovered in a three-year investigation by the office of Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General Daniel Cort, which announced the firing on social media Friday.

Exploiting a COVID-era health precaution that suspended the requirement that workers scan their fingers at biometric time clocks, the workers used equipment purchased on Amazon to run off duplicates of employee ID cards, then kept the extra cards at their job locations, including a Ronkonkoma facility where Smith worked, investigators said. Employees would use the cloned cards to swipe coworkers in and out when they arrived to work late, left early or took extended breaks, according to investigators.

MTA payroll records show Smith, who worked for the LIRR since 1997, made $164,925 in 2024, the most recent year for which data was available.

LIRR officials have said they’ve taken several measures to prevent employee wage abuse in the future, installing security cameras near time clocks and mandating regular audits of worker facilities by managers. In September 2024, the MTA reinstated the finger-scanning requirement at biometric time clocks.

***

The Peconic Baykeeper will be leading two marsh cleanups, on Saturday April 18 and Saturday April 26. After the destruction wreaked around our coastlines by ice on the bays this winter much help is needed. Mike Wright reports on 27east.com that the April 19 Meadow Lane Marsh and Shoreline Community Cleanup event will focus on the vast marshlands along the Shinnecock Bay shoreline off Meadow Lane in Southampton Village.

The Baykeeper will have a 10-yard dumpster on site for disposing of the collected junk. Baykeeper Peter Topping says “the more the merrier” for volunteers!

The gang will be gathering at the Dune Beach parking area in Southampton at 9 a.m. this Saturday.

There will be complimentary beer and wine, courtesy of the Southampton Publick House, for those volunteers over 21.

The second event, Saturday April 26, will focus on the Sag Harbor shorelines and will start at the Breakwater Yacht Club at 10:30 a.m.

For more information about either event, call the Baykeeper’s offices at 631-653-4804

***

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is taking off the gloves, accusing the powerful trial lawyers lobbying group of outright lying about her plan aimed at saving a bundle on car insurance.

Carl Campanile reports in THE NY POST that Governor Hochul is proposing changing the legal definition of “serious injury” to cut down on frivolous and fraudulent claims such as staged accidents and to cap the damages victims can receive if they are uninsured, convicted of impaired driving, or have a felony conviction connected to the accident.

At a recent press conference, the Trial Lawyers Association — accompanied by Assemblywoman Jen Lunsford (D-Rochester) — presented a handful of cases of accident victims, claiming Hochul’s proposal would have negatively impacted their ability to collect damages. But the Hochul administration reviewed the cases and claimed none of the victims would have been impacted by her proposal.

“Exploiting victims of serious accidents to peddle false information and misconstrue facts is a new low,” a Hochul spokesperson said. “The governor’s auto insurance proposals are a common sense way to root out fraud, waste and abuse, without stripping legitimate victims of their rightful compensation. While special interests continue to put profits first, Governor Hochul will continue to focus on driving down costs for New Yorkers.”

In response, a Trial Lawyers Association rep called Hochul’s analysis “blatantly false.”

“These claims are blatantly false, just like the fiction being sold to the public that this plan will result in savings.” Hochul’s proposals “incentivize the defendant to drag out the case, aiming to shift just enough blame onto the victim to avoid paying anything at all.”

A grieving family “could be left with nothing”—based on a disputed allocation of fault—under the governor’s plan, the TLA rep said.

Data show that New York drivers pay the highest car insurance rates in the nation, shelling out more than $4,000 on average.

NY POST sources say the auto insurance issue is one of the major hold-ups in adopting a new state budget, which was due April 1.

***

Sag Harbor has proposed a new budget that hikes village taxes by $600 for the median home, but officials are looking to scale back the increase before adopting a final plan.

Mayor Thomas Gardella's $18.4 million budget proposal would increase spending by 16% in the next year. It would raise the village tax levy from $9.2 million to $10.5 million, which would result in a tax hike of just under $600 for a home assessed at the median market value of $1.5 million, according to Alexandra Balserus, the village treasurer.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the current budget totals $15.9 million. The new fiscal year runs from June 1 through May 31, 2027.

Mayor Gardella said the Village of Sag Harbor is imposing a hefty increase this time, but future ones would likely be smaller. He described the tentative plan as a “wish list.” The mayor and trustees have already begun identifying areas for cuts so the tax hike is smaller.

“We want to definitely set that rate to where we take that initial hit and then as we move forward, as the years go by, we can achieve where we want to be without having to go back to the taxpayer again for anything substantial,” Gardella said when he introduced the budget during a recent meeting.

The budget proposes using $582,487 in reserves to offset tax increases. But some officials said they are wary of dipping into the fund balance, arguing it could jeopardize the village's credit rating.

Officials have outlined possible trims to the tentative spending plan.

Among them is a proposed $150,000 cut for traffic mitigation measures. A study is underway but the village does not have a cost estimate for implementing potential recommendations, which could include rearranging crosswalks. Funding for improvements could come from outside grants or future budgets, officials said.

Sag Harbor officials also proposed trimming $30,000 from the $150,000 set aside for consultants who conduct environmental and traffic reviews required for large construction projects. Village officials said those costs have been underbudgeted in past years. Developers pay a portion of the expense.

***

The Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE) will host an Earth Day Swap Party this coming Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its location in Bridgehampton.

The free, family-friendly event invites community members to donate gently used books, puzzles and sports equipment between now and April 18, then return to “swap” items during the event. Organizers say the initiative promotes sustainability while giving children access to new-to-them recreational and educational materials.

Accepted donation items include complete puzzles, board books, children’s graphic novels and a range of sports gear such as shin guards, cleats, helmets, balls, bats, hockey and lacrosse sticks, as well as balance bikes and scooters.

Admission is free, and advance registration is encouraged. Visit cmee.org.

That’s the Earth Day Swap Party at CMEE in Bridgehampton this coming Saturday at 1 p.m.

***

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dropped into Montauk this spring to remove wooden beach access walkways damaged in the storms of 2023 and 2024 that have since sat dilapidated and blocked off.

Tucked on the edge of downtown Montauk, the battered walkways had hung like a ghost over the beach the past few years…a constant reminder of the storms that battered the area and necessitated infrastructure projects like the recently completed Ditch Plains dune restoration. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that a typical sand beach access point will replace the now-removed wooden walkways once the Army Corps put the final touches on the necessary work, which is expected to happen within the next few weeks. Early May is the target for completion.

Montauk beach nourishment came as a result of the Fire Island to Montauk Point – or FIMP – project in early 2024. FIMP was a highly anticipated, but chronically and infamously stalled, plan that is aimed at boosting the coastal resiliency of the target areas. The roots of the plan stretch back to the 1960s.

Removing the damaged wooden walkways is also part of FIMP and this latest piece is being fully funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The contracts were awarded in January; the work has been underway for the past few weeks.

East Hampton Town officials had asked for the broken walkways, of which there are four total, to be removed as part of FIMP back in 2024, not long after the storms rolled through the area.

The Montauk beach nourishment came as a result of the Fire Island to Montauk Point – or FIMP – project in early 2024. FIMP was a highly anticipated, but chronically and infamously stalled, plan that is aimed at boosting the coastal resiliency of the target areas. The roots of the plan stretch back to the 1960s.

East Hampton Town officials had asked for the broken walkways, of which there are four total, to be removed as part of FIMP back in 2024, not long after the storms rolled through the area. The sand paths are expected to be just as effective for beach access.

This work also serves as a prelude to the next beach nourishment project, under FIMP, which will likely come in the next few years. Under an agreement between New York State, East Hampton Town and the Army Corps, beach nourishments are expected to happen every four years. East Hampton Town officials are on the hook for 15 percent of the total cost, which is expected to even out to around $27.6 million over the next 30 years.

“The Town Board has a very good working relationship with the Army Corps of Engineers,” East Hampton Town Councilman David Lys said.

Suffolk County may be declared "disaster area" over oyster crop

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The Trump administration's $2.2 trillion budget proposal prioritizes defense spending while proposing significant cuts to domestic programs, notably targeting New York and other blue states for alleged program mismanagement.

Proposed cuts include eliminating the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, prompting bipartisan opposition from local lawmakers concerned about the high cost of energy.

Lawmakers and officials, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, criticize the budget for exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis and prioritizing military spending over essential domestic programs.

Laura Figueroa Hernandez reports in NEWSDAY that the proposed budget also calls for the elimination of the $3.3 billion Community Development Block Grant program, which has long been used by municipalities to build affordable housing and improve blighted neighborhoods, and cutting $393 million in federal funding for homeless programs.

Members of Long Island’s congressional delegation have raised concerns about some of the cuts, particularly to the heating and cooling assistance program that the administration tried unsuccessfully to eliminate last year and as well as during Trump's first four years in office. Those attempts failed amid bipartisan pushback, and lawmakers told Newsday they’re prepared to fight again for the program. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), noting he is "the only Northeast Republican on the House Appropriations Committee," said that last year he helped secure support for an additional $20 million in funding for the LIHEAP program, but he also blamed Hochul and state lawmakers for not doing enough to keep energy prices down.

"I will continue fighting to support LIHEAP so Long Island families can afford their energy bills and stay safe," LaLota said.

Another Suffolk County U.S. Congressman, Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), told NEWSDAY, "Cutting LIHEAP is the wrong approach for those already struggling with high energy costs, especially in high-cost regions like Long Island, where energy bills can be a real burden." Garbarino noted that during past attempts to cut the program he has led a bipartisan effort in support of maintaining its funding.

***

The East End’s representatives to the New York State Legislature have introduced new legislation that would give commercial fishermen immediate relief from the state’s fuel tax, as a way to ease the burden of skyrocketing gas prices. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that since the Trump administration ordered U.S. military forces to join an Israeli assault on Iran, the per gallon price of the diesel fuel their boats run on has more than doubled, fishermen said this week.

Commercial fishermen are entitled to relief from state taxes, much like farmers are. But, unlike the agriculture industry, they have to pay the full price for their fuel at the pump and then can apply to the state for a rebate, which can take months to get back.

The bill introduced last week by NYS Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni of Sag Harbor and State Senator Anthony Palumbo of New Suffolk would give fishermen the break immediately so they do not have to carry the costs of the fuel taxes, as well as the increased burden of the cost of gas until the red tape clears.

The state’s three largest commercial fishing ports are all in the 1st Assembly and Senate districts represented by Schiavoni and Palumbo.

A similar bill that Palumbo has introduced in the State Senate would extend the fuel tax exemption to charter boat captains, as long as they can show that they earn at least 50 percent of their annual income from running for-hire fishing trips on their vessel.

Whether the proposal will win support from the rest of the Legislature and the governor’s office, and how quickly it can be implemented if it does, remains to be seen.

New York State budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 has not passed yet. It was due April 1st.

***

The Summer Program to Fight Hunger and Climate Change is open to rising freshmen through seniors and provides modest stipends along with environmental education focused on Long Island’s unique ecology. Students who complete 60 hours of supervised volunteer work will be eligible to receive a $300 stipend. Participants may also choose to complete fewer hours to earn community service credit while still taking part in the educational programming.

The program runs from the end of the East Hampton School District academic year in June through Labor Day, connecting students with local residents and nonprofit organizations working to protect biodiversity across the region’s green spaces and waterways. Applications for both interns and volunteers opened April 1 and are available to the end of the month.

ReWild Long Island also welcomes adult mentors and volunteers to support its South Fork chapter.

For more information or to apply, visit the program page at https://www.rewildlongisland.org/summerprogram.

***

The Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals held a lengthy and contentious public hearing last Thursday night on Stony Brook Medicine’s proposal to locate an ambulance storage and service facility in the rear portion of the former Big Lots space at Staples Plaza, 1087 Route 58 in Riverhead.

The hearing ended without a decision by the board, which kept the record open for written comments until April 23. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the owner of the shopping center is seeking a zoning code interpretation on whether the proposed use is permitted in the Shopping Center zoning district, or, in the alternative, a variance from the code to allow the proposed use.

The ZBA originally held the hearing on Jan. 8 and reserved its decision to a later date. Before it made a decision, Peconic Bay Medical Center, asked the ZBA to reopen the hearing.

The application seeks permission to use about 14,236 square feet of the former Big Lots store for storage space for up to eight ambulances and one mobile stroke unit, along with office, training, break room and supply space.

The proposal drew opposition Thursday from Northwell Health/Peconic Bay Medical Center, whose Riverhead hospital is located close to the shopping center and is preparing to open a thrombectomy-capable stroke center. PBMC and Stony Brook are competitors in the regional health care market.

Speaking on behalf of PBMC, President and CEO Amy Loeb said the hospital supports advanced stroke care but questioned the need to base a mobile stroke unit a short distance from a hospital that is about to open a thrombectomy-capable stroke center.

Former PBMC president Andrew Mitchell told the board the issue before it was not whether mobile stroke units are beneficial, but whether an ambulance garage belongs in a shopping center.

Deputy Town Attorney Annmarie Prudenti, who serves as counsel to the Riverhead ZBA, said the record would remain open for written comment until April 23, after which the board would consider the matter for reserved decision on May 14.

***

At the site of a proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Holtsville, about 100 people protested yesterday, decrying the plan and the agency's raids on Long Island and throughout the country.

"ICE out!" the crowd of faith leaders and others yelled outside a building housing Internal Revenue Service office space that could be transformed into an ICE detention and processing facility.

"We have organized here today to insist that Brookhaven Town not be a place of detention for immigrants [and] that we stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors here on Long Island," said the Rev. Kate Jones Calone, chair of the Long Island Immigrant Justice Alliance, which sponsored Sunday afternoon’s protest.

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that construction documents submitted to the Town of Brookhaven showed that the Holtsville facility could include holding cells and detainee interview rooms with handcuff bars.

The proposed site would be under the same roof as an existing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, which handles legal immigration requests. Federal immigration agents have detained people there who were making regular check-ins, eventually transferring them to cells at the federal court in Central Islip.

Later, the protesters piled into dozens of vehicles to make their voices heard at Brookhaven Town Hall, they said.

For their part, Brookhaven Town officials have rejected the plans, noting that holding cells are not permitted for office space under town code.

The town can’t permanently halt the project because the applicant can seek a zoning change or use variance for the privately owned two-story Barretts Avenue property, which the federal government leases, Newsday has reported.

Suffolk County said it does not participate in ICE’s local immigration enforcement partnership. Nassau County has a pact with ICE and last year detained upward of 2,600 immigrants at the county jail in East Meadow.

***

Peconic Landing hosts a panel discussion with the North Fork Environmental Council, “Rising Tides & Rising Rents,” on how we address the North Fork housing crisis while protecting the environment. this coming Friday, April 17 from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Peconic Landing, 1500 Brecknock Road in Greenport.

North Fork Environmental Council’s mission is to raise environmental awareness on the North Fork, and move our east end community and representatives into action. Through education, N.F.E.C. provides the science and guidance needed to make informed decisions that protect our land and sea.

Rising Rents, Rising Tides: A NFEC Discussion is at Peconic Landing this Friday, April 17, 2026 at 3:00 PM.

***

Suffolk County may be declared a “disaster area” by the federal government over this year’s dismal oyster crop.

Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that the move would allow the region’s devastated oyster farms to unlock low-interest emergency federal loans to cover millions of dollars in losses as 30% of Suffolk’s oyster haul was decimated by this winter’s historic sustained freeze.

The money loss isn’t only bad news for the sea farmers, it’s lousy for oyster-lovers, too.

“Oysters are going to become a lot more expensive,” warned a rep for Long Island Shucking Truck, a traveling raw-oyster bar based on Long Island where those prices have now jumped to roughly $20 per pound, according to multiple local menus, with price hikes predicted to hit the shelves by the summer rush.

The region’s oyster industry is now facing bankruptcy, prompting New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to ask the US Department of Agriculture to issue a Secretarial Disaster Designation for Suffolk County.

“I urge the USDA to take swift action to declare Suffolk County a disaster area and help our growers get the assistance they need to recover and move forward,” Hochul said in a statement.

An emergency order would open the door for the region’s oyster and kelp farmers to apply for low-interest emergency federal loans — capped at $500,000 — that can be used to replace damaged gear, cover production costs and pay essential living expenses to wipe this year’s losses entirely for roughly 50 farms in the region. A rep for the USDA said the agency has received Governor Hochul’s request and is working to fast-track resources to its local Farm Service Agency county offices while it reviews the emergency-declaration order.

If the USDA approves the governor’s request, Suffolk farmers would have eight months from the date of the disaster declaration to apply to the relief program.

Land preservation efforts on up swing across North Fork

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Long Island Rail Road commuters now have an opportunity to weigh in on what they’d like to see in a reimagined Jamaica Station.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this morning the launch of a "customer engagement" effort as part of her proposed $50 million redesign of the Queens transit hub, which serves as the main transfer point for LIRR riders, and includes connections to buses, subways and the JFK AirTrain.

Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that starting today, customers can take an online survey with several questions about their experiences using Jamaica, and what improvements they’d like to see at the station, which serves 200,000 daily riders.

QR codes linking to the survey will be posted throughout Jamaica Station, along with staffed tables with information about the project. A poster tells customers that the survey "will help us identify areas for improvement and inform future planning and upgrades."

Hochul’s office said the survey, which will be available through May 8, focuses on "ticketing, wayfinding, transfer experience between agencies, and concessions."

Survey questions ask customers how satisfied they are with a number of issues relating to their experiences at Jamaica, including waits for LIRR transfers, availability of food and drink options, cleanliness, ease of travel from one mode of transportation to another, and "safety from crime or harassment."

Not included in the survey are any questions relating to customer comforts, including availability of seating and more spaces to take shelter from the elements. Several LIRR riders and advocates interviewed by Newsday in January said they hoped a redesign of the 113-year-old outdoor station would include the addition of more enclosed spaces.

It’s been nearly a quarter-century since Jamaica Station underwent meaningful upgrades as part of the opening of the adjacent AirTrain building in 2023.

***

A handful of spots at Montauk Harbor had to be touched up and deepened to the stated dredging depth of 17 feet, so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers redeployed a mechanical dredge to put the final touches on what has been a monthslong operation.

Now, though, neither the massive suction dredge, Oyster Bay, nor its smaller companion, Scrod II, are in the neighborhood. A mechanical barge, equipped with an excavator, was left over from the first phase of the operation and is spearheading this latest phase.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that East Hampton Town officials, who worked in tandem with the Army Corps of Engineers on what was planned as a jointly funded $11.6 million operation, had said earlier in March that the operation was complete – and the Army Corps confirmed this week that it was, in fact, deemed complete at the time.

The project appeared to be complete last month,” said Army Corps spokesman James D’Ambrosio. “However, surveys afterward indicated there were still high spots that needed to be removed by the contractor to reach the authorized depth.”

The purpose of the operation has been to restore safe navigation in and out of the harbor, which sees natural shoaling and had previously been reduced to three feet in some areas, which severely limits the ability of mariners to pass through.

The project had been years in the making and saw several pieces of heavy machinery descend on Montauk Harbor, including both suction dredges, a 30-foot-by-90-foot mechanical barge and two tugboats, Uncle Bill and Manhasset Bay.

***

Southampton Arts Center has received a $50,000 grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to support its upcoming exhibition, “The Story of America: 1776-2026, A Celebration of Freedom and Independence.”

The funding will help underwrite the presentation of the Museum of Democracy exhibition, which explores more than 250 years of American presidential campaign history. The exhibition is scheduled to be on view from May 23 through July 18.

“The Museum of Democracy’s collection of American campaign artifacts is unparalleled,” said Kathryn M. Curran, executive director of the Robert Lion Gardiner Foundation. “This exhibition is not only a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, but also a lesson in the power of the individual’s vote.”

“We are thrilled to receive a donation for this important historical show,” said Christina Mossaides Strassfield, executive director of Southampton Arts Center. “This generous support allows us to bring meaningful stories to the community and foster a deeper appreciation of history.”

The exhibition is part of a broader effort to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and highlight the evolution of democratic participation in the United States.

Southampton Arts Center is at 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton, NY 11968

***

A potential partnership involving the Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County and Peconic Land Trust could preserve about 145 acres in Baiting Hollow that Nassau County has owned and operated as a 4-H camp for more than a century. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the proposal, outlined during yesterday’s Riverhead Town Board work session, would divide the longtime camp property into several preservation components, with Suffolk County purchasing development rights on portions of the farmland, Peconic Land Trust coordinating the overall acquisition and Riverhead potentially acquiring a section as town open space.

Riverhead Town officials signaled support for taking a first step quickly, with town counsel saying a resolution could be prepared to authorize an appraisal of the portion that Riverhead might acquire.

“This is really, almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the town of Riverhead to acquire a Sound-front parcel with access to the beach,” Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski told the board.

The property, known as the Dorothy P. Flint 4-H Camp, has been owned by Nassau County for 101 years. Nassau County now wants to sell it, and preservation advocates told the board that time is short to assemble a deal that would protect as much of the site as possible from future development, Doroski said.

Julie Wesnofske of Peconic Land Trust said the property sits in the middle of a large block of protected land and farmland stretching from Sound Avenue to Long Island Sound, making it especially significant from both an ecological and public-access standpoint.

A land-status map prepared by Peconic Land Trust identifies the parcel at 145.53 acres. Another concept plan shows a proposed Riverhead acquisition area of 36.13 acres, alongside county purchases of development rights on other parts of the property and two small development areas totaling less than four acres.

The town-owned portion under discussion would be acquired as open space, though Riverhead Town officials and the project partners said that does not necessarily mean the land would be left entirely untouched.

***

Southold’s land preservation efforts are on a roll. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that on the heels of a vote in March to preserve 54 acres of land on the outskirts of Greenport, the Town of Southold is en route this week to preserving a vineyard in Cutchogue and a swath of bayfront property in the Bayview section of Southold. And next on the burner is another proposal to preserve nearly 35 acres on the south side Route 48 in Southold, across from the North Fork Flower Farm, which backs up to a tributary of Hashamomuck Pond.

The Southold Town Board will hold a public hearing on this acquisition at its April 21 meeting at 6 p.m. in the Peconic Community Center auditorium.

This property, which is in an R-80, two-acre residential zoning district, extends to Long Creek, a tributary of Hashamomuck Pond, an area where Southold and the county have already preserved a significant amount of land, including a 54-acre parcel earlier this spring.

The purchase price is estimated at $3.829 million, which works out to approximately $110,000 per acre, paid in a 50/50 split between the town and the county.

The property is three parcels currently owned by Moffat Farm South LLC, Moffat Farm Rabbit LLC and Moffat Farm Tiny LLC.

Southold Town says the property is being acquired “for open space, passive recreational purposes, wetland protection, shoreline protection, habitat protection and protection of forested land,” and that proposed uses may include “a nature preserve and/or passive recreational area with trails and limited parking,” subject to a management plan to be prepared for the property.

***

Ever wonder what’s being built in our North Fork community or the best way to get a message to Town Hall? Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Mary Eisenstein and Library Director Shauna Scholl invite residents of Mattituck and Laurel to an informational program tomorrow to help you navigate our local government with ease.

“Your Town, Your Voice: A Guide for Mattituck-Laurel Residents,” is tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon at the Mattituck-Laurel Library, on Main Road in Mattituck, New York…11952

During tomorrow morning’s free event you’ll get the facts on new projects like the construction on the Sacred Heart Parish property….you’ll be shown how to find what you need on the Southold Town website…Learn the most effective ways to communicate with town officials….and how to Stay in the Loop as they’ll provide you with a complete list of meetings and resources, from the Zoning Board to Channel 22.

That’s tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the Mattituck-Laurel Library.

***

Large lithium-ion battery storage plants proposed for Suffolk County comprise the bulk of dozens of proposed projects under review by New York State for development before the end of the decade, including several in Long Island towns that have battery moratoriums in effect.

In all, developers have proposed 11 projects in Suffolk for the state’s bulk-energy storage procurement solicitation initiated in July, with final awards due to be announced by June.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which administers green-energy contracts, said the solicitation would allow the owners of successful projects to be paid for the energy they provide to the grid "only once the project is built, operational, and available for charging and discharging."

A New York State Energy Research and Development Authority {NYSERDA} website listing the proposed projects notes that those deemed "eligible" for the program "does not guarantee that an energy storage project will be built."

The 11 projects, extending from Huntington to Calverton, are a response to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s call for 6,000 megawatts of battery storage plants to help meet ambitious green-energy goals established in 2019. The battery review is continuing even as Hochul is eyeing unspecified rollbacks for the state climate law, which set aggressive targets for green energy over the next two decades.

The batteries are considered an essential part of the green-energy plan because they can help stabilize the electric grid and store energy from solar and wind farms and conventional power plants during hours when power is least needed and potentially cheapest. They are also considered important tools to help replace a large fleet of smaller fossil-fuel power plants called peakers, which are chiefly used during high-summer power demand times.

The proposed Suffolk projects include one on the east end: A 60-megawatt project called the Edwards Calverton Battery by Rhynland Energy to be built in the town of Riverhead. Rhynland’s application doesn’t list a specific address for the project.

Rex A. Heuermann confesses to being Gilgo Beach serial killer

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Rex A. Heuermann confessed to killing eight women yesterday, strangling and dumping their mutilated bodies as the elusive Gilgo Beach serial killer, bringing resolution to a case that has generated worldwide attention since the first victim's remains were found off the Ocean Parkway in 2010.

As reported in NEWSDAY, Heuermann, who had lived a normal-appearing life as an architect and married father in Massapequa Park while clandestinely killing women in his basement when his family was on vacation, pleaded guilty to the murders of seven women and admitted killing an eighth woman — a vicious crime spree that began in 1993 and confounded Long Island for years.

Standing in a suit and navy tie, Heuermann detailed his crimes one-by-one in response to a series of questions from Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney during a riveting and rapidly paced court hearing in Riverhead that lasted 27 minutes.

"Strangulation," he repeated in a matter-of-fact tone, eight times, when asked how he ended the lives of his victims in a courtroom packed with the tearful families of the victims, the authorities that had finally nabbed him after years of hunting, the journalists that had long chronicled the case, as well as a host of curious onlookers.

NYS Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei sentences Heuermann on June 17. The 62 year old Heuermann, born and raised in Nassau County, Long Island, is expected to receive three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the killings of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello Heuermann is also expected to be sentenced to a consecutive sentence of 100 years to life imprisonment in the killings of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla and Valerie Mack.

Heuermann was arrested on July 13, 2023, as he walked away from his Manhattan office. As Heuermann remained in custody at the Suffolk County jail in Riverhead, the case against him continued to expand. On Wednesday, Tierney vowed his office would continue to find answers to unsolved homicides. "There are still bodies on that beach," D.A.Tierney said. "There are still bodies in Suffolk County. There's no rest for the weary. We are going to continue to work with our partners and try to obtain hope for as many families as we can."

***

In a last-minute bid to stop the Riverhead Town Board from authorizing the acquisition of its East Main Street building, the Long Island Science Center submitted a 92-page packet of engineering reports, correspondence and project records to the board this past Tuesday.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that with Supervisor Jerry Halpin and Council Member Bob Kern dissenting, a divided board voted to authorize the town to pursue acquisition of the property through eminent domain, the legal process governments can use to acquire private property without a willing seller.

The resolution adopted Tuesday authorizes the Town of Riverhead to pursue acquisition of 111 E. Main St. “for general municipal purposes.”

The vote followed an extended public discussion in which science center supporters argued the nonprofit’s long-delayed redevelopment project remains viable and should be allowed to proceed, while a majority of board members said the building has remained vacant too long and now stands in the way of the larger town square project.

Tuesday’s vote did not itself start an eminent domain proceeding. Rather, the resolution reaffirmed the board’s 2024 authorization for the town to pursue acquisition of 111 E. Main St. in Riverhead for “general municipal purposes,” allowing officials to continue taking preliminary steps toward a possible acquisition.

Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said after the vote that the town would still have to hold a public hearing before proceeding further.

The Place for Learning, the nonprofit operating as the Long Island Science Center, bought 111 E. Main St. in 2020 for $1.45 million after selling its former West Main Street location in 2016. At the time, the move was celebrated by town, county and state officials as a major step in downtown revitalization, with then-Supervisor Yvette Aguiar calling the project a “heart transplant for Riverhead.”

***

The Submarine Veterans of Long Island will lead its annual Tolling of the Boats Ceremony at the New Suffolk Beach Submarine Memorial this coming Sunday at 11 a.m. It’s a solemn remembrance of U.S. Navy submarines and their lost crews at sea, in which the names of lost submarines and their crew members are read and a bell is rung to honor their service and sacrifice.

The United States Submarine Veterans, Inc., also known as USSVI, proudly represents Long Island Subvets and all submarine veterans who have served in the U.S. Navy…honoring the commitment and sacrifices of every Subvet, ensuring that the legacy of our U.S. submarine fleet lives on.

The annual Tolling of the Boats Ceremony is this Sunday at 11 a.m. at New Suffolk Beach, 2650 Jackson Street, New Suffolk, NY 11956

***

A looming Long Island Rail Road union strike would be "disastrous" for Long Island, despite MTA officials’ attempts to downplay the impact of the railroad’s first work stoppage in more than three decades, labor leaders said yesterday. Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that representatives of the five unions involved in the three-year contract battle with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suggested during a Manhattan press conference that a potential strike, which could commence at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, could result in commuter chaos, especially given what they say is an inadequate MTA contingency plan to move stranded commuters.

"I think it’s going to be a disaster for Long Island," said Kevin Sexton, national vice president for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and spokesman for the coalition of five LIRR unions.

"I’m sure we’ve all been on the expressway or the parkway during the rush hour," added Nicholas Peluso, national vice president of the Transportation Communications Union. "Can you imagine adding 350,000 commuters to that?"

The coalition represents about half the LIRR’s 7,000 union workers, including train operators, ticket agents, electricians, signal workers, and machinists. They’ve rejected a three-year contract — already accepted by most other MTA unions — with 9.5% in raises that they say doesn’t keep up with the cost of living. The unions are seeking a four-year deal with 14.5% in raises. The MTA has said any raises beyond what they’ve offered would have to come with significant concessions, such as eliminating some work rules that provide extra pay.

A Newsday analysis showed that workers represented by the five unions made, on average, $122,443 in total earnings in 2024, the most recent year for which MTA payroll data was available.

In a statement, the MTA's chief of policy and external relations, John McCarthy, said both sides are in agreement regarding the terms of the first three years of a potential contract.

"The dispute pertains only to one future year, and there's no good reason why it can't be resolved at the bargaining table," McCarthy said. "Nobody wins in a strike — not the unions, not the LIRR, and not the Long Islanders who depend on our great service."

The last Long Island Rail Road strike was a two day stoppage that began on June 17, 1994.

***

The open house…a week from this Sunday…is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the department’s headquarters at 470 Hampton Road in Southampton. The event is part of a broader effort involving hundreds of volunteer fire departments across New York state aimed at raising awareness about the need for new members.

At the April 19 event, visitors will be invited to tour the station and firefighting apparatus, try on gear, observe demonstrations and speak directly with current volunteers about the responsibilities and rewards of service. Firefighters will also be available to answer questions and provide information about how to join.

“We welcome the community to join us during RecruitNY Weekend,” said Polis Walker. “This is an excellent opportunity for people to meet their local volunteer firefighters and learn more about the fire service.”

The initiative is organized by the Firefighters Association of the State of New York, which supports more than 1,700 volunteer departments across the state. Established in 2011, RecruitNY aims to help departments connect with their communities and recruit the members needed to sustain operations.

For more information, visit southamptonfd.org or call the non-emergency phone number at 631-283-0853

***

ReWild Long Island also welcomes adult mentors and volunteers to support its South Fork chapter.

For more information or to apply, visit the program page at https://www.rewildlongisland.org/summerprogram.

***

Long Islanders will not immediately see relief at the gas pump, experts said, although news of the temporary ceasefire in the war with Iran sent oil prices plunging by 14% yesterday.

Average gasoline prices on Long Island hit $4.05 cents Wednesday, more than 41% higher than the $2.86 a gallon price point on Feb. 27, the day before the war started, according to AAA figures. The price per gallon of gas was at $4.03 Tuesday.

Yesterday, gas stations in Water Mill and points east were charging more than $4.19 per gallon.

Victor Ocasio and Celia Young report in NEWSDAY that regional experts said the ceasefire won’t result in any rapid or major price decreases, largely because it will take time for Middle Eastern countries to rebuild their oil production and distribution facilities.

Some analysts project it could take upward of three months for oil distribution and supply lines to reach near pre-war levels.

“Our belief is it’s going to take another 12 weeks to return to a bit of normalcy,” said Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, which provides global pricing and analytics for the energy sector. “You’re looking at after the Fourth of July, even.”

Even then, work will have to continue on rebuilding the most damaged areas of infrastructure, Cinquegrana added.

“Restarting facilities could take weeks to months, and the same is true for tankers leaving the Persian Gulf,” said Kevin Book, co-founder and head of research for the independent Washington, D.C.-based research firm ClearView Energy Partners. “Repairing damaged facilities and refilling missing petroleum inventories could take months to years.”

While gas prices remain high nationwide and on Long Island, they remain below records set in recent years.

Local and national gas prices both hit record highs in June 2022 following U.S. sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, with average Long Island prices reaching $5.05 a gallon, and national prices hitting $5.02 per gallon.

While the United States. is a net exporter of oil, producing most of its supplies domestically, oil is priced on a global market, which means disruptions anywhere increase oil prices everywhere, experts said.

“Prices rise like a rocket and fall like a feather,” said Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast. “Even if hostilities completely ceased, and that doesn’t look to be likely, you still have all this damage that’s left behind, and months if not years to bring all of this back online.”

East Hampton Town officials to move forward on new law drafted by OLA of Eastern Long Island

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Immigration arrests on Long Island reached a historic high at the start of the year and continued steadily into last month, new data shows, offering the first comprehensive local look at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s crackdown.

Anastasia Valeeva and Josefa Velásquez report in NEWSDAY that the 352 ICE arrests in January marked a peak in the monthly numbers covering October and early March. Newsday analyzed the statistics after the nonprofit Deportation Data Project released them last week. They confirm what immigration advocates called a "significant acceleration" in enforcement that also saw a record number of people challenging their detentions.

In February of this year immigration arrests dipped nationwide as well as on Long Island that month to 223, data shows.

But in the first 10 days of March, 118 people were arrested here, the data shows, potentially putting arrests on track to meet the January high, when there was an average of 11 people per day.

Islip Forward, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization that tracks ICE activity on Long Island, said the findings are consistent with what the group’s been seeing: a "sharp escalation" in immigration enforcement in late 2025 and a "significant acceleration" into the new year.

While the federal data only covers through March 10, Ahmad Perez, Islip Forward’s founder and executive director, said there’s been a drop off in ICE sightings on Long Island starting in late March, coinciding with ICE agents being deployed to airports to help during a partial government shutdown.

"Importantly, this shift should not be interpreted as a reduction in enforcement overall. Rather, it reflects a temporary redistribution of federal resources, following a period of sustained escalation," Perez told NEWSDAY.

He also noted that immigration activity is becoming "less publicly visible."

"Including early morning residential operations, activity near courthouses, and the use of unmarked or newly branded vehicles — dynamics that are not always captured in traditional reporting or arrest data alone," Perez said.

***

The U.S. House of Representatives has reauthorized the National Estuary Program, which provides federal funding for the Peconic Estuary Program and Peconic Estuary Partnership, as well as the Long Island Sound Program, through 2031. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the measure still must win approval by the U.S. Senate and President Donald Trump.

U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota…the Republican from Amityville who represents the east end…as well as local environmentalists applauded the House vote and championed the cause for further federal support.

“[The] American Water Stewardship Act delivers exactly the results we need by locking in long-term support for the Long Island Sound and our estuaries,” LaLota said in a statement announcing the passage of the bill by the House, which he co-sponsored.

The bill, which has initial bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, would fund the National Estuary Program’s 28 nationally recognized estuaries for fiscal years 2026-2031. The Peconic Estuary was adopted into the National Estuary Program as an “estuary of national significance” in 1992.

The National Estuary Program {NEP} was created in 1987 and last reauthorized in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the $1.2 trillion federal economic stimulus package passed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The act funded the NEP for 2022-26 with $132 million in annually available matching grant money for the national estuaries. The program’s supporters claim that for each federal dollar invested in the estuary programs around the country, the local program managers have generated $19 in local investment.

The American Water Stewardship Act also reauthorizes the Long Island Sound Program, which coordinates state, local and federal agencies to manage the environment impacts on the Sound, whose watershed extends as far north as Vermont and Canada.

The AWSA would also reauthorize, establish or expand more than a dozen other maritime and water quality programs nationwide.

***

The Town of Southold is holding a presentation on “Understanding Subdivisions & Land Preservation in Southold Town” hosted by the North Fork Civics tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Park in Mattituck. Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski, Planning Director Heather Lanza and Land Preservation Coordinator Lillian McCullough will discuss subdivision rules, the process for lot creation, conservation and affordable housing, balancing responsible development with farmland and open space protection, smart growth, data trends and the policies that have “preserved Southold’s rural character and land.”

The Forum on “Understanding Subdivisions & Land Preservation in Southold Town” is free and scheduled for tomorrow at Veterans Beach in Mattituck from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

***

East Hampton Town officials are moving forward on a law, drafted by OLA of Eastern Long Island, Inc. (Organización Latino Americana), that looks to boost accountability and establish reporting procedures for future Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that OLA’s leaders have been attending East End town and village board meetings in recent months, lobbying for the boards that have a corresponding police department to pass the law, which is aimed at boosting accountability in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid.

What the blueprint drafted by OLA aims to do, primarily, is both establish a series of procedures and training programs that would help deter the impersonation of federal officers and adopt local requirements for reporting enforcement activity up and down the chain, with the goal of making that information publicly available. The purpose is to boost public safety and accountability and clarify the place that local governments occupy, in the event of an ICE raid. East Hampton Town’s version of the law also blocks any town participation in ICE actions under the 287(g) clause, which essentially allows ICE and local governments to work in partnership for detentions.

OLA’s blueprint removed this provision after hearing feedback from local municipalities. The thinking was that the provision could serve as a stumbling block when looking to enact the law. But the one put forth by East Hampton Town officials, and that put forth earlier this month by East Hampton Village officials, contained a section blocking 287(g) partnerships.

What East Hampton Town’s version of the law also calls for is the creation of a task force, which will make recommendations to the Town Board. These recommendations will need to be answered, by the Town Board, within 30 days.

Further, mandatory reporting procedures will establish a flow of information, which will ultimately become publicly accessible. This will require East Hampton Town Police to notify the supervisor of any ICE activity that officers become aware of. The supervisor then has to share that information with the Town Board and the task force. This flow of information would, theoretically, be conveyed in real time.

The last part of the law gives Town Police the authority to request identification from those claiming to be ICE officers.

East Hampton Village officials became the first municipality to move on the law last month, when they slated it for a public hearing that will take place at the Village Board’s April meeting

East Hampton Town officials this month plan to notice the law for a public hearing which would be held on May 7. If passed, the law would sunset in July 2029.

***

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of “illegal immigrants” on Long Island reached a historic high at the start of the year and continued steadily into last month, per a Newsday analysis of new data.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), who’s been supportive of local police departments cooperating with federal immigration officials, said the rising arrests on Long Island are "rooted in common sense and public safety."

Congressman LaLota, who represents the 1st Congressional District which includes the East End, criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYS Gov. Kathy Hochul for their sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration officials.

"The contrast is undeniable. The Hochul-Mamdani approach is driven by ideology. And NYC residents continue to flee to Long Island where we are guided by a simple responsibility to keep our kids safe and our communities secure," LaLota told NEWSDAY.

The Newsday analysis of the Deportation Data Project numbers show that people with no criminal background continue to make up the majority of those arrested on Long Island, outpacing the national numbers. Since last Fall, more than 60% of people arrested on Long Island were not convicted or charged with any crime committed other than entering and / or remaining in the U.S. without the required federal documentation.

Nationally, this share reached its peak of 48% in January 2026.

Newsday calculated all ICE arrests on Long Island by adding together four locations: Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the Nassau County Jail and the Central Islip processing area. Newsday looked at total arrests for each month in those locations and the average number of daily arrests.

***

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the national “Put the Phone Away, or Pay” high-visibility enforcement effort during Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Peggy Spellman Hoey reports on Patch.com that now through next Monday April 13, the sheriff’s office will be joining law enforcement agencies across New York State to conduct enhanced enforcement of texting and distracted-driving laws.

The sheriff’s office also launched a social media awareness campaign, urging drivers not to use their mobile devices while driving.

Suffolk Sheriff Errol Toulon said that "distracted driving is a leading cause of vehicle crashes on our county’s roads, and most of this distraction is attributed to texting while driving."

“Our Deputy Sheriffs will be further increasing efforts to stop drivers from distracted driving," he said. "If you text and drive in Suffolk County, we will pull you over, and you will be fined.”

***

The Flanders, Riverside & Northampton Community Association reported yesterday that the former Getty gas station at the Riverside traffic circle was being demolished, “after ongoing conversations between FRNCA and the property owner, who expressed a willingness at a recent meeting to remove the structure if it was supported by the community. We appreciate that commitment being honored. As part of our continued efforts, FRNCA has been advocating for the removal of abandoned buildings from the traffic circle east, along the south side of the roadway, ahead of the 2026 summer season,” according to The Flanders, Riverside & Northampton Community Association {FRNCA}.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that last November residents said they were concerned that the proposed construction of a 7-Eleven and gas station on the traffic circle at the center of the Flanders-Riverside hamlet would thwart decades of effort to build a walkable, inviting downtown.

Southampton Town’s 2014 Riverside Revitalization Action Plan (RRAP), prepared by the firm Renaissance Downtowns after lengthy engagement with the community, envisioned larger scale mixed-use buildings surrounding the traffic circle, including housing and walkable neighborhoods. It is dependent on the creation of a sewer district, decades in the works, which received a major federal grant of $19 million in October of 2025.

In the midst of this, the 7-Eleven proposal, at the Flanders Road exit from the traffic circle, seemed a reminder to the community of the development patterns of the past, not of the future they’d envisioned in the revitalization plan.

One of the owners of the proposed new 7-Eleven and gas station on the traffic circle, Andrew Slepoy, and his attorney, Keith Brown of Certilman Balin Attorneys, received harsh criticism from the community when they presented their plans to the Flanders, Riverside & Northampton Community Association at its meeting last November.

Mr. Slepoy told the crowd that the property has been in his family since 1965, and the family trust that owns the property has no interest in selling it to Southampton Town to be preserved or redeveloped in accordance with the RRAP.

So the future of this site is still to be determined.

Riverhead's Alive on 25 likely to be approved after supervisor raises questions

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Long Island officials use a number of tools to discuss potential terror threats. Long Island's proximity to New York City makes it an attractive target for a variety of attacks by more organized groups, or a lone-wolf attacker, authorities said. Nicole Fuller reports in NEWSDAY that a slew of upcoming high-profile events, such as the U.S.A. semiquincentennial, the FIFA World Cup and the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton are capturing the attention of local law enforcement. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the department's connection with the NYPD — and its vast counterterrorism efforts — as well as its involvement in organizations like the Major Cities Chiefs Association are key to helping protect Suffolk residents.

Catalina, a 27-year veteran of the NYPD who became Suffolk police commissioner in 2025, said he's bolstered security at large-scale events in the county since becoming Suffolk's top cop. Some of the enhancements have included officers on roofs toting long guns, garbage and fire trucks along the perimeter to protect foot traffic and metal barriers, as well as more covert things the public may not see, such as cameras and undercover officers in crowds.

A counter-drone program is on Suffolk's wish list.

"Drones scare me," Catalina said. "We see what's happening in the Middle East. We see what's happening in Ukraine and Russia, as far as weaponizing drones. So that's something that we want to be able to have the autonomy to stop on our own."

Catalina also brought on an NYPD leader in counterterrorism last year. Suffolk’s Deputy Police Commissioner Thomas Galati, a 39-year veteran of the NYPD, retired as the chief of intelligence and counterterrorism where he oversaw the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Intelligence Division and the Counterterrorism Division.

***

Curriculum changes, teacher training and extra-help sessions have aided multiple East End school districts in raising English language arts assessment test scores. Desirée Keegan reports on 27East.com that four New York school districts saw proficiency levels increase more than 20 percentage points during the 2024-25 school year, according to state data, with the Remsenburg-Speonk School District seeing the biggest rise — a 31 percent jump from the previous year to 73 percent. The test is graded on a 1-4 scale, with a 3 or higher indicating proficiency. “It’s exciting because we invested time and resources, and the teachers really put their best feet forward to make sure they were addressing the things that students really needed to know in order to be successful,” Remsenburg-Speonk Superintendent Denise Sullivan said. This included teaching students how to type and utilize computer tools, like the highlighter, that could assist in test taking. Educators also looked at assessment vocabulary to see if there were words that could be causing students confusion and implemented test-taking strategies to work on fatigue.

Similar strategies were implemented in the East Quogue School District, which saw a 17-percent increase in ELA proficiency, to 67 percent. The district implemented new ELA curriculum, with The American Reading Company, which the superintendent said strengthened literacy instruction across all grade levels. To further support students, East Quogue expanded academic intervention services and introduced an after-school academy for both ELA and math, funded through a grant from Paddlers for Humanity.

Westhampton Beach and Tuckahoe School districts’ ELA test results also rose 12 percent, to be 65 and 57 percent proficient, respectively.

Sag Harbor results increased 8 percent to reach a 69 percent proficiency level, Southampton rose 8 percent to be 45 percent proficient and Montauk increased 6 percent to reach a 68 percent proficiency level.

***

The Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons is now accepting applications for scholarship grants through its Karish Education Fund, supporting students pursuing studies in horticulture and related fields.

Application details and submission instructions are available on the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons website.

***

A week after the supervisor raised questions about whether Riverhead's Alive on 25 is a worthwhile investment, the popular summer street festival seems poised for approval, with a majority of Riverhead Town Board members in support of continuing it.

“Absolutely yes, there will be an Alive on 25,” Council Member Ken Rothwell told Denise Civiletti of Riverheadlocal this past Saturday, adding that he expects the board to move quickly because whoever is hired to organize the event will need time to secure a date, vendors and logistics.

Rothwell said he expects the matter to be formalized soon, likely at the board’s April 21 meeting.

The council member said he expects the event will probably be held late July or August because of U.S. semiquincentennial celebrations scheduled for early summer. And on a Thursday rather than a Friday, reflecting comments from some downtown businesses that Thursday is a slower day and therefore a better target for an event meant to increase foot traffic.

The question of whether the event would return surfaced at the board’s March 26 work session, when new Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin raised concerns about costs, police staffing and whether downtown businesses still support the event.

Costs do remain part of the conversation.

Rothwell said the latest estimate he has heard for police costs alone was about $17,000, with additional expenses associated with highway crews, building and grounds staff, barricades, setup and cleanup.

But he dismissed the idea that those costs justify dropping the event.

“I don’t want to lose the community events,” he said. “I think they’re great for the businesses. I think we’re obligated to help the downtown businesses,” and the cost of the event is “very miniscule” compared to other things.

As for now, Riverhead’s Alive on 25 event remains without a formal vote, an approved organizer or a confirmed date.

***

Long Island’s oyster and kelp farmers, reeling after a brutal winter, could get a lifeline in low-interest emergency loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced yesterday that the state was requesting a disaster declaration for Suffolk County that would make farmers eligible for loans covering damage to aquaculture gear, vessels and farm infrastructure. Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that emergency loans through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency are used to replace essential property, cover production costs and pay essential family living expenses. The loans cover up to 100% of losses and are capped at $500,000. Rates are typically lower than conventional rates.

"With freezing temperatures that lasted for several weeks, the Long Island coast saw ice conditions like they haven’t experienced in years, leading to a halt in operations and damage to equipment that will cost the aquaculture industry millions of dollars," Hochul said in a news release announcing the disaster declaration request. "I urge the USDA to take swift action to declare Suffolk County a disaster area and help our growers get the assistance they need to recover and move forward."

A survey this winter by an industry group, Long Island Oyster Growers Association, found that the industry as a whole on Long Island lost about a third of its crop — millions of oysters — and faced about a $2.4 million bill for gear replacement. The group has more than 50 members.

Eric Koepele, a partner in the oyster farm, North Fork Big Oyster, and the industry group’s president, said that many member farmers carry crop insurance and so they avoid a total loss. But Long Island’s aquaculture farms are almost all small, family-run outfits without easy access to capital, he said.

"After a winter like this, it’s going to be a scramble to repair equipment and seed purchases are coming in next month," he said. "Just like any farm economics, you’re got to reserve money from harvest for seed."

Plans are moving ahead for the Suffolk County Oyster Jamboree and the Oyster Bay Oyster Fest, in August and October, respectively, he said. Demand for Long Island oysters could increase this year because an oyster disease called MSX is limiting supply from Canada, Koepele said.

A representative for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Denis Slattery, said that state officials were also gathering information to support a potential fishery disaster declaration request that could result in additional federal assistance.

***

The Town of Southold is holding a presentation on “Understanding Subdivisions & Land Preservation in Southold Town” hosted by the North Fork Civics this coming Thursday, April 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Park in Mattituck. Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski, Planning Director Heather Lanza and Land Preservation Coordinator Lillian McCullough will discuss subdivision rules, the process for lot creation, conservation and affordable housing, balancing responsible development with farmland and open space protection, smart growth, data trends and the policies that have “preserved Southold’s rural character and land.”

The Forum on “Understanding Subdivisions & Land Preservation in Southold Town” is free and scheduled for this coming Thursday at Veterans Beach in Mattituck from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

***

Riverhead Town Council Member Denise Merrifield this past Thursday publicly defended her handling of the Riverhead Anti-Bias Task Force by casting the group as one of many advisory committees with no independent authority to act on behalf of the Town of Riverhead.

Merrifield said, “The committees have limitations…They are advisory in nature, making recommendations to the Town Board. When or if the committee agrees to make a recommendation to the Town Board, it does so through the committee’s liaison,” she said.

Merrifield currently serves as the board’s liaison to the Anti-Bias Task Force.

“The Town Board will approve or disapprove of any recommendations. All town committees, including the Anti-Bias Task Force, have no independent authority to act under the color of the town. All committees need Town Board approval for activities they seek on behalf of the town,” Merrifield said.

But Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the task force’s mission statement, bylaws and Riverhead Town Board resolutions describe a broader role — one that goes beyond merely advising the Town Board to include education, outreach and proactive efforts to address bias in the community.

A 2021 Riverhead Town Board resolution tightened board oversight by requiring the task force to submit in writing all recommendations for events, programs, co-sponsored activities, publications, announcements, policies and funding requests to the Town Board for review and approval before taking action.

Merrifield’s statement last week was the clearest public articulation yet of a view several task force members have said was being imposed on the group behind the scenes: that the Riverhead Town Anti-Bias Task Force is a constrained advisory body, not an independent forum for addressing bias-related concerns raised by residents.

LIRR to build second temporary platform at Hamptons Bays

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The Long Island Rail Road is adding a second temporary platform at Hampton Bays and making several other improvements to its Montauk Branch as it preps for a busy summer surge on the South Fork and the U.S. Open Golf Tournament. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the temporary platform, on the station's southern side, will allow two trains to simultaneously unload passengers in Hampton Bays, according to Southampton Town and state officials. That could help trains run more often on the South Fork and provide a boost for visitors, residents and commuters.

The second platform will provide “operational flexibility" on the Montauk Branch, especially on busy weekends, according to the MTA. The first four-car lengths of the platform are expected to be completed by Memorial Day, with another two-car lengths before the start of the U.S. Open Golf Championship in mid-June. The tournament this year is being hosted at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton.

The LIRR is expecting a surge in ridership on the line during the tournament. In 2018, when the event was last in Shinnecock, spectators using the Montauk Branch filled parking lots at two high-volume LIRR stations west of the South Fork to capacity. Railroad use helped relieve traffic congestion on roadways, local officials said at the time.

A temporary platform will be installed at Stony Brook University's Southampton campus. Riders can walk from there to the golf course. A temporary bridge will also be built over County Road 39 so pedestrians can walk to the course without disrupting traffic. The LIRR platform and bridge will be taken down after the tournament, the MTA said.

While currently deemed “temporary,” local officials are hopeful the additional Hampton Bays platform could become permanent and boost the South Fork Commuter Connection, the coordinated rail and shuttle bus system that brings riders from Speonk and Montauk to job centers in East Hampton and Southampton towns.

***

Smoother commutes could be on the horizon for Long Islanders as state highway crews launch an aggressive spring cleanup effort to fill potholes and resurface roads after a harsh winter.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state will invest $58.8 million in Nassau and Suffolk counties to repave roads, fill potholes and improve curb and sidewalk ramps.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the effort includes projects on the Northern State Parkway, Hempstead Turnpike, Nassau Expressway, Veterans Memorial Highway, Sunrise Highway service roads and Route 25 that will begin “immediately,” according to Gordon Tepper, a spokesman for Hochul's office.

They are the first batch of a larger, $107 million commitment to repave approximately 225 lane miles of state roads on Long Island. Additional projects are expected to be announced later this year, officials said.

Winter weather wreaked havoc on Long Island roads with heavy snow, frequent plowing and freeze-thaw cycles that cracked pavement and carved potholes, some of them massive.

“This has been one of the coldest, most unforgiving winters in New York in recent memory, but the great news is that paving season is finally here and we will be renewing thousands of miles of roads across New York,” Hochul said in a statement.

***

The Forum on “Understanding Subdivisions & Land Preservation in Southold Town” is free and this coming Thursday at Veterans Beach in Mattituck from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

***

Long Islanders are getting slammed in every direction by rising utility costs — with electric bills jumping as much as 20% and water rates increasing for the third straight year for millions of customers.

Local power costs have surged, going $294 million over budget through February alone, mainly driven by record cold weather and the war in the Middle East, according to the Long Island Power Authority and experts. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that those costs have been passed along in the form of massive bill increases of 15% to 20% this year to customers already averaging around $200 a month in 2025.

The Suffolk County Water Authority meanwhile approved a $346 million budget at the end of last month effectively hiking customer rates by 2.81%, to bump the average homeowner’s annual water bill just over $16 and bring the average cost — just for access to clean water — to more than $600 a year starting June 1. The water authority previously approved hikes as high as 4.17% in 2024 and 2.99% last year.

The water authority — which serves about 1.2 million Suffolk County residents — said the budget boost helps upgrade infrastructure and treatment capabilities without “placing an undue financial burden” on its customers.

The SCWA said its rates remain a relative bargain compared to its regional competitors.

“Our bills remain well below the industry average in New York,” SCWA CEO Jeff Szabo said during a State of the Authority address recently, adding his team developed the budget with “fiscal responsibility” in mind.

***

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state will invest $58.8 million in Nassau and Suffolk counties to repave roads, fill potholes and improve curb and sidewalk ramps.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the state is spending $17.7 million on Suffolk County roads including Route 25 in Riverhead, from Route 25A to Splish Splash Drive.

Deteriorating conditions on the roughly 3-mile stretch of Middle Country Road in Calverton have drawn concerns from local officials and first responders.

Riverhead Town Councilman Ken Rothwell, who also volunteers with the Wading River Fire Department, said first responders have had to pull over on the side of the road to take vital signs and perform EKG tests.

“It is so bumpy and choppy that EMTs and paramedics in the back [of an ambulance] cannot get a good EKG reading,” he told NEWSDAY on Saturday.

NYS Assemb. Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead) said the project was originally slated for completion in 2028 but accelerated after hearing from emergency crews and a tough winter.

Lights and cones were already visible along Route 25 on Friday.

That heavily traveled stretch of NY-25 in Calverton will be closed overnight on weekdays starting April 16, as the much-anticipated resurfacing project begins. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Rosemar Contracting, the contractor on the project, said there will be full closures of Middle Country Road (NY-25 between Parker Road (NY-25A) and Manor Road/Splish Splash Drive in Calverton, Monday through Friday from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for milling, paving and line-striping operations.

The overnight closures are expected to continue through about May 29. Detour signs are being posted to route traffic around the work zone.

The NYS Department of Transportation lists the project completion date as Dec. 31, 2026.

***

The Southampton Rose Society will host its annual Rose Planting and Pruning Session this coming Saturday, April 11, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in the Rose Garden at Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton Village.

The free, hands-on program marks the start of the society’s spring season and is designed to make rose gardening accessible to all. Attendees will learn essential techniques from noted rosarian Peter Bertrand, who will demonstrate how to properly plant and prune a variety of rose bushes, including climbers.

Bertrand will also offer guidance on fertilization, soil management and proper watering practices, and will be available to answer questions from participants. No registration is required; instructional pamphlets will be provided to attendees.

The rose holds special significance as the official flower of the United States, New York State and Southampton Village, underscoring the importance of the society’s work in preserving and promoting rose cultivation locally.

Now in its 50th year, the Southampton Rose Society will host its annual Rose Planting and Pruning Session this coming Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in the Rose Garden at Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton.

For more information, visit southamptonrose.org.

***

King Kullen's meat and seafood workers reached a tentative agreement with the company on Saturday, ending a strike that began Thursday in response to failed negotiations for a new contract and allegations that the grocer engaged in unfair labor practices. Tory N. Parrish and Sam Kmack report in NEWSDAY that the union announced that it reached a tentative deal with the company after talks resumed Friday night and extended into Saturday morning. The company confirmed the provisional pact.

"Our members are happy to get back to work so they can provide for their communities," UFCW Local 342 wrote in a news release.

Keeley Lampo, director of activities and communications for the union, said the tentative agreement was reached about 4 a.m. Saturday and that it includes compensation and retirement increases for workers.

"We got the language that we wanted for wages [and] annuity," she told Newsday. "Wages for part time and full time both saw increases, and we're very happy with where we're at."

Lampo said the union was also successful in removing "transfer" language in the contract, which would have allowed the company to shuffle workers between stores.

"The members did not want that because it's not creating other jobs to make their jobs easier," she said. "You're just kind of moving the pawns around and it was getting to be too much."

Joseph W. Brown, the president of King Kullen, told Newsday that the company is "very pleased that a tentative agreement has been reached."

"Our meat and seafood associates are an important part of our team, and we value the role they play in serving our customers every day," he said. "We appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in the negotiations and look forward to continuing our strong working relationship with Local 342."

The rank-and-file's ratification vote has not yet been scheduled, Lampo said.

The supermarket chain's approximately 150 full- and part-time meat and seafood workers at 25 Long Island stores went on strike Thursday afternoon. Their most recent contract expired in October, the union said.

Headquartered in Hauppauge, King Kullen Grocery Co. operates 29 stores on Long Island, including four Wild by Nature natural food stores. Only the meat and seafood workers at the King Kullen stores were striking.

The 25 King Kullen supermarkets include locations on the east end in Bridgehampton, Hampton Bays, Eastport, Manorville, and Cutchogue.

Founded in Queens in 1930, King Kullen is the largest family-owned grocery chain on Long Island.

Southampton Town explores bill to to protect large trees and habitat from rampant development

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The 404 new converts to Catholicism in the Diocese of Rockville Centre this year is the highest figure in nearly 40 years, church officials said. Church experts cite a range of reasons, including the diocese’s evangelization efforts, people’s hunger for deeper meaning, effective use of social media, the first American pope and a welcoming environment, especially for Hispanic immigrant families. The converts will officially become Catholics at Easter Vigil Masses throughout the diocese on Saturday night. Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that the Long Island numbers mirror a nationwide trend with many dioceses seeing high and even record numbers of converts. The converts go through a process that can last a year or more before becoming officially Catholic.

The new high on Long Island comes nearly a year after the church elected its first American pontiff, Pope Leo XIV. While church officials said that may be a small factor for the growth, there are probably many others, including simply the mystery of faith.

“More than any program or initiative of ours, God does the calling and God allows the growth,” said the Rev. Eric Fasano, a spokesman for the Diocese of Rockville Centre which serves Catholics across Nassau and Suffolk counties..

The 404 new members will receive the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Holy Eucharist at Easter Vigil Masses tomorrow night throughout the diocese. It is the highest number since 1988, the last year for which the diocese has readily available records, Fasano said. The second-highest number of conversions was last year, with 320 new Catholics. The number has nearly doubled in the last seven years, rising from 208 in 2020, according to diocesan data.

While the converts include many Latinos — the fastest growing group of Catholics in the United States and on Long Island — there are also other ethnicities coming into the religion, though there was no demographic breakdown, Rev. Fasano said.

Converts who were not raised Catholic but become one as an adult, make up about 8% of the 32 million Catholics in the United States, according to a June 2025 Pew Research Center report. Long Island is home to 1.2 million baptized Catholics, according to the diocese.

***

Two people have been charged with receiving bribes in the East Hampton Town Building Department, as part of an investigation conducted by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Public Corruption Squad that stretched back into 2024. Ryan Benitez and Evelyn Calderon, both suspended Building Department staffers, were arraigned in Suffolk County Criminal Court yesterday. Both were released on their own recognizance, as the charges are not bail-eligible. This comes on the heels of what has been a turbulent year for the East Hampton Town Building Department, as town officials have sought to work through a backlog and boost efficiency within a department plagued by turnover, lawsuits and now a pair of indictments.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that Benitez and Calderon, in a joint indictment, were charged with 10 counts each. Five of those counts are for bribe receiving in the third degree, a class D felony. The remaining five are for official misconduct, a class A misdemeanor. Adding up the total amount in the indictment puts the number at $16,100 accepted or planned bribes across the five counts. The pair face two and a third to seven years in prison, if convicted of the top count.

A grand jury in Suffolk County indicted the pair, who surrendered to the D.A.’s office on Thursday morning April 2 and were then arraigned by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei. Alyssa Constantino from the Suffolk D.A.’s Public Corruption Bureau is prosecuting the case. Benitez and Calderon are due back in court on May 21.

***

The Long Island Oyster Growers Association is hosting a “Peconic Oyster Dregs Hunt” tomorrow — a chance for the community to help oyster farmers collect ghost oyster gear and other winter debris washed up on the shoreline after this winter’s devastating deep freeze. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that you show up on Saturday morning between 9 and 11 a.m. at the Greenport Harbor Brewery in Peconic, Ram’s Head Inn on Shelter Island, or Kidd Squid Brewing Company in Sag Harbor, and the organizers will point you toward a beach that needs some love.

After the Cleanup, haul your collected debris to the nearest designated drop-off point (trucks and trailers recommended). If you do not have a vehicle, pile the debris neatly near the road for later pickup. When you drop off your haul, we will reward you with a token good for two drinks (beer or wine) and oysters compliments of LIOGA at either Greenport Brewery location on the North Fork, Ram’s Head Inn Shelter Island , or Kidd Squid East Hampton.

For further info visit the Long Island Oyster Growers Association website.

***

The whine of chain saws and sudden thinning of woods have become a familiar — and jarring — backdrop to life on the South Fork. Towering oaks and dense thickets that buffer homes and define the region's rural feel are being cleared for luxury homes. The trend has fueled unease among residents who say their neighborhoods are changing in real time. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that currently, most properties in Southampton Town can be cleared and regraded without restriction. But town officials say they are looking to change that with a bill that will ensure large trees, vegetation and habitats are not removed unnecessarily during the construction process. The Town of Southampton issues thousands of building permits annually, including 184 last year for new homes and 695 for renovations.

The proposal would require the town's land management department to review and issue permits for any major clearing, regrading, or excavation, save for several exceptions. Clearing more than half a property would require the planning board's approval.

“The sheer physical beauty of the land and the water [on the East End] is extraordinary. And yet, if we continue to cut down mature trees, that character of various hamlets [and] communities start to disappear on us,” Mark McIntyre, co-chair of the town’s sustainability committee, told Newsday. “It's part of what makes the South Fork so special." Those activities are already restricted in other South Fork communities, including the Town of East Hampton as well as the villages of Sag Harbor and Southampton. In those municipalities, a permit or building department approval is typically required to remove trees and clear land.

Trees and vegetation are an “integral and irreplaceable part of” Southampton’s character, the proposed bill states. Their removal is harmful to wildlife habitat and means there are fewer trees that can capture greenhouse gases, which can worsen the effects of climate change, said Councilman Michael Iasilli, one of the bill's sponsors.

But opponents say the proposal would give the town too much control over private property and could lead to delays in real estate deals and construction timelines. Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara, the board’s only Republican, opposes the measure. She said it will bring “more red tape" and is "another permit to get" for residents and contractors. The requirement could cause delays for contractors and strain the department's staff, she said.

Southampton Town officials will incorporate revisions based on comments from the public, Iasilli said.

***

Home improvement giant Home Depot is looking to open a large warehouse and distribution center in Yaphank, with the help of tax breaks. Celia Young reports in NEWSDAY that Brookhaven Logistics Center, an affiliate of Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development, applied in March to bring in Home Depot as a subtenant for a proposed $157 million building. Home Depot has requested tax breaks from the Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency to equip the facility, according to Brookhaven Logistics Center’s application to the IDA.

If the deal is approved, Atlanta-based Home Depot would lease the yet-to-be-built, 414,000-square-foot building for 15 years, according to the application.

The new development would sit on 50.64 acres on the northern end of a massive swath of land south of the Long Island Expressway, slated to become a warehouse development under a 2021 deal with the Brookhaven Town IDA.

The developer behind the warehouse project, another NorthPoint affiliate, already secured 15 years of tax breaks for the overall warehouse project, which run through 2037, according to a 2021 IDA resolution and the IDA's 2024 annual report.

The project is part of Home Depot’s "larger, multiyear North American supply chain expansion plan," according to the application, and comes as the company looks to grow its business to serve larger contractors as well as individual consumers.

If approved, the new center would create an estimated 200 jobs, with salaries ranging from $97,702 per year to $191,127 per year and hourly wages ranging from $23 to $24.50, according to the application.

***

You are invited to join the 10th Annual Greenport Egg Roll presented by the Greenport Business Improvement District tomorrow morning. Bring the family to Mitchell Park in Greenport for a Saturday morning of egg hunting and magic! Magic show at 10:30AM, Egg Hunt right after, followed by free carousel rides until 1:30PM!

That’s tomorrow starting at 10:30am at Mitchell Park on Front Street in Greenport.

Also tomorrow is Hampton Library’s Annual Egg Hunt from 10am – 11am at the Bridgehampton Museum – Corwith House, 2368 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, NY. Find all the eggs hidden at the Bridgehampton Museum!

And on Easter Sunday in Sag Harbor the Mashashimuet Park Egg Hunt begins around 11 a.m.

***

Greenport Fire Department is temporarily limited to providing basic-life-support care after a state inspection revealed deficiencies. Ambulance providers must maintain certain narcotics to provide advanced-life-support care, according to state health officials. Officials said the change in authorization does not change patient care in the region, since emergency response is supplemented by Stony Brook Medicine paramedics and other mutual aid agreements.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that Greenport Fire Department ambulances can no longer carry certain narcotics after a state inspection identified deficiencies, according to fire department officials.

The NYS Department of Health conducted an inspection of the Greenport Fire Department on March 9 and temporarily suspended its narcotics license, Chief Alain de Kerillis said in a statement.

“During this review, the department was notified that its controlled substance plan required updating,” de Kerillis said.

Advanced life support providers can administer a wider range of medications and start IVs to stabilize patients, while basic life support includes fundamentals such as CPR, according to the American Red Cross. State law requires advanced life support providers are authorized to administer controlled substances and maintain certain medications.

State, county and local officials stressed there is no change in emergency response for residents. Advanced level care on the North Fork is supplemented by Stony Brook Medicine paramedics, who respond to emergency calls between Mattituck and Orient alongside local volunteer ambulance crews.

State health officials said the agency’s ambulance license was not revoked. Ambulance services must be state licensed to provide basic or advanced level care.

De Kerillis said yesterday the department's status "remains unchanged," reiterating that patient care has not been affected while the state review is pending. And that the Greenport Fire Department is working to address the issue. “The Department remains committed to the highest standards of service and public safety,” he stated.

Oyster industry dealing with fallout of "worst winter of the century"

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Suffolk County argued this week that a $112 million jury verdict handed down five months ago on the detention of immigrants in the country illegally was “fundamentally flawed” and should be overturned.

The county made its case in court filings that the trial in a nearly decade-old lawsuit featured "several substantial errors."

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the case stems from Suffolk's policy under former Sheriff Vincent DeMarco to honor detainers issued through the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agency, a practice halted after a 2018 court ruling found it unlawful.

A federal jury awarded the verdict in November following a weeklong trial. The county’s Manhattan-based law firm Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky filed a motion in December to have the verdict either vacated or a new trial.

The two sides presented arguments on the motion before Judge William F. Kuntz II in Eastern District Court in Brooklyn Tuesday. Both sides now wait for Kuntz to issue a written decision.

The original complaint was filed on behalf of Joaquin Orellana Castaneda, an immigrant from Guatemala, who had been stopped by Suffolk police for a traffic violation and booked on a driving while intoxicated-related arrest. He was held on an ICE detainer for two days after his bail was posted on the local charge, according to previous reports. The case grew to include about 650 people who were similarly held longer than the local charge required. The county had argued it was entitled to immunity because it acted under federal authority, an assertion the court had dismissed.

At the November trial, a nine-person jury awarded $75 million based off Kuntz’s January 2025 ruling and an additional $37 million on a separate due process claim.

***

As Southampton Village waits for a pair of corresponding bills in the New York State Assembly and Senate to be passed that would authorize the alienation of Lola Prentice Memorial Park for use in a land swap plan, village residents who oppose the swap have raised further points in why they believe the plan should not go through. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that in the current plan, the village seeks to alienate the park to use as underground leach fields for a sewage treatment plant that would be located behind the village ambulance barn. A neighboring property a few hundred feet down the road at 135 Windmill Lane — currently home to The Express News Group building — would be turned into a new dog park. In response, five residents filed a lawsuit against the Village of Southampton last week for going through with the plan, arguing that the village is violating the park’s 1962 deed and a 2019 court injunction by using the park for something other than recreational and educational use.

As the plaintiffs wait for a response, some raised the question of whether the village can pursue a land swap if the two properties aren’t the same size. The park measures in at 2.478 acres, while the proposed new dog park site is 1.10 acres, less than half the size of the current park.

Under New York State law, the determining factor for alienating two properties is not its acreage, but rather its fair market value. Specifically, state law says that “the fair market value of the substitute property must be no less than the fair market value of the property being alienated.” State law also includes provisions about requiring new properties to “be of reasonably equivalent usefulness and location to the lands being alienated” and to “be of equal environmental value and usefulness to the lands being alienated.”

***

Application details and submission instructions are available on the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons website.

***

A NYS Supreme Court justice has ordered the county clerk to lift restrictions on land within Enterprise Park at Calverton, which could allow Riverhead Town to pursue new ideas for the 1,600-acre property. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that Calverton Aviation & Technology, a venture aerospace company, filed a lis pendens — a public record of a pending lawsuit — as it sued Riverhead for backing out of a $40 million deal to sell the property to the company in 2024. The notice effectively blocked the town from marketing or selling the land, since most buyers will not make offers on properties tangled up in litigation.

Justice David Reilly, in a March 24 ruling, directed the Suffolk County clerk to cancel the notice within 30 days, noting “there are no remaining claims that would directly affect title to, or the possession, use or enjoyment” of the site. The decision removes a hurdle Riverhead Town officials have previously cited as delaying action on the property intended to be an economic engine for the town, though attorneys for the aerospace group say they plan to appeal.

Town attorney Erik Howard said the latest development in the legal dispute is a win for Riverhead. Justice Reilly previously dismissed 16 of 17 claims alleged in CAT’s initial complaint, and the company has since filed an appeal seeking to reverse the dismissed claims.

Howard told NEWSDAY yesterday that the cancellation “whittles away at any leverage CAT has in the case going forward and drastically limits relief that can be pursued.”

“More importantly, for the Town and the residents, it allows them to move forward with entertaining new proposals for development of the property,” Howard added.

Calverton Aviation & Technology proposed 10 million square feet of development at the former Grumman hub for aerospace, energy and academic tenants, noting in court papers that it would be a boon to the regional economy and pledged to invest $250 million in its first phase. The town board terminated the deal in October 2023 after the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency ruled the company was not financially capable of delivering its vision.

Ronald Rossi, a Manhattan attorney representing Calverton Aviation & Technology, said the company plans to seek a stay of the cancellation of the notice of pendency during the appeal process.

***

New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration has proposed substantially lifting the oversight and review demands of one of the state’s foundational environmental protection laws for residential developments in its latest attempt to improve housing affordability. But East End civic and environmental groups say that the proposal would do nothing to reduce the cost of housing and would have sweeping unintended consequences on the East End, and in many other areas, from overdevelopment that would simply be high-priced luxury residences. The administration’s proposal, which it has dubbed “Let Them Build,” would, in part, free some small- and large-scale residential developments from scrutiny by local planning and zoning boards currently demanded in the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, a 1975 law that is the overarching guide of all development regulatory review in the state.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that projects of fewer than 100 units — either in subdivisions or multifamily structures — on land that is already “disturbed” and serviced by public utilities, like water and sewer mains, essentially would be freed from subjective review, other than making sure they comply with underlying zoning standards. Development hawks say that the state’s approach — which the governor has included as a line-item in her budget proposal — would open up untold numbers of properties to newly unconstrained development that would almost certainly be exploited by developers. “What the governor is trying to do is eliminate the review process for a variety of project types which, in our area, have nothing to do with affordability,” said Bob DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End. He pointed out that, “The word affordability does not appear in any of these amendments…It’s easy to beat the drum and say let people build and suddenly things will become affordable. When you get down to the nitty gritty, there’s a zillion reasons why things are not affordable, and it’s not just putting a building up.” NYS Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni of Sag Harbor said that if the governor thinks SEQRA should be amended to remove some of the hurdles to responsible development in appropriate areas and streamline the review process, it should be done through legislative amendments, not in the state budget bill — an increasingly common approach to forcing through controversial legislative changes since Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration. Schiavoni emphasized, “This is not what the people of the East End want. We need housing initiatives…We need to create affordable housing. We’ve created the transfer tax to do that. I think local government can get it done within the parameters of SEQRA.”

The 2026-27 New York State budget, which has not yet been passed, is constitutionally due by April 1, the start of the state's fiscal year.

The New York state Legislature on Tuesday passed a state budget extension after clear signs the budget would be late. It was promptly signed into law by Gov. Hochul.

***

The East Hampton Town Board will hold a bevy of public hearings — 13 in total — at its 6 o’clock meeting this evening. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that they’re expected to include discussions regarding grants of scenic and conservation easements at 52 Oyster Shores Road in the Northwest Woods, 840 Springs Fireplace Road in Springs and 59 Sand Castle Lane in Amagansett. Also, an update of the Springs Park Management Plan, a hearing about a Community Housing Fund grant for Windmill Village, and the necessity for changes to the town code regarding filming, shellfish, beaches and parks, waterways and no stopping zones.

The public is welcome to attend in person. The meeting can be viewed live on LTV’s YouTube channel.

This evening’s 6:00 PM Meeting is scheduled to be called to order at East Hampton Town Hall Meeting Room, 159 Pantigo Road, East Hampton, NY.

***

Long Island’s oyster industry has been left shellshocked after the “worst winter of the century” cost purveyors tons of inventory — and steep profit losses — thanks to an unprecedented deep freeze.

“We’re buying clams and oysters about 10% higher already,” Vincent’s Clam Bar manager Danny Pepi told The NY Post of increasing costs at his Nassau County restaurant.

Alex Mitchell reports in THE NY POST that area oyster farms experienced the “worst winter of the century,” Long Island Oyster Growers Association president Eric Koepele said, leading to an economically devastating period for many growers. “[My financial] losses are high six figures, low seven figures,” said Peter Stein, founder of Peeko Oysters in New Suffolk on the North Fork. “It was easily north of a million oysters we lost.” New York City hotspots like Keith McNally’s Balthazar in Soho and Danny Meyer’s Gramercy Tavern in the Flatiron District, as well as establishments on Long Island, serve his shellfish. But Stein recently had to break the news to all his Big Apple clientele that they had to suspend distribution due to the alarmingly low supply.

The massive problem came from nearly a month of temperatures — in January and February — that sank below freezing — and caused hundreds of thousands of pounds of ice to accumulate and shift, killing the underwater crop and rendering his equipment unusable.

The cost of lobster is also pinching customers across Long Island thanks to the frigid weather this winter.

Koepele estimates about $2.3 million worth of equipment damage across Long Island’s local industry — it produces nearly 10 million oysters a year — coupled with oyster farmers losing, on average, 33% of their crop.

He added that the East End’s Peconic Bay — the massive 31-mile-long and 6-mile-wide water body separating the North and South Forks — was practically frozen thick enough to walk end to end this winter.

Staff for Phil Mastrangelo, co-owner of Oysterponds Shellfish a Co., resorted to using a chainsaw to cut through the wild amounts of ice near his shallow water farm, a few miles east in Orient. It was a shocking first for the long-time oyster farmer. The massive ice wrecked about $200,000 worth of Oysterponds equipment — despite Mastrangelo investing about $50,000 in winterizing his hardware — and he considers himself comparatively lucky. He supplies chef Eric Ripert’s Le Bernadin in the city, as well as North Fork hot spots Duryea’s Orient Point location and Maroni Cuisine in Southold.

Police across New York to focus on enforcing distracted driving laws in April

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Long Island Rail Road crews began installing new track sidings at the Southampton Village station on Monday that local officials celebrated as a concrete — well, steel — step toward improving train service along the whole of the South Fork. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the work in Southampton will extend the existing second set of tracks so that they can accommodate the longer trains the LIRR runs in the summertime.

While the MTA has not announced any plans for new scheduling yet, officials said they are encouraged that the substantive work is underway on the sidings system, which has always been a major impediment to increasing the frequency of service along the South Fork.

“This is something we’ve been working with them on for years,” Southampton Town Councilman Tom Neely, who was previously the town’s transportation director, said. “It will improve scheduling and I hope it’s going to improve frequency.”

In the immediate future, Neely said, the improved siding in Southampton should help the South Fork Commuter Connection scheduling because the small shuttle trains hopefully won’t have to wait as long when a regular Montauk line train is scheduled to pass through.

The MTA has a $262 million project plan for improvements to the South Fork’s rail system in its five-year capital plan, much of which is for extending or adding new sidings and incorporating existing sidings into the remote signaling and control system.

The LIRR has already begun construction of siding extensions and a second platform at the Hampton Bays station that it says will help the SFCC service by allowing two trains to embark and disembark passengers at the same time at that station — something New York State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni and Councilman Neely have said will be a major improvement for the SFCC.

Also on the MTA’s schedule for this year is the repainting of the two LIRR trestles in Southampton Village and the replacement of three aging bridges over the LIRR tracks — in Eastport, Sagaponack and Amagansett.

***

Biosolids found in some fertilizers have been linked to a class of toxic chemicals commonly known as forever chemicals called PFAS and PFOS. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that some of those chemicals recently turned up in a study of Long Island farm stand vegetables. While the exact source remains a mystery, the study has heightened concerns as farmers and gardeners embark on the 2026 growing season. New York State is working on regulations that would require testing of biosolid products, but it's not just biosolids that are cause for concern. Experts say ubiquitous forever chemicals have so many pathways into garden and farm products that they may be impossible to avoid.

Nearly all the compost and garden soils Newsday surveyed at garden centers across the East End did not list biosolids on their ingredients lists or disclaimers.

"Not all biosolids [are] bad," said Long Island Farm Bureau executive director Bill Zalakar, who emphasized that Long Island farms do not apply biosolids to their fields. "That’s where maybe if they did conduct testing of biosolids before they were applied, and they tested OK, then they would be a great source of fertilizer material."

And while scientists say much research remains to be done, some studies already have identified pathways.

"These PFAS compounds are just spreading farther and farther and concentrating more and more and just because they ban them doesn’t mean the problem has gone away," said Walter Hang, president of Environmental Health Research Group, Inc., an advocacy organization.

"We have just not solved this problem in any fashion," he said. "It’s everywhere and it's bioconcentrating in humans, in foodstuffs and cattle, you name it; it’s just a problem of unprecedented proportions because of the toxicity and the incredible persistence and the volume of these compounds that are produced to this very day."

The state regulations under consideration would require the testing of "class A biosolid" products, including certain composts, heat-dried pellets and related products for the presence of PFAS. "The policy is being finalized, and it will cover all biosolids-derived products," the state Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement to Newsday.

***

Sagaponack Village and the Bridgehampton Museum have entered into a new stewardship agreement to restore one of the oldest cemeteries in the village. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that Bridgehampton Museum will serve as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit sponsor to Poxabogue/Evergreen Cemetery, located on the corner of Sagg Main Street and Montauk Highway, to help to maintain the site and preserve it for future generations.

Sagaponack Village Trustee Mark Landis and museum Executive Director Connor Flanagan were the main forces behind the agreement. The museum currently has a stewardship agreement for the Nathaniel Rogers House in Bridgehampton.

In Sagaponack, since the Poxabogue/Evergreen Cemetery is still active it doesn’t fall under the purview of Southampton Town, leaving it to the cemetery board to be responsible for maintenance.

Currently, the museum and cemetery are working with $10,000 that was given to them by the Village of Sagaponack. Landis said that they are looking for $40,000 to begin their improvements.

***

Republicans’ hopes of flipping the New York governor’s seat were dealt a blow yesterday when their candidate, Bruce Blakeman, was denied up to $7 million in matching funds because of an oversight in his filings. Grace Ashford reports in THE NY TIMES that the decision rests on a somewhat convoluted web of new paperwork deadlines and requirements. Last year, the New York State Legislature changed election law to require candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to run together on a single ticket. As a result, the Public Campaign Finance Board altered its process to require the lieutenant governor and the governor to jointly apply for matching funds.

But when Mr. Blakeman, who is currently the Nassau County Executive, filed his application for matching funds in December, he did so without listing a lieutenant governor — a seemingly understandable omission since he had not chosen one. When he did select his running mate, the Madison County sheriff, Todd Hood, Mr. Blakeman did not update his paperwork.

Both oversights were cited by the Democrat-controlled board, which voted 4 to 3 along party lines to withhold matching funds from Mr. Blakeman.

The absence of matching funds may be a daunting obstacle for Mr. Blakeman, who faces an uphill battle in his quest to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul. The governor has a $20 million war chest, and her party maintains a commanding registration advantage over Republicans across the state.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Blakeman, Madison Spanodemos, said in a statement that the decision “reeks of corruption.” Referring to the Democratic chair of the board, who Ms. Hochul had appointed, she added: “With the race tightening and her poll numbers sagging, it’s no surprise Kathy Hochul’s handpicked appointee would vote to take away funds from Bruce Blakeman’s campaign.”

A spokesman for Ms. Hochul’s campaign, Ryan Radulovacki, defended the decision. “The onus is on each campaign to ensure they meet its requirements,” he said. “‘100% MAGA’ Bruce Blakeman doesn’t need any help from us to run an incompetent, losing campaign.”

Republican commissioners on the Public Financing Campaign Board saw more than a hint of conspiracy in the decision. They complained that board staff members did not flag the issue, despite communicating about other issues and application deficiencies. There does not appear to be any process for Mr. Blakeman, or any other candidate affected, to challenge the decision outside a lawsuit.

Democrats insisted that the rules were clear and that candidates were responsible for following them.

***

A former Westhampton Beach music and choir teacher has filed suit against the district, saying she was wrongfully fired after posting a TikTok video about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Lorena Mongelli reports in NEWSDAY that Laura Mara posted the 14-second video on Sept. 11, the day after Kirk was assassinated, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Suffolk County Supreme Court. In the video, Mara said in part, "We are not celebrating his death. We are responding to his death the way he responded to" school shootings.

She added, "And that response is thoughts and prayers. I guess that’s the price you pay to freely bear arms in the United States of America," the suit states.

Mara’s video was about “gun safety,” according to the suit. Her views are protected under the First Amendment and her comments were made after work hours, the complaint states. But after a parent reposted the video to Facebook, the suit says people complained about Mara at a school board meeting. She was placed on leave and in the weeks that followed, Mara — identified in the suit as a "homosexual" woman — alleges she was accused of making inappropriate comments in class based on stereotypes and tropes of LGBTQ+ behavior.

Mara was fired in December, the suit states.

Mara said the district’s actions have caused her "significant emotional distress, humiliation, mental anguish [and] damage to professional reputation.” She is seeking at least $5 million in compensation.

“Laura Mara’s most fundamental constitutional rights were violated by the Westhampton [Beach] Union Free School District in a situation made worse by the discrimination based on sexual orientation," her Smithtown-based attorney, Austin Smith, said in a statement.

Mara was hired by the Westhampton Beach district in August 2024. She received “excellent” performance reviews during her first year with the district, according to the complaint.

After she posted her video about Kirk, the suit alleges people who attended a school board meeting on Sept. 15 lodged complaints against the teacher, including that she had a "feminist” ideology and had made political statements in the classroom.

Less than 24 hours later, she was placed on leave and ordered to stay away from school property, allegedly without an investigation, the suit says.

Mara was fired on Dec. 17, according to school board documents included in the lawsuit.

***

Police Departments across New York will participate in a statewide enforcement campaign targeting distracted driving from April 9 through April 13, police said in a press release issued yesterday.

The initiative, announced by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee in recognition of April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month, is known as “Put the Phone Away or Pay.” During the campaign, law enforcement agencies across New York will increase patrols and conduct checkpoints aimed at drivers using electronic devices while behind the wheel, police said.

Distracted driving is the leading contributing factor in crashes across New York, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Police urged drivers to adopt phone-free habits, including pulling over to a safe location before using a phone, asking a passenger to handle calls and messages, avoiding social media and messaging while driving, using “Do Not Disturb” mode, and placing a phone in the trunk, glove box or back seat to break the habit of distracted driving.

For more information, visit trafficsafety.ny.gov.

***

Long Island gas prices remained slightly below the national average yesterday, as gas prices around the country surged past $4 per gallon for the first time since 2022. Brianne Ledda reports in NEWSDAY that on Long Island, the average price for a gallon of gas on Tuesday hit $3.89, more than a dollar higher than a month ago, according to AAA's online fuel tracker. Despite the hike, fuel costs in the region remain below the national average, which, fueled by the Iran war, hit $4.02 yesterday. Last night at the Speedway in Water Mill the price for regular unleaded was posted as $3.9999.

Prices vary state by state and, even within states, region by region. The average cost for a gallon of gas across New York State is around $3.95, according to AAA.

Gas costs less at the pump on Long Island because much of the region's gasoline is produced domestically and delivered via pipelines and barges, which are cheaper than tanker trucks, Newsday has reported. The more than 2 million passenger cars and trucks on Long Island roads also means distributors can buy gasoline in bulk.

Since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on Feb. 28 the cost of crude oil, a key ingredient to making gasoline, has been skyrocketing as the conflict disrupts supply chains from oil producers in the Middle East. Brent crude, considered the international standard, and U.S. crude have vaulted to prices over $100 per barrel from $70 before hostilities escalated.

Chris Daniello, executive director at the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association, said domestic production has likely prevented gas prices from surging even higher. He anticipates that, should supply chains in the Middle East return to normal, prices could drop closer to what they were in February.

"This is a major conflict and we're not even hitting what we were four years ago," he said. In 2022, gas prices on Long Island hit a record $5.04 per gallon after the U.S. sanctioned Russian oil exports following the invasion of Ukraine.

It takes longer for prices to come back down, but the "production and supply is there," Daniello added.

He pointed out, though, that another price pressure on gasoline will soon appear as Long Island and the rest of the Northeast switch from winter to summer blends of gasoline, which are costlier to process.

The price per gallon has somewhat plateaued on Long Island recently, but that's likely to be temporary, said Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast.

The cost of crude oil has continued to rise, he said. "As long as that keeps going up, gasoline will keep going up."

Today is the last day of WLIW-FM's Spring Fund Drive!

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

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***

A proposal to allow farming at the historic Osborn Homestead in Wainscott is drawing opposition from residents and civic leaders who say its agricultural use would threaten the site’s environment and rural character. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the Town of East Hampton acquired the 30-acre property from billionaire Ronald Lauder in 2024 for $56 million, the largest purchase ever using its Community Preservation Fund. The town is developing a management plan for its public use that says part of the property could be licensed for agricultural purposes.

That prospect became a flashpoint at a recent East Hampton Town board hearing, where residents said modern farming practices could damage the property’s historic character, open-space views and nearby Wainscott Pond. Esperanza Leon, president of the Wainscott Heritage Project, said heavy machinery, large-scale irrigation and other modern agricultural operations don’t fit with the site’s “historic character.”

“We need clear, enforceable restrictions that prioritize the homestead as a heritage site first, ensuring that any agricultural activity is low impact, sustainable and respectful of the property's primary historic mission,” Leon said. “Preservation is not about freezing time. It is about managing change and ensuring that the most important pieces of our past aren't compromised or erased by the present.”

The Osborn family started farming the land in 1675, after English settlers arrived in the area in the mid-17th century. The family grew potatoes there through much of the 20th century before shifting to strawberries until 1994, according to the town. In recent decades, the property has remained largely fallow and is now mostly meadow.

East Hampton Town Councilwoman Cate Rogers said she supports farming on the property, but only if it preserves the open-space view and does not adversely affect the environment.

The town purchased the land for its open space, historic significance, agricultural use and to protect water quality. “I don't think any of our usage should usurp or be in conflict with the other reasons that we bought the property,” Rogers told NEWSDAY.

Kim Quarty, executive director of the Wainscott-based Friends of Georgica Pond, urged the town to prioritize the health of Wainscott Pond.

“We do not support agricultural practices on the property that would contribute to increased nitrogen loading,” Quarty said. “Traditional fertilizer-intensive agriculture poses a clear and documented risk to the pond.”

She said the Town of East Hampton should consider “low impact and emerging agricultural models that minimize ... or eliminate nutrient runoff” like beekeeping and snail farming.

Bruce Wayne Solomon, of Wainscott, said the Osborn Homestead’s open-space view is “rare” and should remain protected.

“In a place that changes as quickly as the Hamptons, that brief feeling that you somehow stepped back into 17th century is something special,” he said. “And once a view like that disappears, well, it's not exactly something we can rebuild later with a permit, a ribbon cutting and a few truckloads of asphalt.”

***

Riverhead’s anti-bias task force is caught in a dispute regarding its mission and oversight following the resignation of Riverhead Anti-Bias Task Force chairman Mark McLaughlin. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that a longtime member’s near-resignation further reveals the widening dispute over whether the town-appointed body is still being allowed to do the proactive education and outreach work many members see as central to its mission.

McLaughlin, who was appointed chairman in September 2023 as part of a Riverhead Town Board overhaul of the task force, said he resigned last month because restrictions placed on the group left it unable to respond meaningfully to bias-related concerns in the community.

Longtime member Connie Lassandro, who earlier this month said she had decided to resign for similar reasons, said this past Thursday that she’d changed her mind after discussions with Town Board member and task force liaison Denise Merrifield and fellow task force member Marjorie Acevedo. Lassandro said she agreed to remain on the task force for now, so long as its mission is not altered and it continues to engage in education, outreach and prevention work.

At the center of the dispute is a basic question: Is the Anti-Bias Task Force supposed to work proactively to address prejudice through public programs, outreach and education, or should it act only in a more limited, reactive role when specific complaints arise.

A resolution adopted by the Riverhead Town Board in 2015 to re-establish the task force following a period of inactivity, set forth the purpose of the task force: “to assist this government in identifying issues related to prejudice or bias…”

The resolution also said the task force would serve in an advisory capacity to the Town Board, to make “recommendations as to the direction the Town can take in combating bias and improve social conditions for all and further a proactive means to eradicate various forms of social oppression.”

A Town Board resolution adopted in 2021 requires the task force to submit in writing all recommendations for events, programs, co-sponsored activities, publications, announcements, policies and funding requests to the Town Board for review and approval before taking action —including events or programs to be co-sponsored with other departments, schools or government agencies.

That dual structure — a body charged with broad anti-bias work but subject to Town Board oversight — has been a source of tension before.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin, who took office in January, said that he intended to review the task force’s bylaws and history and speak with ABTF liaison Council Member Merrifield before responding further.

Halpin said he still believes the Anti-Bias Task Force is important to the Town of Riverhead.

Gov. Hochul and NYS legislators unlikely to meet budget deadline

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

WLIW-FM gives us something to believe in. If you’re enjoying this podcast, consider a donation today, during our Spring Fund Drive.

***

Welcome to budget time in Albany.

It’s just days before New York’s April 1st budget deadline, which apparently Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislators won’t meet. Again.

Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that lawmakers are trying to hammer a deal on a roughly $260 billion budget, and it’s not dollars and cents holding them up so much as key policy differences.

Democratic Governor Hochul and the Democrat-controlled Legislature don’t appear terribly far apart on how much New York should spend on the 2026-27 fiscal year, which begins this coming Wednesday.

Here are some of the issues being debated:

Hochul proposes easing or suspending some environmental reviews when a project involves housing, child care or clean energy. She says the red tape of the state’s Environmental Review Quality Act (SEQRA) can add two years to a building completion. Builders and some unions like it. But it’s opposed by environmental groups and progressive Dems — and Republicans in the Legislature who say the way Hochul would cut red tape would override local zoning control. The governor says she wants to slow down the state’s target goals for transitioning off fossil fuels (a 70% reduction by 2030) because it is a key part of her "affordability" agenda.

The NYS Senate and Assembly has proposed raising tax rates on annual incomes of $5 million or more, while Hochul has been steadfast in opposing any income tax hikes.

Legislators will want to bump up Hochul’s $37 billion earmark for school aid, as they always do. They’ll also want to be more generous on child care (especially workers’ pay), prekindergarten and higher education. One area of financial turbulence is whether to boost state pension benefits for people hired in the last 15 years.

And Governor Hochul wants to ban counties from signing formal cooperation agreements with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. She wants to prohibit local police from transferring custody of people to ICE without a judicial warrant.

But immigration activists and progressive Dems are pushing for more. They favor the "New Yorkers For All" bill, which, among other things, would ban ICE agents from entering nonpublic areas of government-run locations like schools or motor vehicles agencies, ban local and state agencies from sharing information with ICE and prohibit local police from asking a person’s immigration status.

***

Thousands of people gathered Saturday at anti-Trump "No Kings" demonstrations across Long Island. The 16 rallies were among more than 3,000 protests scheduled nationwide, where participants decried what they called overreach of executive power, as well as ramped-up immigration enforcement and the emergence of a new Middle East conflict. Joseph Ostapiuk and Tara Smith report in NEWSDAY that Show Up Long Island, Engage Long Island, Long Island Network for Change and other grassroots groups organized Long Island's rallies.

Neither Nassau nor Suffolk County police departments reported any incidents or arrests at the protests.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that nearly 500 people gathered in Greenport’s Mitchell Park and then marched through the village in Saturday’s No Kings protest. A crew of singers (many involved with the North Fork Community Theatre’s current production of “1776”) led the crowd in folk songs. Prior to the march, a half a dozen or more speakers including New York State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni spoke to the crowd.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that demonstrators gathered in downtown Riverhead Saturday afternoon for their “No Kings” rally. The “No Kings 3″ event in Riverhead followed a march from Riverhead High School to Town Hall, where nearly 200 people gathered to express support for OLA of Eastern Long Island’s proposed legislation regarding public safety in the face of ICE activities.

And more than 1,000 protesters packed Lake Street in Patchogue this past Saturday. They were occasionally heckled by passersby, some of whom held Trump flags. NO KINGS demonstrators marched past Republican congressman Andrew Garbarino’s office, chanting, "Garbarino, do your job." Garbarino is chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Suffolk County Republican Committee chairman Jesse Garcia dismissed the demonstrations as "failed PR stunts" by Democrats that do little to influence political issues.

Alleging the protesters were paid, Garcia told Newsday the demonstrators merely "hoot and holler, make noise, disrupt intersections with identifying problems but with no real solutions."

Some demonstrators pushed back against claims that they were paid. Debbie Hooper, 73, of Greenport, joked that she hadn't yet received a paycheck.

"We do it for the love of our country," Hooper said

***

On the north fork this evening, Southold and Greenport officials will give updates about current affordable housing projects in Mattituck and Laurel at the Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association’s monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Beach in Mattituck.

Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing to exempt a majority of new housing from state environmental reviews, arguing that sufficient safeguards are in place at the local level. Grace Ashford reports in THE NY TIMES that building in New York is infamously complicated, expensive and burdensome, in part because of a maze of required reviews and permits.

Now Gov. Hochul is pushing the state to adopt a different approach: getting out of the way.

In her budget proposal, Ms. Hochul has called for changing the 50 year old State Environmental Quality Review Act (known as SEQRA) to expedite new housing projects and major infrastructure, saying that substantive reviews are already being done at the local level.

The plan threatens to put the governor, a Democrat, on a collision course with environmentalists, particularly as she seeks to convince state lawmakers to use the state budget to weaken and delay the state’s ambitious climate goals. But as Ms. Hochul enters the final stages of budget negotiations, she has won the support from mayors and leaders in Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Yonkers and New York City.

Governor Hochul, who is running for re-election this year, is aware of how she failed in 2023 to compel local governments to build housing. The governor’s current plan is deferential to local governments — in fact, it places nearly all of the authority for approving or denying a development in their hands by, for example, allowing local rulings on water and air quality to be final.

For communities that are eager to build, this change would allow them to do so. But it would do little to create new housing in places where communities are resistant, regardless of the need.

Several No Kings rallies to be held across East End

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

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***

Last Saturday, the Southampton High School robotics team – known as the Marinators — won first place at the FIRST Long Island Regional competition at Hofstra University. They are now eligible to compete at the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Texas next month, though they are waiting on the official invitation. Michelle Trauring reports on 27east.com that over the course of three days, the competition saw 24 total practice matches and 72 qualification matches, which placed the Marinators in 24th out of 50 teams, according to Assistant Principal Dr. Melissa Mitchell, who pioneered the Southampton robotics team in 2023. Then, the top eight teams picked the two teams that they wanted in their alliance for the final matches of the competition. The Marinators couldn’t believe when they heard their team number — 9646 — called by the Kings Park and Southold high schools.

The 35-member Southampton team earned the top spot by designing, engineering and operating a robot capable of performing multiple complex tasks, including shooting balls into a target, retrieving them from the ground and climbing to hang from a bar. They dedicated countless hours to building, testing and refining their robot, working under the guidance of adviser Eric Pflug, who has a background in engineering.

In the final match, the Marinators faced off against a formidable trio — Floyd Robotics from the William Floyd School District, Riptide Robotics from Long Beach High School, and Formosan Sika, a team from New Taipei City, Taiwan.

They snared the win in a stunning victory, scoring 475 points to 292, in just two minutes and 30 seconds.

“It was insane,” Dr. Mitchell said. “It’s like when you see someone win a Super Bowl, literally.”

After cheering on their robots, the three allied teams all celebrated together in the stands — united by their one common goal and a shared love of robotics.

“At that point, you’re one team,” Mitchell said. “That’s the beautiful thing about FIRST Robotics.”

***

There are several events this weekend across the east end you may be eager to join or avoid.

The No Kings movement, which began in June of 2025 as a series of rallies across the country coinciding with a military parade held on President Donald Trump’s birthday, is rallying across the country for the third time tomorrow. Local organizers are holding No Kings 3 events on the twin forks in Riverhead, Hampton Bays, Greenport, Sag Harbor and East Hampton. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that concurrently with the Greenport No Kings activities, Slow Food East End is organizing an ICE Cakes not People bake sale to benefit the Latino advocacy group OLA (Organización Latino Americana) of Eastern Long Island at the Hold Fast Stay True Studios at 216 Main Street in Greenport tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Meanwhile the 12th annual Jamesport St. Patrick’s Day Parade is scheduled for tomorrow stepping off at 1 p.m. from the Main Road in Jamesport beginning at Washington Avenue.

And the final East End St. Pat’s Parade of the season is in in Montauk this coming Sunday.

The 63rd Annual Montauk St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts Sunday at 12 noon on Edgemere Road. Organized by the Montauk Friends of Erin, they call their gathering a premier East End event, featuring marching bands, floats, and community members, drawing thousands to celebrate.

***

The Wall Street bonus pool soared to a record high of $49.2 billion last year, a mighty sum that nevertheless fell short of what New York City budget planners had predicted, the New York State comptroller said in a report yesterday. The growth of the pool came as profits surged on Wall Street and the cost of living soared in New York, where an affordability crisis powered the election of N.Y.C. Mayor Zohran Mamdani last year.

Liam Stack reports in THE NY TIMES that the office of the NYS comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, said Wall Street profits jumped 30 percent last year, to $65.1 billion, and the roughly 200,000 people employed in the securities industry were awarded an average bonus of $246,900 per person.

Ana Champeny, vice president for research at the Citizens Budget Commission, estimated the shortfall in tax revenue from the bonuses would be between $100 and $200 million, but said that was just a drop in the bucket of the $18 billion the state collects each year in income tax.

The report on estimated Wall Street bonuses, which the comptroller’s office releases annually, is based on an analysis of personal income tax withholding trends. The office said the bonuses it tracks are both cash payments for work performed in 2025 and deferred bonuses from past years that have been newly cashed in.

The City of New York was counting on a 15 percent rise in bonuses to produce tax revenues to fill its budget gap. The actual increase was 9 percent, the NYS comptroller said. Rahul Jain, the deputy comptroller for New York City in the state comptroller’s office, told THE NY TIMES that he thought the softer-than-expected growth of the bonus pool would not be “a major problem for the city this year.” “There are other places they can get money from,” he said.

On the whole, Mr. Jain added, the report was “still pretty good news.”

“They were more optimistic about what that growth would be, and that will hurt a little bit.” he said. “But every dollar counts — especially right now.”

MTA to discuss raises for 5 LIRR unions

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

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***

Having twice received unfavorable rulings by White House-appointed mediators, the MTA is ready to discuss bigger raises for five Long Island Rail Road unions than what most other transit workers have accepted to avoid a commute-crippling strike, the head of the transit agency said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters following a Manhattan board meeting, Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber said officials met with union leaders Friday for the first one-on-one negotiating session since last summer, and made it clear "we are prepared to talk about" giving workers higher raises than have been previously offered.

But, Lieber said, the MTA wants the unions to help fund those raises through concessions, including productivity increases and work rule changes.

"But a strike that wastes big money for your members is not in anybody’s interest. It’s against both of our interests, just flushing money down the toilet," said the MTA CEO.

Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that last week, a Presidential Emergency Board of mediators sided for a second time with the unions in their contract fight with the MTA. The labor organizations, which represent about half of all Long Island Rail Road union members, including locomotive engineers and ticket agents, are seeking 14.5% in raises over four years. The MTA, until recently, had been sticking to its offer for a three-year contract totaling 9.5% in raises — the same terms already accepted by most MTA union workers. The MTA recently budged from its position, offering a fourth year at 3% and a $3,000 lump sum payment, but also calling for several concessions.

Kevin Sexton, a spokesperson for the coalition of LIRR unions, said, "The MTA has the financial capacity to reach a fair agreement that maintains employees’ standard of living without unneeded concessions," said Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. "The question is not ability — it is willingness."

Without a settlement, the unions could legally walk off the job as early as mid-May, potentially stranding 250,000 daily LIRR commuters. It would be the first LIRR strike in 32 years.

Lieber said the MTA is "planning for" a strike, and would likely adopt a contingency plan similar to that outlined previously, which included limited shuttle bus service between three railroad stations on Long Island and two subway stations in Queens.

Lieber said yesterday that the MTA is "determined to try to provide transit to essential workers," but expects that most commuters could work remotely.

Even a three-day strike would "wipe out" a significant portion of the wage increases workers are fighting for, Lieber said.

***

The incidence of the tick borne ailment called alpha-gal syndrome appears to be growing significantly across the country including in Suffolk County, Long Island.

Joseph Goldstein reports in THE NY TIMES that once regarded as a rarity, the disease, which involves an allergy to red meat that develops after a tick bite, has emerged as a significant health menace, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that as many as 450,000 people nationwide may have had it in the past 15 years. And that is probably an undercount, said Dr. Scott Commins, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine who helped solve the mystery of alpha-gal syndrome about two decades ago.

In recent months, an even more lethal portrait of the disease has emerged.

The allergy has been identified as a potential cause of wide-ranging health woes leading to several recent deaths. Doctors are finding that alpha-gal syndrome may explain gastrointestinal problems in some patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. Other physicians speculate that it may contribute to cardiovascular disease.

Most alpha-gal cases in the United States are believed to begin with a bite from the lone star tick. Named for the signature white spot on the back of adult females, the tick is an aggressive hunter, with an unusually long mouth. The resurgence of the white-tailed deer, the tick’s most important host, is one factor driving the rising prevalence of the allergy.

The ticks’ saliva contains a sugar molecule called alpha-gal. The bite can trigger an overactive immune response, causing an allergic reaction when alpha-gal is next encountered. That same sugar molecule is in the tissue of many mammals, though not humans. That’s why red meat poses a risk.

In Suffolk County, between 3,800 and 18,000 people had alpha-gal from 2010 to 2022, based on C.D.C. estimates. That corresponds to as much as 1.2 percent of the population.

In some pockets, that is probably an undercount. On one L-shaped block in Farmingville, Long Island full of swimming pools and encroaching deer, three neighbors said they have alpha-gal syndrome, all diagnosed within the last two years.

U.S. State Department limits libraries' ability to aid with passport process

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

WLIW-FM gives us something to believe in. If you’re enjoying this podcast, consider a donation today, during our Spring Fund Drive.

***

Gas prices on Long Island, which have seen daily increases since the war with Iran began in late February, are up a dollar from the same time a month ago, according to online pricing data from AAA. Victor Ocasio reports in NEWSDAY that the average per gallon price of regular gasoline on Long Island reached $3.87 yesterday, up from the $2.86 per gallon the motorist club reported on Feb. 24. Here in Southampton the Shell station on County Road 39 was charging $3.76 Tuesday morning and the Speedway in Water Mill $4.00 per gallon as of last night.

The rapid increase in price is not the norm for this time of year and is reflective of the soaring price of crude oil caused by the ongoing U.S.-Israel war with Iran, said Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast.

Traditionally, gas prices on Long Island, like in the rest of the Northeast, begin to slowly increase in early spring due to the seasonal switchover from winter blends to summer blends of gasoline at refineries across the country, he said.

“The summer changeover usually is responsible for a 25-to-35 cent per gallon increase under normal circumstances,” Sinclair said.

But that slight increase is a far cry from the more than dollar bump that local drivers are experiencing at the pump.

Steven Kent, chief economist for the Long Island Association business group, said high gas prices have a direct impact on consumers and the economy.

While prices are higher, they are still below record prices set less than four years ago on Long Island.

Gas prices hit a record high of $5.04 on Long Island in June 2022 following the U.S. decision to levy sanctions against Russian oil exports after the country invaded Ukraine early that year.

To save money on trips to the pump, experts recommend that drivers make sure their vehicles are well-maintained, and that drivers try using new spark plugs and fuel injectors to get more efficiency out of their truck or car.

Long Island drivers also should consider filling up their tanks on Sunday, as it is the most affordable day of the week to buy gas.

***

Anyone who has ever carted young children to the post office to apply for passports understands it can be a stressful process.

For those without children, finding time in the day for a trip to the post office, during its normal business hours, to complete a passport application can also be a challenge. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that for many people preparing for a trip abroad, the local library has been the better option for obtaining a passport. For years, many local libraries have offered passport services to their patrons, offering more extended hours than most post offices, and a more welcoming environment for families with young children.

It’s a service libraries have been doing for many years.

However, last month many libraries throughout the country, and across the East End, lost the ability to process passport applications after the U.S. State Department said that association or nonprofit libraries would no longer be allowed to provide the service. Instead, only libraries that are part of a municipal government entity can continue providing the service.

Most of the libraries on the East End are association or nonprofit libraries, sometimes known as “free” libraries. There are 21 nonprofit libraries in Suffolk County, and 17 of them were offering passport processing services before the federal government took away that ability officially on February 13 of this yea

Mara Zonderman, head of reference and adult services at the Westhampton Free Library said that in January the library got an email from the State Department saying it had to cease accepting passport applications, based on a law, which is not new, that declares only state or local governments or the postal service can collect passport fees.

Ms. Zonderman said the library is pushing back against the change for several reasons.

“This is a very valuable service we’re able to provide our patrons, and another revenue stream, and [library] funding is constantly being threatened,” she said. “In a public library, every penny counts.”

Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton Village is another library affected by the change.

Beth Gates, the reference department supervisor, said that Rogers has been processing passport applications for eight years, and does roughly 100 a year. Five of the librarians serve as passport agents.

“The vast majority of people who come are families, because kids need to have their passports renewed every five years,” Gates said. “It’s great for them, because we’re set up for families at the library. We also serve a lot of adults who either never had a passport or haven’t gotten one in years and need a little extra hand-holding. We’ve also helped a good amount of new Americans, people who recently became citizens and are getting passports for the first time, and I think they have trust in us.”

Liz Burns is the director at R.M.L. and has been a library director for 30 years. She described the situation as “disheartening.”

“As a public library, we’re here to help people,” she said. “We’re in a helping profession and a service profession. With this, we’re being told we can’t help people, and that’s really hard for us as librarians.”

Lyne disease vaccine developers to seek federal approval

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

WLIW-FM gives us something to believe in. If you’re enjoying this podcast, consider a donation today, during our Spring Fund Drive.

***

Across the East End, the threat of further crackdowns by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams is concerning to the region's agricultural businesses. Many are now preparing for more intense work schedules as spring approaches, in greenhouses, in the fields and at farm stands. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the isolated crackdowns across Long Island are playing out against higher-profile campaigns targeting migrant workers across the country with the toll on workforces becoming more evident as the Trump administration deportation efforts enter their second year.

At family-owned Pindar Vineyards in Peconic, the work continued through winter, and pruning must get done in advance of budbreak on the vines that takes place in April and May. Pindar, as of early March still had 50 acres to prune. Pindar had two of its workers apprehended by I.C.E. last month in Greenport and they have not returned.

"Of course, we’re very concerned," said Bill Zalakar, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau, noting that many farms are just now beginning to ramp up spring work schedules. Zalakar, former general manager for a large greenhouse grower on Long Island, knows the importance of a seasonal workforce, the pressures of losing workers and facing the uncertainty of a workforce shortage.

The Farm Bureau estimates that upward of 65% of the Long Island agriculture and related workforces are seasonal migrants, a force that Zalakar said numbers as many as 2,000 people. Pay for the workers starts at the minimum wage of $17, he said, but the more experienced can make $20 to $25 or more an hour.

Pindar Vineyards General Manager Pindar Damianos told NEWSDAY that the most frustrating part of all is that the workers, many from Guatemala, are extremely good at their work, are paid a fair wage and there is no one else to do it.

"I don’t think we’ve ever had an American work in the vineyard," he said, certainly not a local high-schooler seeking employment.”

Anthony Sannino, who heads the family-owned Sannino Vineyards in Cutchogue, has had three workers pruning through the winter, with breaks for the weather, and he’s been looking for two more as the work opens up. He hasn’t been impacted by enforcement actions.

"None of my guys are concerned," he said.

Sannino said he’s on the Southold Town Agriculture Advisory Committee and thus far hasn’t heard of a labor shortage impacting farmers.

Zalakar, of the farm bureau, said farmers and their advocates are walking a very fine line. "We're all cautious with what we'll say because right now they haven't really targeted the local farms. What we’re faced with is if we start screaming about this, they could easily turn around" and target the farm industry’s seasonal workforce.

Zalakar said he holds onto the hope that the federal government will "separate out the agriculture reform process and don’t lump it in with everything else because there are so many variables."

"We're all on board with immigration reform," he said. "We all realize it's such a large controversial issue, but the agriculture industry is so reliant on immigrants and workers that we'd hope that the federal government would pull out the agriculture aspect and work on it separately to help the industry." Zalakar added, "It’s still a little bit early...you’ll see a lot happen in the next 30 days. Most greenhouses are just ramping up now, but most of the workforce really starts toward the end of March."

***

The pharmaceutical companies testing out a new Lyme disease vaccine said yesterday they plan to seek approvals from the federal government even though the latest clinical trial results were not as successful as they had hoped. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that Long Island, with its large tick population, has been a hot spot for Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the nation. Suffolk County had the highest number of Lyme disease cases in New York State in 2024.

This is the first time in more than a decade that a Lyme disease vaccine could be rolled out to the public. The vaccine was developed by Manhattan-based Pfizer Inc. and Valneva SE, which is based in France. It is designed for people 5 years old and up.

The companies said the vaccine was 73% effective in reducing the rate of Lyme disease 28 days after the fourth dose and 75% effective in reducing that rate one day after the fourth dose.

But in a statement, Pfizer said “fewer than anticipated" Lyme disease cases were reported over the study period and a statistical criterion was not met.

Instead of hitting their goal of showing the vaccine had a 95% to 20% “confidence interval,” or effective rate, it resulted in 95% to almost 16%.

Pfizer said other trials have met the 20% threshold and it is “confident in the vaccine’s potential and is planning submissions to regulatory authorities.”

Lyme disease is caused by the bite of an infected blacklegged tick. Not all blacklegged ticks carry the disease, which results in a bacterial infection. Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a rash that sometimes takes the form of a bullseye.

If caught in time, it can be treated with antibiotics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said over 89,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2023, the most recent numbers available. They said some estimates show the actual number of people diagnosed and treated may be closer to 476,000.

In New York State, 21,632 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2024. The highest number of cases was found in Suffolk, with 3,152. Nassau reported 521 cases.

Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital who has a focus on tick-borne illnesses said it may not be clear how effective the vaccine is until there are larger studies or it comes to market and people start using it.

Awareness and reporting of Lyme disease have grown significantly recently. In December, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to focus federal attention and resources on the disease. During his 2025 confirmation hearings, Kennedy said he would work hard for treatments or vaccines for Lyme disease.

Jet collides with fire truck at LGA, killing 2 pilots and leaving dozens injured

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

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***

An Air Canada Express regional jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck after landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing the plane’s two pilots, injuring dozens and shutting down all flights at the airport until at least 2 p.m. today, officials said. As reported in THE NY TIMES, the disruption at one of the United States’ busiest domestic airports was expected to ripple across the region and the nation at the start of the workweek, with hundreds of flights canceled as of this morning. New York City officials urged drivers to avoid the area around LaGuardia, warning of road closures and traffic delays.

As reported in NEWSDAY, two pilots have been killed in the crash between a regional Air Canada plane and a firefighting vehicle late last night on a LaGuardia Airport runway. The crash happened at about 11:40 p.m. Sunday, when a Jazz Aviation flight, operating on behalf of Air Canada, struck a Port Authority firefighting and rescue vehicle that had been responding to a separate incident, the Port Authority said in a statement. In addition to the two pilots, who were killed, 41 people aboard the plane were hospitalized in the crash between the Air Canada plane and the Port Authority vehicle, according to the Port Authority's executive director Kathryn Garcia. Thirty-two people have been released, Garcia said. In addition to the 41, a sergeant and a Port Authority police officer are in stable condition, she said.

Terminal B was quieter than usual just after 6 o’clock this morning, as its usual bustling check-in and security lines were nonexistent.

Dozens of tired travelers sat on benches surrounded by their luggage, unsure of their next move.

As of 5:30 a.m., more than 500 flights into and out of LaGuardia have been canceled today, according to the website FlightAware.

There are roughly 1,000 flights a day, according to statistics posted by the Port Authority, which runs LaGuardia and the region's other major airports.

***

The lobster shacks are still closed for the season in the Hamptons, and the privet hedges are still nestled in their winter burlap. But calendars are filling up fast for private chefs catering to the millionaires and billionaires who descend in summer. Dionne Searcey reports in THE NY TIMES that Licia Householder, a private chef based in Sag Harbor, has started reaching out to Hamptons clients who may be craving her exquisite dishes to let them know she is already booked for nearly every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

“Winter has been so rough, everyone is clamoring to be out here,” said Ms. Householder, who will be cooking for dinner parties, birthday bashes and meals over long weekends for clients headed to the South Fork of Long Island.

The rich are getting even richer in America, and in the Hamptons, where home prices have hit record highs, the wealthy want workers who can trim the hedges, clean the pools and tidy the guesthouses.

And outsourcing much or all of the cooking has become a staple in the area, where privacy is paramount, traffic is terrible and for those who do dare to venture out, tables at even midrange restaurants are booked solid.

“When the season rolls around on the east end, it turns into an ultracompetitive environment where everyone wants the same thing at the same time,” said Jacob Frisch, co-founder of FF Global, an advisory firm that manages the luxury lifestyle demands of ultrahigh-net-worth individuals and their families.

“It’s like the hunger games for private chefs,” he said.

Staffing agencies and chefs alike say the demand to secure a cook this year seems to have started particularly early.

Rates vary, depending on the chef and the type of work. Some chefs can earn $50,000 for the season. Some with their own business charge around $175 an hour or more, plus the price of groceries.

Housing for chefs who aren’t local and aren’t offered a room can be complicated because summer rents are sky-high. Some staffing agencies offer shared housing. The work itself can be stressful, with clients making last-minute changes to menus and late additions of extra dinner guests, both of which can require exasperating trips to grocery stores on traffic-clogged roadways.

Dana Minuta, a chef who works in the Hamptons and other wealthy enclaves, said chefs must be friendly without being nosy. Nondisclosure agreements are common.

“When you’re in a kitchen in a billionaire’s home, you have to know how to be quiet and how to behave,” said Ms. Minuta, the author of “The Billionaire Kitchen: Secrets from the World’s Most Exclusive Tables.”

Kitchens must be spotless, and the operation must be meticulous.

***

An energy and technology company on Shinnecock Indian Nation land has formed a joint venture with a Canadian telecommunications firm to launch a broadband center to offer low-cost internet access, service and manufacturing, officials said. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Shinnecock-based Waa Nee Shee Energy LLC formed the venture in February with Mage Networks of Calgary, Alberta, to launch the center, which promises to share technology, manufacturing and workforce development as the partnership pursues broadband internet throughout the region, including beyond the tribal territory which is between Southampton Village and Hampton Bays. It’s Mage’s first entry into the New York market.

Phil Brown, president of Waa Nee Shee Energy, said his hope is to bring the center to the nation’s territory and employ up to a dozen Shinnecock members to work there. He estimated the cost of the service at between $40 and $60 a month. Brown also serves as housing director for the Shinnecock Nation, which is not affiliated with his private company.

The venture would make Waa Nee Shee Energy an internet service provider, or ISP, integrating equipment for use at some of the more than 700 homes that could sign up to receive the signals with tribal government approval, which remains pending. Brown said the plan, which still requires initial grant funding of about $500,000, is to base the center on the nation's territory, but eventually to offer the service to surrounding underserved communities.

The service also would operate as an intranet, linking Shinnecock members within the community, and provide for a range of telecom, internet and streaming services, if the Shinnecock government approves such a relationship.

It also would provide workforce training and employment for both Shinnecock members and those from surrounding communities, Brown said.

Waa Nee Shee officials foresee construction of a 10,000-square-foot building on the territory to start operations and envision additional locations outside the reservation. It is partnering with Ignite Long Island, a nonprofit manufacturing trade group, to help secure funding for the operation, Brown said.

The Shinnecock nation has already been awarded a federal grant of about $8 million to bring high-speed fiber connections to tribal facilities and homes on the reservation. Brown said that with the new wireless internet service, the center could save the nation money by building out the fiber optic network and using Mage’s signals for wireless connections to individual homes without disturbing ground.

Local events across the East End celebrate first weekend of Spring

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

WLIW-FM gives us something to believe in. If you’re enjoying this podcast, consider a donation today, during our Spring Fund Drive.

***

Riverhead residents are seeing spikes on their tax bills after a judge ordered the town to pay $6 million to refund the owner of the Friar's Head golf course. The judgment includes $1.6 million in accrued interest. Last year, Riverhead Town residents were on the hook for nearly $2.8 million in tax refunds. This year's total was $7.2 million — the lion's share of which stems from the Friar's Head refund. The Town of Riverhead valued the course property as high as $34 million in 2015. A judge lowered the appraisal to $11.6 million.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the tax dispute dates back nearly two decades after the course's owner filed a lawsuit challenging the town’s assessment of the 350-acre property. The land includes an 18-hole championship golf course, clubhouse, three guest cottages and a helipad, according to court documents.

Some residents opening their tax envelopes this year were surprised to see a 160% jump in the “New York State Real Property Tax Law” line without any explanation. The line, featured on all Suffolk tax bills, is used to cover tax refunds across each of the county's 10 towns.

Laverne Tennenberg, who chairs Riverhead’s board of assessors, acknowledged the chargeback is having an impact on tax bills this year. The town made its case for valuing the 85 acres, where there was potential for new housing, she said. Riverhead officials said a developer could subdivide that property to create up to 55 residential lots, a move that would significantly increase the property's overall value. But a judge rejected that argument since the golf course never sought to subdivide the land or build housing there.

“We presented a methodology about the excess land. The judge didn’t want to hear it,” she told NEWSDAY. “There’s nothing we can do about it.” She did not say what the average impact will be on residents’ tax bills, noting it depends on individual property values.

Riverhead, like most towns in Suffolk, has not conducted a townwide reassessment since 1980, Tennenberg said. The Town of Riverhead has a population of more than 36,000, according to recent U.S. Census data.

Just two Suffolk towns, Shelter Island and Southampton, have reassessed since 1980, according to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance. Southampton's last reassessment was in 2019, while Shelter Island's was in 2025.

***

There are a couple of local events tomorrow that allow us to affordably celebrate the first weekend of Spring 2026.

They're free and all are invited.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Greenport Village holds its annual Earth Day Early Spring Cleanup in Moore’s Woods Saturday morning…that’s tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon. Meet at the Moore’s Woods Trailhead at the dead end of Webb Street, or at Monsell Trail and North Street. Bring gloves, tick spray, wagons, or grabbers. For further info visit https://villageofgreenport.gov/event/annual-moores-woods-clean-up-event/

In Hampton Bays tomorrow, The Hampton Bays Hibernians will hold their annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, stepping off from Ponquogue Avenue at 11 a.m.

The Hampton Bays St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been a cherished tradition since its first march in 2006. From the very beginning, one of the group’s main goals has been to create a hometown St. Patrick’s Day Parade that honors Irish heritage and brings the community together.

Tomorrow’s parade starts at 11 a.m. near the Hampton Bays American Legion Post 924 and proceeds to Montauk Highway then west through the center of the hamlet. Spectators are expected to line the route to watch pipe bands, school marching bands, community organizations, local businesses, fire departments and colorful floats.

Trump war in Iran threatens farmer livelihoods on East End

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

WLIW-FM gives us something to believe in. If you’re enjoying this podcast, consider a donation today, during our Spring Fund Drive.

***

The number of cars hitting deer on Long Island rose 75% over eight years to the highest level on record, a consequence of what biologists say is severe overpopulation of deer on the East End and Suffolk County North Shore that's spreading west.

Southold Town Highway Department worker Fred Friedberg, a 42 year veteran, has seen the aftermath firsthand — he's had to remove an increasing number of dead deer, as many as six a day. More than 220 deer, roughly one per mile, were killed on north fork roadways in a single year, according to Southold Town Police.

"It can be nasty, gruesome," said the 61-year-old maintenance mechanic who lives in Cutchogue.

"The deer are literally running into cars," said Jean Thatcher, the mayor of Lloyd Harbor, a village in the Town of Huntington that also has a large deer population. "It's an extremely serious problem of public safety, public health and environmental degradation."

Peter Gill reports in NEWSDAY that around 570 deer strikes were reported in 2016, increasing to about 1,000 in 2024, according to data from the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles, which goes back to 2009. Crashes are most common in Suffolk County, but in Nassau, deer strikes rose from just 11 in 2016 to nearly 70 in 2024. All the figures may be undercounts, since drivers are only required to report deer-vehicle crashes when there is significant property damage or injury, and even then, they don't always do so.

Biologists say that with the elimination of their natural predators, and suburban landscapes providing plenty of food, the ungulates likely number in the tens of thousands across Long Island — though no one knows the exact number because there is no large-scale census, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The increase in deer strikes is not explained by changes in traffic volume or worsening driving behaviors alone. Over the same period that deer-vehicle crashes rose 75% on Long Island, the cumulative miles driven stayed roughly steady. Meanwhile, the total number of non-deer crashes did rise, but only by about 21%.

Drivers are advised to use precautions such as driving slowly. But biologists say the most effective way to reduce deer crashes is through hunting and deer culls, though some say restrictions have reduced culling's effectiveness. Deer crashes are most common during mating season, when they are most active, from October to December — especially around sunset.

AAA advises drivers to be extra vigilant, use high beams when appropriate and remember that deer travel in groups — so if you see one, expect others.

***

Two East End towns are taking steps to spur new accessory apartments in the hopes of alleviating the region's affordable housing crisis.

Alek Lewis and Tara Smith report in NEWSDAY that East Hampton is weighing a package of zone changes and financial incentives to encourage more accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, apartments that share property with a single-family home, either within the home or in a detached structure such as a garage.

The Town of East Hampton is looking to eliminate a ban on second homeowners from creating ADUs. Officials also plan to lower minimum lot size requirements so more properties are eligible to build the apartments.

On Tuesday, the Town of Riverhead overhauled its ADU rules, streamlining the permitting process and abolishing the approval requirement of a review board. The new law increased the townwide cap of ADUs to 500. In East Hampton, ADUs can be up to two bedrooms and between 300 and 1,200 square feet. In Riverhead, they can have no more than one bedroom and must be between 400 and 1,000 square feet. In both towns, ADUs cannot be used for short-term rentals.

Interest in ADUs has jumped on Long Island, Newsday has reported. For homeowners, the apartments can mean extra income or a separate living space for a family member.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to launch tools to support ADU development. Some Long Island governments have rejected calls over worries about increased traffic and stress on public services.

East Hampton officials see ADUs as valuable for increasing housing stock on the South Fork, where home prices have climbed to record levels and affordable housing options are limited.

In East Hampton, ADUs are considered affordable housing and must be rented at or under prices established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In Riverhead, the ADU permit process will now be handled entirely by the town's building department. Previously, a now-defunct review board oversaw the approval process.

The law increases the allowed maximum size of ADUs. The town continues to require that the principal dwelling unit of a property with an ADU be owner-occupied. There are around 130 ADUs in Riverhead Town, officials said.

***

As Riverhead-area farmers head into the growing season, a war half a world away is threatening to drive up the cost of the fertilizer and fuel they depend on most, adding fresh pressure to an industry already squeezed by the high cost of farming on Long Island. The concern is not so much that local growers will be unable to get fertilizer this spring, but that they will have to pay more for it — and for the freight and fuel costs that ripple through nearly every aspect of farming.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Middle East tensions have rattled fertilizer markets just as many U.S. farmers are making or finalizing spring purchases.

That global market turmoil is landing at an especially difficult time for local farmers, said Bill Zalakar, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau.

“Most farmers probably do not have their fertilizer on hand as of right now,” Zalakar told Riverheadlocal on Tuesday. “Most farmers will start buying that in the next month or so as the weather starts to warm up a little bit.”

Zalakar said the impact here may extend beyond fertilizer itself.

“Probably even bigger than the fertilizer is just going to be the fuel and transportation cost,” he said, noting that farmers rely on diesel for tractors and other equipment and that shipping costs affect nearly everything that comes onto — and leaves — Long Island.

AAA’s Nassau-Suffolk metro average for diesel on March 17 was $5.207 a gallon, up from $3.933 a month earlier.

For a farming region like Riverhead, where agricultural heritage remains a defining part of the community even as suburban development has steadily reduced farmland, the latest spike in input costs is a reminder of how vulnerable local agriculture remains to forces far beyond the East End.

Federal judge overturns arrest by ICE of Long Island man

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

In a scathing opinion, a federal judge has overturned the arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of a Long Island man and criticized the agency’s actions amid a mass deportation campaign as "a proverbial recipe for disaster." Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that Eastern District Judge Gary R. Brown on Monday ruled that ICE agents broke the law when they arrested an immigrant from El Salvador in Suffolk County in February since he had a valid juvenile immigrant visa and a work permit.

Brown said the arrest of William Enrique Sanchez Alfaro, 25, of Coram, by three experienced ICE agents called into question their training and the policies the agency was following as President Donald Trump pursues the largest deportation effort in U.S. history. "While the facts elicited about the arrest and detention of Petitioner are brutal and unacceptable, the evidence highlights a more systemic concern: the officers who testified — all sworn to uphold the law — proved unaware of and oblivious to the requirements of the law," wrote Brown, a Trump-appointed judge.

"Importantly, these officers were not ‘rookies’ — each had more than a decade’s experience in immigration enforcement," he wrote. "The combination of the officers’ lack of training and preparation and the extraordinary pressure to exponentially increase the number of immigration arrests results in a proverbial recipe for disaster."

Judge Brown gave ICE 21 days to return to court to show it is taking steps to "ensure that future ICE enforcement actions within the Eastern District of New York shall be conducted in a lawful manner."

In a previous ruling, Brown lambasted an ICE holding cell in Central Islip as cold, "putrid and cramped."

Sanchez Alfaro arrived in the United States as an unaccompanied minor in 2018 and was granted a Special Juvenile Immigrant Status visa in 2022, according to court papers.

Sanchez Alfaro has no criminal record, was working in his family’s welding business, paid his taxes and was a "model citizen," according to sworn statements submitted to the court.

Patrick Young, a professor of immigration law at Hofstra Law School, called Brown’s ruling an important move toward reining in the agency.

"This is not just about one case, but this is about the entire procedure of ICE here on Long Island," Young said.

***

The next No Kings nationwide mobilization is scheduled for Saturday, March 28. As posted on MoveOn.org, “Last June, three million of us came together for the first No Kings. Then, 7 million in October. And now, March 28 is on track to be the largest No Kings mobilization yet and the largest nonviolent demonstration in U.S. history.”

Per nokings.org, this Saturday’s demonstrations are supposed to be, “…a nonviolent national day of action and mass mobilization in response to the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration.”

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that local organizers are holding events across the twin forks in Riverhead, Hampton Bays, Greenport, Sag Harbor and East Hampton.

The Greenport protest begins the day’s events, from 10 a.m. to Noon in Mitchell Park, with speakers, protest artists and music followed by a march through the village.

Riverhead NoKings organizers are planning a two-mile, one-hour march beginning at 12 noon Saturday at Riverhead High School led by Riverhead and Greenport students who organized anti-ICE walkouts from their high schools in January. The march is expected to go from Riverhead High School to Town Hall and then to the Suffolk County Supreme Court building at 235 Griffing Avenue in Riverhead with a culminating rally at 1:30 p.m.

Saturday’s Sag Harbor event will be held at Steinbeck Park from 11 a.m. to noon. The East Hampton event will be held on the front lawn of East Hampton Town Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Organizers are asking attendees to carpool due to limited parking at East Hampton Town Hall and no street parking. Free shuttle buses will run from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Atlantic Beach.

The Hampton Bays event, organized by Indivisible Long Island, will be held from Noon to 2 p.m. on Montauk Highway between The Atrium and Good Ground Cemetery. It will include an optional march to Ponquogue Avenue and back. Indivisible Long Island is also organizing a rally at the Riverhead County Center (300 Center Drive in Riverside) at 9 a.m. Saturday — this is a separate event from the downtown Riverhead afternoon rally.

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Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

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***

Two years after sailing into history, Long Island native Cole Brauer...who grew up in Springs...is most at home in motion — whether blasting through the ocean or traveling in the van she lives out of: the “Silver Vixen.”

Brauer, a 31-year-old, 2012 East Hampton High School graduate and world-famous ocean racer, has kept busy since making history as the first American woman to circumnavigate the globe solo in a sailboat. She's been working at marinas and making professional speeches and has written a memoir.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that Brauer completed a 130-day, 27,000‑mile solo circumnavigation of the globe as part of the Global Solo Challenge. She placed second in a race against more than a dozen male sailors. She left from the northwest tip of Spain on Oct. 29, 2023, and completed the treacherous trip on March 7, 2024.

“It was an amazing opportunity to be able to go around the planet,” she told NEWSDAY during a recent trip back to East Hampton.

By the time she crossed the start line, Brauer had logged enough miles to have circled the globe twice. She rebuilt her boat around her own needs, knew every tool on the vessel, and completed extensive medical and safety training.

Brauer documented the journey on Instagram, where she has amassed close to a half million followers.

Her memoir, “First Light,” chronicles her Bonac upbringing, the beginning of her sailing career and her historic trip. The book is scheduled to be released in September.

Brauer, who is 5-feet-2-inches and weighs 100 pounds, hardly fit the stereotype of an ocean racer, she said. “It’s a super male-dominated sport,” she said.

“You have to be competing at the exact same level — if not higher — if you want to be able to compete against [men], and I find that challenge amazing and wonderful,” she said.

The book discusses the “trials and tribulations of what it was like being a woman in a very male, older, white [sailing] community and everything that comes with that,” she said.

Randi Cherill, who was an athletic trainer at East Hampton High School when Brauer was a student, followed the trip on social media. She said she is fortunate to have played a role in Brauer’s journey as an athlete.

“What she was able to accomplish, and what she was able to do, is astounding,” Cherill said. “That’s what we like to see with our athletes and our former athletes, and who they grow up to be.”

***

The long-term parking lot in East Hampton Village is getting a gated entry, an electric vehicle charging station and 26 new spaces as part of its first face-lift in years, which started earlier this month. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that as part of the work, East Hampton Village officials plan to combine the long-term lot with the neighboring smaller lot to create one facility. At the entrance will be a parking booth and gate. The East Hampton Village Board approved the renovations in a flurry of three resolutions, totaling over $1.4 million, in February.

“It’s kind of a blind spot in the village that we want to tighten up, and we want to make more efficient, both for public safety and for enforcement,” said Village of East Hampton Administrator Marcos Baladron.

He said the lot will always remain free because the village needs the lot for spillover parking, which allows downtown employees to park during the work day.

Village officials, per Baladron, are also in the early planning stages of building a new playground at Herrick Park, and he said the new parking lot will help prepare for the additional parking that may be needed.

Also onsite is a new firehouse barn that village officials plan to use for storing and displaying antique firetrucks, of which the East Hampton Fire Department has many. The building will double as a means of filling a public safety blind spot.

“It’s going to be used for recruitment, and it’s going to be where the public can kind of go see those antiques and enjoy it, number one,” Baladron said. “Number two, it gives us the ability to have internet access in that area, which is kind of far away from many of our other buildings.”

This will allow for additional security, Baladron said, in an area where many East Hampton Village employees, currently, have to walk back to their cars in the dark at the end of the work day.

“It’s kind of needed that face-lift anyway,” he said. “If we weren’t merging the two lots, we probably would have just fixed it anyway, so we’re doing that as well. On an improvement level, it’s better. On a safety level, it’s better. I think it’s just going to be a better, more efficient lot.”

The work will continue throughout this month and into April. The long-term lot is currently closed, but the lot immediately to the west, which will be combined with the long-term lot, is open for parking in East Hampton Village.

Winter wreaks havoc on oyster crops and farmer worries

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

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***

This winter wreaked havoc on oyster crops across Long Island, leaving farmers with damaged gear and considerable financial losses. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that as temperatures have tamed, Long Island oyster farmers are back on the water assessing damages and plotting a path forward after an extreme winter that also left a mark on badly eroded beaches and ripped apart docks. The damage has set off a scavenger hunt to recoup equipment as the rebuild gets underway. Growers said the impacts could be felt for the next few years.

Most of the 50 members of the Long Island Oyster Growers Association reported crop and gear losses, according to Eric Koepele, the industry group’s president.

Preliminary data from an industry survey shows 33% crop loss and $2.4 million in projected gear replacement costs. Koepele said those numbers could climb as a clearer picture emerges.

The data collected in Long Island Oyster Growers Association’s survey was shared with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) has asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare a fishery disaster to bring relief funding to cash-strapped farmers faced with daunting costs to replace equipment and oyster seed. New cages can cost $300 apiece, farmers said.

Oyster farming on Long Island is enjoying a resurgence. Once globally acclaimed, the industry on Long Island was nearly decimated because of overharvesting and deteriorating water quality. New York State has a $4.4 million oyster industry with about 84 farms, according to a recent report by Farm Credit East, a financial institution for agriculture businesses.

Peter Stein, who owns Peeko Oysters on the Peconic Bay in New Suffolk, said he lost “thousands” of floating cages.

A line of those cages was carried 12 miles east, where the equipment entangled in the propeller of a North Ferry vessel, according to general manager Bridg Hunt.

The Long Island Oyster Growers Association asks anyone who spots gear to take photos and send an email with a location to info@liogany.org.

***

Sitting in Gardiners Bay, just beyond Long Island's North Fork, is a mysterious 840-acre dot of land known as Plum Island. Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that over the years, it has been the focus of intense interest, ranging from those who want to conserve its natural wonders to those with conspiracy theories about the animal disease federal government research conducted there. Plum Island has even been the subject of a thriller by one of Long Island's most famous writers.

Last week, it was the preservationist vision of the mostly undeveloped island that took center stage during a Zoom presentation to the Long Island Regional Planning Council.

The Preserve Plum Island Coalition, which includes municipalities, wildlife advocates and others from Long Island and Connecticut, said it wants the island to include a wildlife refuge or other protected land that allows for equitable public access to the island.

Plum Island is home to wildlife such as the state-endangered piping plovers, and nearly 230 bird species that enjoy its freshwater wetlands, advocates say. It hosts a lighthouse and Fort Terry, which was built by the military in the 20th century to ward off naval assault. Between 1954 and 2025, the island housed a federally run animal disease center that studied livestock infections such as foot-and-mouth disease.

The coalition’s plan for Plum Island envisions people being able to visit the lighthouse and a research area with limited public access. The group also would like to see nature trails, cultural exhibitions and a historical district around Fort Terry.

"We're trying to secure the permanent protection of the significant natural and historical and cultural resources of Plum Island," said Robert DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End, which is part of the coalition.

But there may be obstacles, the coalition said. Currently, Plum Island is in the hands of the federal government while contaminated research facilities are decommissioned. After that, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which functions like the federal government’s Realtor, will identify potential caretakers of the property.

Louise Harrison, of the Save the Sound and Preserve Plum Island Coalition, said that the GSA will determine whether federal or state agencies, the county, the Town of Southold or nonprofit organizations have an interest in the property. If no owner is identified, she said, it will go "on the auction block."

"This is something we must prevent," Harrison said. "We're working assiduously to make sure this does not happen." Harrison told the Long Island Regional Planning Council that the GSA has already shown the island to employees who work at the federal, local and regional levels. She added that a consortium of multiple entities could take over the property for the purpose of conservation.

A GSA spokesman said in an email to Newsday last Wednesday that its "timeline for disposition of Plum Island is dependent on numerous factors including decommissioning of the current facility, and any applicable remediation necessary."

In 2023, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) introduced the Plum Island National Monument Act, which would make the stretch a national monument, according to a news release from his office.

The measure did not pass, but LaLota told Newsday recently that the "effort remains one of my top priorities."

"I continue to work closely with the Preserve Plum Island Coalition, the Trump Administration, and colleagues on both sides of the aisle on a path that offers the strongest path forward for Long Island," LaLota said in a statement.

Future of EPCAL remains unsettled

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

President Donald Trump is pushing hard for a bill he says will address concerns about illegal voting, including permitting only U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections. Among the controversial provisions in the bill’s current iteration are requirements for individuals to present proof of citizenship to register to vote. That could create hurdles for New Yorkers who either don't have a passport or whose legal name doesn't match the name on their birth certificate. Billy House reports in NEWSDAY that an estimated 3.8 million New York women have a name that does not match their birth certificate, usually because they changed their name upon marriage, according to numbers provided by Administration Committee Democrats. When a name on a birth certificate doesn’t match the voter’s current name because of marriage, or for other reasons, the applicants for registration would be required submit additional documents that explain the discrepancy.

Those requirements alone could impact millions of New Yorkers, numbers provided by the House Committee on Administration’s top Democrat, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-Rochester), show.

For instance, roughly 28.9% of New Yorkers do not have passports. At a cost of $130 per passport, the SAVE Act could force New Yorkers to pay over $665 million if they need to use a passport to register to vote.

And there is that other problem which mostly hits women voters — they are more likely to change their names upon marriage or divorce and would require additional documents to show proof of that name change.

The upshot is an expected marathon of Senate floor debates next week.

***

The Southampton Town Board this week unanimously approved the purchase of 35 acres of wooded land in Hampton Bays just to the west and north of the town’s Jackson Avenue complex, on which it plans to construct a sewage treatment plant that someday would be connected to a sewer system serving the Hampton Bays business district. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that last month, the board had heard complaints from one immediate neighbor of the property and residents of a neighborhood about 1,000 feet away on the opposite side of Old Riverhead Road that the plans would hurt their property values.

But town officials said on Tuesday that the proposal is a critical cog that will bring sweeping benefits to the whole the Hampton Bays community — and will have far fewer impacts on neighbors once completed than feared. “Modern facilities like this are very different than older plants — the tanks are enclosed with odor controls, so there should be no noticeable odors from this at all,” the town’s planning and development administrator, Janice Scherer, said on Tuesday. She added that the buildings also will be soundproof, so the system will emit little to no noise, and much of the system is fully automated, so it will not require regular staffing and traffic from maintenance vehicles.

And the plant will provide much greater improvements to water quality than putting homes and businesses on individual modernized septic systems would.

The Town of Southampton will pay the land’s owner $3.2 million from the Community Preservation Fund’s dedicated water quality account for about 31 acres of the land, and another $465,000 from the town’s general fund for about 4.8 acres that will ultimately be folded into the Jackson Avenue facilities. The town is in the midst of designing a redevelopment plan to someday accommodate more town offices relocated from the current Town Hall in Southampton Village.

The treatment facility will take up about 6 acres of the larger property, at the southern end closest to Old Riverhead Road. The rest of the property will remain as open woodlands, at the edge of the Long Island Pine Barrens.

It will take the town at least four to five years to design and build the sewage treatment plant and begin constructing the sewer system for the downtown. When completed, the sewers have been seen as a key component to allowing a redevelopment of the Hampton Bays downtown to incorporate mixed residential-commercial areas in hopes of revitalizing the hamlet’s business district.

***

St. Patrick’s Day parades throughout the East End begin this weekend, with Westhampton Beach’s annual parade stepping off Saturday at 12 noon from the elementary school on Mill Road, led by Grand Marshal Allyson Barone Scerri, a tireless advocate and fundraiser for those suffering from traumatic brain injury.

On the north fork tomorrow, Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the annual Cutchogue St. Patrick’s Day Parade, led by 14 past Grand Marshals from the parade’s 20-year history, steps off from the light on the Main Road at Cox Lane at 2 p.m. Saturday, continuing to downtown Cutchogue.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast indicates conditions suitable for enjoying a St. Paddy’s Day parade –

Sunny, with a high near 46 and breezy.

***

The future of Calverton Enterprise Park (EPCAL) remains unsettled, with litigation still hanging over the former Grumman property and no clear redevelopment plan in place, even as Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin says he wants development of the site to make use of the rail spur the town refurbished with $4.8 million in federal funds more than a decade ago.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Halpin this week described freight rail and manufacturing as central to his thinking about the town-owned property, saying he wants EPCAL to be “a manufacturing hub” and “an economic engine.”

“I’m not gonna do ash or trash,” Halpin said. “I know it’s a concern of taxpayers, because they don’t want a transfer station there or an incinerator. So, I want people to know that,” he said.

Utilizing the rail spur would be an environmental benefit, “because we have so many semis that bring everything here, to the East End,” he said. There are already some manufacturing businesses located within the enterprise park that could utilize the rail, he said.

“I think it would also open other doors at EPCAL for manufacturers to come in and to do stuff, and to be able to rely on that,” Halpin said.

Halpin told Riverheadlocal that he’s gotten favorable feedback from county and federal officials regarding an EPCAL rail spur.

There are still practical obstacles to restoring rail service.

The rail spur’s current configuration limits its usefulness to the site as a whole. Due to the spur’s location and length, the existing siding can currently serve only the two adjacent business properties.

The spur’s cost and limited usefulness became a bone of contention on the Riverhead Town Board after Sean Walter took office as supervisor in 2010. He called it a “bridge to nowhere” and said he was “furious” the town spent more than $5 million on a rail spur that served just two businesses.

The rail spur and other challenges reflect a broader reality: despite years of debate, EPCAL still lacks a clearly defined future.

***

About nine months after Southold Town Board members first said they would consider supporting Greenport’s effort to study the feasibility of an affordable housing complex at Clark’s Beach, the town appears unlikely this week to back the effort. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Village of Greenport has been putting together an application to the Long Island Forward Housing Program (LIFHP) to study the feasibility of housing at Clark’s Beach, a nine-acre Soundfront property containing the village’s sewer outfall pipe that is owned by Greenport Village but is outside of its boundaries. Three other properties within the village are also slated to be studied. The technical assistance grant requires the municipality to provide sites that could accommodate at least 50 units of housing, and the potential sites within the village don’t add up to 50 units.

Without the town’s assistance, the village’s entire study has been in limbo since the summer of 2025, and Long Island Forward recently confirmed that the Clark’s Beach portion of the application would have to come from the municipality with zoning authority over the property, not the municipality that owns the property causing a further setback.

Thus, even though Greenport Village owns the property, it has no control over the zoning of the property, which is governed by Southold Town.

***

Rescheduled due to the February blizzard, Southold Town Historian Amy Folk will be at the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library this Sunday at 2 p.m. to share her insights into “Southold During the Revolutionary War.”

Everyone knows how we fought the British and won during the American Revolution. But do you know what happened in Southold during the war? Come join Amy Folk, Southold Town Historian, and learn what happened on Long Island’s North Fork during the Revolution. Sponsored by the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council & Museums.

Sunday’s lecture is free.

While at the library get your Suffolk County 250th Semiquincentennial passbook stamped by The Cutchogue New Suffolk Historical Society & Museums.

***

New Yorkers could get rebates to offset soaring utility bills under plans the Democrat-led State Legislature unveiled this week.

It’s an idea Republicans say they initiated but are happy to see appearing to gain steam.

Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that the proposed rebate was just one of hundreds of ideas put forward as the majority Democrats in the State Senate and Assembly published their "one house" versions of a state budget. The documents are in response to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $260 billion proposal from earlier this year and set the parameters for lawmakers to negotiate a 2026-27 fiscal plan by the April 1 deadline.

The two houses, which are more politically progressive than Hochul, want to boost overall spending by around $10 billion more than the governor, go beyond the governor’s ideas on expanding aid for college tuition and child care, raise the corporate franchise tax and increase income taxes on those earning $5 million or more annually.

They also want to end tax exemptions on yachts and gold bullion and raise taxes on crypto mining.

If those sound like huge differences with the Democratic governor, they’re not. The dollar disparities aren’t huge in the scheme of a quarter-trillion-dollar budget, and a surge in tax revenue pouring into New York could ease the pressure around income tax increases, which Hochul opposes but New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani favors.

In short, it could — could — make for one of the smoother budgets to settle in Albany in recent years, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said.

"I’m pretty confident this will be a pretty timely budget," Heastie (D-Bronx) told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday to unveil the Assembly’s one house budget.

"Does it get done by midnight, you know, 11:59 p.m., March 31? I’m not sure about that," Heastie said, referring to the cusp of New York’s fiscal year. "But I don’t see it going as long as it did the last two years."

Sag Harbor Village launches investigation into homophobic comment from Mayor Gardella

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The cost of energy in the NYC metropolitan area, particularly electricity, home heating oil and natural gas, rose in February compared with a year earlier as Long Islanders and others in our region tried to stay warm in the face of unusually cold temperatures. James T. Madore reports in NEWSDAY that energy prices are up substantially more this month as the cost of gasoline climbs in response to the war in Iran, economists said yesterday, adding that pump prices weren’t a factor last month. They were down 4.3% from February 2025.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported its energy index for the 25-county region, that includes Long Island, increased 5% in February compared with a year earlier. That’s a faster pace than January’s 2.7% but slower than December’s 6.1%. The economists said rising prices can cause consumers to reduce their spending, which in turn can hurt economic growth. Consumer spending accounts for roughly 70% of economic activity on Long Island and nationwide.

The energy index, which is released with the consumer price index, tracks the cost of natural gas, electricity, home heating oil, kerosene, firewood and gasoline — but only the latter’s price is broken out, according to bureau economist Georgia Wright.

Frigid temperatures and record snowfall are largely to blame for the energy index’s rise last month.

The cost of fruits and vegetables also climbed 7.2% in February compared with a year earlier. Nonalcoholic beverages and household furnishings were up 7.1% and 4.8%, respectively, according to the statistics bureau.

The increases were partially offset by declines in the cost of gasoline, recreation and used automobiles. Recreation was down 2.6% and used automobiles were down 3.5%.

The overall price index for the New York-area rose 3.2% last month compared with February 2025. That was a faster pace than January’s 2.9%. The national index climbed at a slower rate: 2.4% in February and January, year-over-year.

***

The Village of Sag Harbor has launched an investigation into a comment by Mayor Thomas Gardella on social media that critics described as homophobic and for which he apologized on Tuesday.

The comment was made on an Instagram video by Texas resident Rebecca Chavez, which shows her and her wife, Deanah, who has a short haircut, dancing to a song. Gardella posted a comment: “What’s that thing in the background ? A guy A girl? some creature ?” as written, appearing to refer to Deanah.

After seeing Gardella’s comment, Chavez searched his name, found his status as mayor and posted a second video identifying him and encouraging people to send him emails. She told Newsday’s Alek Lewis that Gardella’s comment was "homophobic" and "horrific."

Deputy Mayor Edward Haye, in a statement during Tuesday’s Sag Harbor Village Board meeting, said Gardella’s comment “disparaged members of the LGBT community."

“Sag Harbor has long prided itself being a welcoming and a tolerant village, and those values deeply matter to us both as members of the village board and as residents,” Haye said. “While the comment appears to have been made on a personal social media account, it has understandably caused concern and hurt within our community.”

Haye said the village board learned of Gardella’s comment on Monday. It will “be reviewed through the appropriate village processes so we … can address it thoughtfully, fairly and transparently.”

After Haye’s statement, Gardella apologized. “I also would like to apologize for my many friends in the LGBT community who feel disappointed in me,” he added.

“This administration holds a high standard of conduct and accountability and no one is above reproach, especially the mayor,” Gardella said.

Gardella, a former village board member, was elected mayor of Sag Harbor in June 2023.

Chavez said she and her wife are glad Gardella apologized and that his comments are being taken seriously by the village board through its investigation.

***

Join Peconic Baykeeper and Peconic Estuary Partnership for their fourth year of Winter Watershed Walk Series! This year’s series features four new and different locations around the Peconic Estuary. This coming Saturday, March 14 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. you may join them for free at Mashomack Preserve 79 S Ferry Rd on Shelter Island. The walk will be co-led with The Nature Conservancy.

Driving instructions and parking details will be sent out prior to the walk.

Please dress for your comfort, warm layers, hats and gloves are encouraged. Plan to meet at the trailhead and begin walks shortly after the given start time. If you are running late or can no longer attend a walk you have signed up for please let the organizers know. We will do our best to wait for all confirmed registrants.

For further info and registration visit peconicbaykeeper.org

***

A Staten Island delivery driver was killed after the van he was driving eastbound on County Road 39 wandered into oncoming traffic last week, striking four other vehicles before colliding head-on with a large pickup truck. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the accident happened about 3:30 p.m. last Wednesday, March 4.

Police have not said why they think 33-year-old Anasser Almontaser’s van strayed out of his lane as he rounded the sweeping curve in County Road 39 just a few hundred yards to the west of the Tuckahoe Road stoplight. None of the drivers of the other vehicles the van struck suffered significant injuries, they have said.

The crash forced police to close the road for nearly four hours — mostly as detectives and emergency crews waited idly for a coroner from the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office to examine Almontaser’s body and record the circumstances of the crash before the deceased victim could be removed from his vehicle.

By 4:30 p.m. a trip from anywhere east of Southampton Village to Hampton Bays took three hours or more.

But it was not anything new.

Similar commuter nightmares of somewhat varying degrees seem to grip the region several times a year following accidents on either County Road 39 or Montauk Highway. How long the gridlock lasts depends on how long it takes to clear the blocked roadway — with the delays typically taking an hour to two hours to shake out even after the roadway is opened again. When there’s a fatality involved clearing the scene can take even longer.

Local officials are well aware of the problem and the nightmares it causes for commuters.

Discussing the situation at this past Tuesday’s Southampton Town Board meeting produced just two lasting responses: that the town would post digital warning signs along Montauk Highway east of Bridgehampton to warn afternoon commuters of severe delays in hopes that fewer of them would wade into the crawl and worsen gridlock on backroads, and that the town needed to find a way to get around the need for a coroner from the medical examiner’s office to come all the way from Smithtown simply to record the circumstances of the death.

***

Two barges and four months later, the dredging of Montauk Harbor is now complete — and fishermen say passage in and out of the inlet has been easier since the completion of the operation. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that looming over Gosman’s Dock starting in December was Oyster Bay, a 144-foot-long dredge equipped with a 7-foot cutter head — a spiked rotating cone that breaks up underwater materials, like sediment and sand. Once the machine got moving, Oyster Bay could pump up to 10,000 cubic yards of sand per day.

But the Oyster Bay did not last. Running into tough layers of sediment, the dredge suffered two major setbacks — one brought on by a fractured main shaft, the other due to a hydraulic failure. That took the dredge out of commission for several weeks and prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to bring in a second, much smaller dredge, the Scrod II.

“There was only a small channel on the west side that was deep enough for the bigger boats to go through,” said Al Schaeffer, a commercial fisherman. “On the east side, the east jetty, it was so shallow that even a boat like mine that only draws 4.5 or 5 feet couldn’t pass over that.”

But that has since changed.

“I went away for three weeks, and I came back, and I’ve been in and out quite a lot,” said Schaeffer. “I went from the west side to the east side — and we had a lot of problems at the very end of the east side — that hump is gone, and in the whole place, I saw nothing less than 17 feet at any given time.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and East Hampton Town officials partnered to undertake the operation, which was 14 years in the making. In the fall, before the dredge arrived, the federal and local governments had earmarked $9 million and $1.5 million, respectively, but bids came in high, and the East Hampton Town Board moved to kick in an additional $1.1 million to see it through.

The plan was to deepen the inlet to 17 feet, building on a 12-foot emergency operation undertaken in early 2025. The dredge, this time around, pumped sand from the surface of the inlet onto Sunset Beach, immediately to the west. Scrod II took over for Oyster Bay about halfway through.

East Hampton Town Councilman David Lys said, “The main success is that the mariners and the fishing industry will see about the safety of the inlet. They’re telling me right now that they’re not seeing a place in there where the inlet is anything less than 17 feet deep.”

***

To celebrate the 20th annual Cutchogue St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the North Fork Chamber of Commerce and Cutchogue Fire Department will welcome back grand marshals of years past to lead the march. Nicole Wagner reports in THE SUFFOLK TIMES that the 2026 parade, set to step off from Cox Lane in Cutchogue at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 14, will feature 14 previous grand marshals to highlight the milestone procession.

Among those marching this year will be the Mattituck High School marching band, Peconic Community School, North Fork Animal Welfare League, local Girl Scouts, dance groups, local politicians and other community members.

David Gamberg, former superintendent of Southold and Greenport Schools calls the Cutchogue St. Paddy’s Day Parade the unofficial “harbinger of spring,” noting the parade serves as a kickoff to warmer days on the North Fork.

“It just really brings a wide spectrum of residents in the community out together,” he said.

For more information about this Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cutchogue, visit northforkchamber.org.

***

Uncertainty about the federal government’s willingness to fund future storm-mitigation work for public utilities across the country has caught the attention of LIPA’s financial team as it hurries to spend millions shoring up the grid using past FEMA grants. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that LIPA as a public utility has been awarded more than $1 billion in storm-hardening mitigation money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency since 2011 following big storms such as Superstorm Sandy and Tropical Storm Isaias. But concern was heightened when FEMA in 2025 appeared to change its practice of awarding money to harden utility grids and other infrastructure to prevent future storm damage.

Mitigation funds are different from restoration funds, which FEMA routinely pays to help utilities cover the costs of restoring service directly after a storm. Mitigation funds pay for upgrades to lessen future risks and impacts and can help reduce future restoration costs FEMA pays.

FEMA has awarded more than $2.4 billion to LIPA over the years, including $1.2 billion to reimburse the utility for storm restorations and the mitigation initiatives, according to the utility. The latter included a $772 million mitigation grant following Superstorm Sandy to harden 338 overhead power lines and infrastructure, and $408 million following Isaias.

LIPA in a statement yesterday noted that FEMA mitigation programs are "tied to federally declared disasters, and we have not had a qualifying event recently that would generate a new round of funding."

"We appreciate FEMA’s partnership and are continuing to move forward with previously approved projects to ensure we meet program requirements and deadlines while continuing to strengthen reliability for our customers," LIPA said.

At a LIPA trustee meeting in January, officials indicated FEMA during 2025 had already made one notable change.

"Going forward in 2025 we saw that there we no mitigation grants awarded," said Kenneth Kane, LIPA’s senior vice president of investment planning. "That’s been very successful for us [in the past] and so I don’t know where that will end up going."

Kane told trustees work in progress from past FEMA awards was being accelerated.

"We’ve got the money obligated" for past mitigation awards, he said, and money has moved from FEMA to New York State coffers.

Westhampton Beach St. Patrick's Day Parade this Saturday

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The owners of Montauk Inlet Seafood said they've seen fewer boats fueling up at the dock they own that juts into the Block Island Sound on the east end of Long Island.

The cause: Higher fuel costs spurred by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

With New York’s layered fuel taxes — although commercial fishermen can apply for refunds — it’s often cheaper and easier to fuel up in Rhode Island, said Amanda Jones, director of operations at Inlet Seafood, a fisher co-op that ships from 12 to 18 million pounds of fish per year. “Fuel is our largest operating costs, so we’re already seeing smaller margins,” Jones told NEWSDAY. “What I predict that we’ll soon see is that New York is going to see a steady decline in fish being packed [in the state].” Brianne Ledda and Victor Ocasio report in NEWSDAY that a barrel of crude oil sold for roughly $70 a barrel before the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran at the end of February — but has soared since then.

Oil prices again swung sharply this week as markets continued reacting to the war, highlighting how quickly instability in global energy markets can ripple through Long Island’s economy. On Monday, crude oil spiked to nearly $120 per barrel — the highest mark since at least 2022 — before falling back to around $90 a barrel, where it remained yesterday.

But the relatively high price and ongoing volatility is still creating uncertainty for fuel-dependent industries here, including fishing, farming, trucking and food distribution, according to Newsday interviews with business owners and industry leaders. Rising oil prices have a direct impact on the production and price of gas, from the regular gas that fills most cars to the diesel fuel that heavy-duty commercial vehicles, boats and farm equipment typically run on.

The average price of diesel on Long Island reached $4.83 a gallon yesterday, up 90 cents compared to when the war broke out Feb. 28, according to data from AAA’s online fuel price tracker compiled by Newsday's library. The average price for regular gas on Long Island hit $3.39 yesterday, up 54 cents from $2.86 on Feb. 28. Locally, between Southampton and Bridgehampton prices ranged from $3.09 to $3.49 per gallon for unleaded regular on Tuesday.

***

With global conflicts, flight disruptions and travel advisories making headlines in recent weeks, some Long Islanders planning trips are taking a closer look at travel insurance.

But experts say many travelers misunderstand what policies actually cover, particularly when it comes to major events like geopolitical conflict.

Carissa Kellman reports in NEWSDAY that most standard travel insurance policies do not cover cancellations related to acts of war or fear of travel, and flexible upgrades like "Cancel for Any Reason" coverage are generally not available to New York residents.

Travel insurance is designed to protect travelers from unexpected costs that can arise before or during a trip. The exact coverage depends on the policy, but most comprehensive plans include several common protections.

These can include trip cancellation coverage, which reimburses prepaid, nonrefundable expenses if a traveler cancels for a covered reason such as illness or severe weather. Trip interruption coverage may help pay for the unused portion of a trip and the cost of returning home early if plans change unexpectedly.

Policies often include trip delay coverage, which can reimburse travelers for meals, lodging or other expenses if flights are significantly delayed.

Many plans also include medical coverage while traveling, payment for doctor visits, hospital stays or other treatment if a traveler becomes sick or injured. Some plans also offer emergency evacuation coverage, which can pay for transportation to the nearest adequate medical facility if needed.

Travel insurance may also reimburse travelers for lost, stolen or delayed luggage, including the cost of essential items while waiting for bags to arrive.

Because of New York State insurance regulations, Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage is generally not available to New York residents, meaning Long Islanders typically rely on standard travel insurance plans.

Those policies can still provide protection for covered situations such as illness, injury, severe weather or certain travel disruptions, but they do not offer the same flexibility as CFAR.

***

It’s one of the most beloved and time-honored traditions in Westhampton Beach. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Westhampton Beach this coming Saturday, March 14, 2026, will be celebrating its 58th year, stepping off at 12 noon at the corner of Mill Road and Oneck Lane, by the Westhampton Beach Middle School, and proceeding down Mill Road, through the traffic circle near Hampton Coffee Company and the Sunset Theater, and down to the smaller traffic circle near the Westhampton Beach Post Office and Flora, then heading onto Main Street, and down Main Street to the parade finish just past Mitchell Lane.

The Westhampton Beach St. Patrick’s Day parade, which began in 1968, regularly features many bagpipe bands, as well as several school marching bands, plus many other marchers including fire departments from across Suffolk County.

The Westhampton Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee has chosen Allyson Barone Scerri as their 2026 Grand Marshal.

And the weather forecast for this coming Saturday of mostly sunny skies, high near 47 and breezy, is suitable for enjoying a St. Paddy’s Day parade.

***

A revised version of a proposed local law aimed at public safety during federal immigration enforcement activity is now circulating among local municipalities. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the Organización Latino Americana of Eastern Long Island, or OLA, says the latest draft reflects input from East End municipal officials and attorneys gathered since the proposal was first presented publicly in Riverhead last month. But while OLA says it has met with every other East End town and village leadership team and their lawyers, Riverhead did not attend a Feb. 26th ZOOM meeting on the proposal and has yet to engage in any substantive public discussion about it.

OLA Executive Director Minerva Perez again urged the Riverhead Town Board to open a dialogue when she addressed members at their meeting last week, following what she said was additional ICE activity in Riverhead on Feb. 28, including near public schools.

On Monday, Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin told Riverheadlocal he has not met individually with OLA and that no meeting has been scheduled, but said he was not ruling one out.

Halpin also said Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost “went to great lengths” to investigate reports tied to a video posted online after the Feb. 28 incident near a Riverhead public school. Police interviewed the parents and one of the children involved, reviewed the video and identified the man seen speaking with children outside the school, Halpin said. According to Halpin, the man was a member of the general public and not a federal agent or affiliated with law enforcement.

Riverhead Town Council Member Denise Merrifield said recently she has always supported the federal government’s immigration enforcement actions.

Council Member Ken Rothwell said yesterday that he would have “no trouble meeting with” OLA. But he also said the group appears to be “creating a narrative that, quite frankly, does not exist in Riverhead.”

“From what I’ve seen or read, they [ICE agents] have picked up wanted felons,” Rothwell said. “I support that work.”

Rothwell acknowledged that he has not read the revised draft of OLA’s proposal, but said “most of those things” in the first draft “are already being handled by our police department.”

“I think our officers right now are doing a great job,” he added.

***

Suffolk County lawmakers advanced a bill to set a boundary for demonstrators around places of religious worship "to protect public safety and the right to religious freedom." Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the bill restricts protesters from standing within 35 feet of the entrance or driveway of the place of religious worship or within 10 feet of people as they enter or leave for services.

Legis. Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport), the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation mirrors what was recently approved in Nassau County. Similar legislation is being proposed in New York City and New York State.

The Suffolk County Legislature held a public hearing on the legislation at yesterday’s general meeting and no one spoke for or against the bill. The legislature can adopt the bill at its April 21 general meeting.

Bontempi said she views the bill as a protection of free speech and freedom of expression.

"It's just to keep that safe distance so that nobody feels threatened or concerned about sharing their opinion or practicing their religion," she said.

If passed, violators would face a $250 fine, up to 1 year in jail or both, according to the legislation which sets the penalty as a misdemeanor.

Within that 35-foot boundary, the bill bars anyone "to demonstrate, picket, protest, distribute literature, display signs, engage in oral advocacy or other forms of expression or symbolic conduct."

Suffolk County police or another local law enforcement agency would first issue a "verbal, written or other communicative or expressive instruction" to the demonstrator, according to the bill.

County Executive Edward P. Romaine, a Republican, said he supports the bill, according to spokesman Mike Martino.

"Houses of worship are a sacred respite for anyone practicing their faith and the bill, while preserving First Amendment rights, provides protection for those who are honoring their faith," Martino said in a statement.

***

On Monday this week, the New York State Assembly unanimously passed Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni’s latest legislation to reinstate state recognition and acknowledgement of the Montaukett Indian Nation of Long Island. It’s the eighth time the Assembly has attempted to pass this legislation, which has now been vetoed by New York governors seven times.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that State Senator Anthony Palumbo’s companion New York State Senate Bill was referred to the Investigations and Government Operations Committee on Feb. 2.

In her 2025 veto statement, Governor Kathy Hochul said that, “at this time, there are still outstanding questions and issues concerning the Montaukett’s eligibility for recognition according to traditional criteria. While I am therefore not able to approve this bill, I pledge to continue to work with the Montaukett regarding this issue.”

The Montaukett - officially Montauk Tribe of Indians - is also seeking federal recognition while continuing its pursuit of state recognition.

***

The Southold Town Board approved the joint Community Preservation Fund and Suffolk County purchase of 54 acres of open space on Albertson Lane in Greenport last night — the land will become part of a complex of more than 300 preserved acres in the area. Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski and Save the Sound Long Island Project Manager Louise Harrison both enthusiastically supported the purchase at a public hearing Tuesday evening. Southold officials were also excited. “This is one of the big puzzle pieces left. The county has been such a good partner in these acquisitions,” said Town Supervisor Al Krupski, who added that the town had been preserving land in this area, surrounding Pipes Cove, for decades. New Board Member Alexa Suess, who is from Greenport, said she was “extremely excited” about the opportunity the public will have to walk on the trails anticipated to be added to the surrounding trail network. “Many years of work have gone into this,” she said.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that a 54-acre swath of woods along a rural stretch of Route 48 between Southold and Greenport, which the owners say could be subdivided into as many as 24 building lots, can now potentially be added to a complex of preserved ecologically sensitive land.

Southold Town and Suffolk County have agreed to a purchase price estimated at $6.495 million for the property — at $120,000 per acre — in a 50/50 partnership between the town’s Community Preservation Fund and the county’s Drinking Water Protection Program.

The property is currently owned by Centereach-based Southold Ventures Inc., whose CEO is Dorothy Snyder. It is located at 2955 Albertson Lane, extending on Albertson from Route 48 to Colony Road, backing up to the east side of Bayview Avenue, across Bayview from Arshamomaque (also know as Hashamomuck) Pond.

Trump directive could cause severe understaffing for LI school bus drivers

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Long Island’s school bus industry, already suffering from a driver shortage, will lose hundreds more drivers because of a Trump administration directive preventing immigrants with temporary residency from obtaining, or renewing, commercial driver’s licenses, officials said. Alfonso A. Castillo and Darwin Yanes report in NEWSDAY that the recent announcement by the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles that its commercial driver’s license program for temporary residents is "indefinitely paused, including renewals," could have a cascading impact across Long Island. Bus companies said it will put decades-long bus drivers out of work and, in a worst-case scenario, push school districts to delay bell times so that buses could serve multiple schools with a depleted roster of operators.

"It’s tough right now. It’s just going to get a little tougher," said Thomas Smith, chief operating officer of Suffolk Transportation Services, the county’s largest school bus provider, which stands to lose about 150 of its 1,600 drivers because of the licensing change. "It’s sad. These are great people doing great work for the community."

The DMV’s move came in response to changes made late last year by the federal government barring most immigrants with temporary visas from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses, even while in the United States legally.

The change followed a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit saying that New York, and other large cities led by Democrats, were regularly renewing immigrant drivers' commercial licenses even after their temporary statuses expired. Federal officials ordered New York to immediately revoke every license illegally issued to "foreign drivers" and discontinue its immigrant CDL program, or they'd lose federal highway funding.

DMV officials said every applicant's legal status is verified and that they followed federal regulations, but have suggested they have no choice but to comply with the federal order.

The Trump administration has sought to target so-called "non-domiciled" CDL programs following a series of high-profile truck crashes involving immigrant drivers. President Donald Trump brought up the issue at his recent State of the Union address, calling on Congress to bar "any state from granting commercial licenses to illegal aliens."

Leaders of Nassau and Suffolk superintendent organizations said they are closely monitoring the situation but stressed that student safety and transportation are top priorities for districts.

***

Attorneys for pop star Justin Timberlake secured a temporary restraining order yesterday to block the release of police body camera footage of the actor-musician's 2024 drunken driving arrest, court records show. Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that the order by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Joseph Farneti gives the Village of Sag Harbor until April 9 to submit documentation detailing why it should be permitted to release footage from the former *NSYNC frontman's traffic stop and arrest on June 18, 2024, as part of a Freedom of Information Law request by members of the media.

In the interim, the village cannot release the footage without a court order, Farneti said.

On Monday Timberlake, citing privacy concerns, filed suit against the Village of Sag Harbor, its police department and police Chief Robert Drake seeking a court order to block the footage's expected release.

Release of this footage, according to Timberlake attorney Michael Del Piano, "would cause severe and irreparable harm to petitioner's personal and professional reputation, subject petitioner to public ridicule and harassment, and serve no legitimate public interest in understanding the operations of government. Disclosure of this footage would constitute an unwarranted invasion of petitioner’s personal privacy."

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Jed Painter, general counsel to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, weighed in on the dispute, asking Farneti to uphold a 2024 protective order issued in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court that prevented the public release of any footage from Timberlake's arrest.

“Our interest is limited to the important institutional and public policy considerations implicated by the potential erosion of judicial protective orders,” Painter said. “We take no position on the privacy interests asserted by the petitioner. Rather, we focus upon the order underlying the criminal case that is presently before the court, and which has never been rescinded.”

The eight hours of footage, attorneys said, contain the initial traffic stop, the officer's questioning of Timberlake, field sobriety tests and the pop star's subsequent arrest.

On Sept. 13, 2024, Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace sentenced Timberlake to 25 hours of community service for the nonprofit of his choice and ordered him to pay a $500 fine, along with a $260 surcharge. Irace also ordered him to issue a public safety announcement.

***

Graduating high school students who live in the Southampton or Tuckahoe school district are invited to apply for the 2026 Milton Enstine Memorial Library Scholarship. Applicants are asked to submit an essay describing the Rogers Memorial Library of the future. The writer is expected to address the role of the Rogers Memorial Library not only generally, but also specifically in his or her own life.

Over the years, students have received scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000 each. Funding for the scholarships comes from corporate and private donors in the community, the Friends of Rogers Memorial Library, and the Rogers Memorial Library Foundation.

Application deadline is March 13.

For more information and an application, students at Southampton High School should contact the school’s Counseling Office at 631-591-4610.

Students graduating from other public or private high schools may come into the Library’s Administration Office or download an application here.

If you require any further information, you may contact R.M.L. at 631-283-0774 ext. 500.

***

Billionaire Stefan Soloviev has proposed a 148-acre conservation subdivision along Oregon Road in Mattituck and Cutchogue.

Nicole Wagner reports in THE SUFFOLK TIMES that he’s the latest deep-pocketed land owner looking to change the North Fork landscape.

The project, filed by Soloviev-owned Crossroads Atlantic LLC on Feb. 27 under the title “Cole Harbor Conservation Subdivision,” would add 13 beachfront homes along the Long Island Sound while preserving 87 acres of farmland.

The proposal comes on the heels of another Soloviev bid — the 372-acre “Colusa Conservation Subdivision” across Cutchogue and Peconic that would create 47 new residential lots — along with last month’s record-setting $23.5 million sale of shoreline property in East Marion to Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, the priciest land deal in North Fork history.

The latest Soloviev plans include 13 beachfront residential lots along the Long Island Sound ranging from 0.83 acres to 3.17 acres, one 87-acre conservation lot and one 0.42-acre beach access lot, according to planning documents. A road would extend northwest from Oregon Road through the conservation lot to serve the residential lots at the shore line.

Roughly 124 acres of the property are already used for agricultural purposes, according to planning documents. There are no moderate income family dwellings proposed in the application.

The Soloviev Group has also proposed a separate 372-acre conservation subdivision across Cutchogue and Peconic that would create 47 new residential lots while preserving 267 acres of surrounding farmland.

The Cole Harbor plans have been in the works since April 30, 2025, when developers met with the Planning Board for a presubmission conference and Land Preservation Committee.

Conservation subdivisions, which preserve a majority of acreage while allowing development on a portion of the land, were codified by the Southold Town Board in 2006 with the goal of preserving agricultural lands while protecting landowners’ equity.

Crossroads Atlantic LLC, founded in 1999, operates on 400,000 acres producing crops across Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas and New York. As of September 2019, Mr. Soloviev owned more than 1,100 acres of land on the North Fork.

A separate $23.5 million, 103-acre land sale along the Long Island Sound shore in East Marion — including 69 acres of land protected by Peconic Land Trust easements — was recently finalized by Marc Rowan, who has an estimated net worth of more than $10 billion. Plans for the East Marion land have not been publicized.

***

Suffolk County's leadership has said repeatedly that police are not cooperating with federal immigration agents who are carrying out the Trump administration's deportation campaign.

So, the sight of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in three Suffolk County Police Department precincts in recent months has triggered an outcry in the Latino community, even as the department seeks to reassure them its policy has not changed.

Bart Jones and Michael O'Keeffe report in NEWSDAY that the issue came to a head on Sunday when activists filmed at least a dozen ICE agents in the parking lot of the 2nd Precinct in Huntington. It was the third time in three months they have seen ICE there, they said.

The ICE vehicles were spotted seven months after the federal government ended a consent decree aimed at improving the department's ties with the Latino community and after police officials say they have made efforts to reach out.

Now the department is torn between cooperating with the federal government's deportation program and convincing the immigrant community that it is not a party to the raids that have spread fear throughout Long Island.

Suffolk police, in response to questions from Newsday about the presence in Huntington, said in a statement, “ICE used the precinct's parking lot, but there was no collaboration."

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina told NEWSDAY, "We do not get involved in immigration enforcement ever, period, and we won't. We have not changed our policy on immigration enforcement. We will never ask for somebody's immigration status."

He said the department will assist federal agencies if they are investigating criminal activity or need assistance in times of civic unrest.

Michael Martino, a spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, said, "The Suffolk County Police Department does not participate in civil immigration enforcement."

The Suffolk policy stands in contrast to Nassau, where County Executive Bruce Blakeman has endorsed police cooperation with ICE, even signing an agreement to "deputize" 10 police officers as ICE agents and renting out space in the county jail for ICE to hold detainees.

Generally, ICE has the right to use public spaces such as the parking lots of fire departments, police stations, stores and other areas, according to legal experts, though in some cases ICE could be blocked if the departments do not consent.

Some counties that have joint-task force agreements with federal law enforcement typically allow ICE or other agencies to park at police precincts, though if they end the agreement they could prevent ICE from using the lots, said Ian H. Marcus Amelkin, an associate professor at Hofstra Law School.

***

The 2026 Student Exhibition Preview at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill is tomorrow from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The annual Student Exhibition, a tradition for over 70 years at the Parrish, features the work of more than 1,000 young artists from Eastern Long Island schools. Working with their art teachers, after-school programs, and in art clubs, the students demonstrate creativity, enthusiasm, and technical skill in media ranging from painting to sculpture, drawing, and photography.

Tomorrow’s 2026 Student Exhibition Preview Day celebrates student artists in our East End community and you are invited to join in and enjoy free admission all day, plus refreshments and live music.

No registration is required.

That’s tomorrow from 11 am to 5 pm at Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, NY 11976

***

Winter storms have chewed away at East End beaches this season, collapsing pavement in Southold and reshaping dunes in Montauk.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that in Southold, black asphalt recently collapsed from a parking lot onto the town’s Lt. George R. Sullivan Beach. The town’s most-used beach is so eroded that there is now a roughly 5-foot drop between the sand and the parking lot — a gap that didn’t exist before.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said the town had placed sand along the battered Soundfront beach last winter to rebuild it for the summer season. The town Department of Public Works then spread the sand just before Memorial Day, but a nor’easter quickly wiped it out.

“It lasted for one day,” Krupski said. “And it was all gone.”

The rapid loss and crumbling asphalt underscore the effects of gradual sea level rise and the limits of simply placing sand on the beach as an erosion solution, Krupski said.

Coastal erosion occurs as flooding, rising sea levels and strong waves from major storms remove sand from beaches, increasing flood risks for nearby manmade structures.

Southold Town is working with the Long Island Sound Partnership to apply for grant funding for a larger-scale restoration project aimed at preserving public beach access, Krupski said.

In East Hampton, Councilman David Lys said winter storms have carved away oceanfront beaches there, though recently built coastal defenses have so far protected homes, hotels and other structures.

On Montauk’s ocean side, a recently installed fortified dune and beach infill project “held up for the most part,” Lys said, though repeated pounding caused sections of the engineered dune face to slump where the beach profile was stripped down to hardpan.

The $5 million restoration project placed about 20,000 cubic yards of sand at Ditch Plains Beach after winter storms in 2023 and 2024 significantly damaged it, increasing flood hazards in Montauk.

“It protected the critical infrastructure that is landward of the dune,” Lys said.

East Hampton will rely on stockpiled sand to infill eroded areas and restore recreational beach widths closer to April and May, aiming to have the shoreline ready for Memorial Day, Lys said.

Aram Terchunian, a coastal geologist in Westhampton Beach whose firm First Coastal tracks erosion on the East End, said north and northwest winds during last week’s blizzard helped blunt damage on south-facing ocean beaches.

“What we did see was more damage on the north-facing shorelines, like in the Peconic bays,” he said. “But even those areas were mostly spared because the shoreline was frozen.”

Beaches west of the Shinnecock Inlet “got worse from the storm, but fortunately, there was no overwashing or breaching there,” Terchunian said.

Major traffic on South Fork caused by fatal crash on County Rd 39

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

County Road 39 was closed in both directions between Shrubland Road and Tuckahoe Road in Southampton yesterday afternoon and evening for about 4 hours due to a fatal multiple-vehicle accident that occurred shortly before 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, just as the afternoon rush hour was beginning.

As reported on 27east.com, Southampton Town Police said that the accident was caused when the delivery truck driver who was killed in the collision strayed from the eastbound lane of travel and sideswiped three westbound vehicles before striking a fourth vehicle head-on.

Three people from the other vehicles involved were taken to Stony Brook Southampton by ambulances from the Southampton Volunteer Ambulance for treatment of minor injuries.

The accident left debris and construction equipment strewn across the roadway, police said, and required a detailed investigation to determine the sequence of the incident.

The Southampton Fire Department’s heavy rescue unit was called in to extricate the body of the deceased driver from the vehicle. The body has been turned over to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office for examination.

Southampton Town Police have identified the man killed in yesterday’s crash as Anasser Almontaser, age 33, of Staten Island. They had previously said that he was driving a 2014 GMC commercial van and was heading east into Southampton when the crash occurred.

Conty Road 39 was reopened at about 7:30 last night but the lagging traffic backups were still leading to long lines of traffic in much of downtown Southampton Village as late as 9 p.m.

***

A Southampton flight instructor crash-landed a small plane that experienced engine trouble into the Hudson River in total darkness on Monday night near New Windsor in upstate New York — a feat that other experienced pilots said was a masterful display of flying skill. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that New York State Police say that two people were aboard the plane when it crashed: the pilot, Liam D’arcy, 31, and a 17-year-old flight student whom they did not identify.

FAA records indicate that the plane, a single-engined 1978 Cessna 172, is owned by American Airman Inc., which operates a flight school based at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma.

D’Arcy is also a lifeguard who worked for many years at Gurney’s Montauk Resort.

The plane had taken off from MacArthur shortly before 7 p.m. Monday and flown north to New York Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, where it landed briefly and then took off again, according to the flight tracking app Flight Aware.

After heading southeast again back toward Long Island for a short period the plane did an about-face and headed back toward Stewart Airport.

State Police said the pilot reported experiencing engine trouble.

A local pilot who is familiar with the incident said that the engine lost oil pressure and started to stall. The plane was only at an altitude of 2,500 feet and the pilot realized the plane was not going to be able to glide back to the airport and deliberately turned back out over the river where it would be safer to make a crash-landing.

“This is where he displayed amazing aeronautical decision-making — he knew continuing toward the airport was a bad idea because it was too far away … and between him and the airport was just residential homes and dense forested hills,” said Kathryn Slye, a veteran pilot from East Hampton who knows D’arcy from East Hampton Airport.

“He was talking to Stewart tower [air traffic control] who did an excellent job giving him all the right information and coordinating how best to rescue him — including reminding him of the Newburgh Bridge, which Liam saw and turned back away from.”

Another pilot who said he knows D’Arcy from flying out of East Hampton Airport in recent years said that he’d found him to be knowledgeable and professional around aircraft.

“He always struck me as a good, responsible pilot and a great instructor. He is just generally a smart guy,” the pilot, who asked not to be named, said. “You can tell from this he remained calm under difficult circumstances. That had to be scary, just incredibly stressful, to say the least, but it seems he kept his cool. I’m glad they both came out of it okay.”

***

The East End Food Hub, at the site of the former Homeside Florist on the busy corner of Route 25 and Route 105 in Riverhead, is reopening its doors to the public this weekend for a pop-up fair connecting residents with farmers that offer Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions. The fair begins a series of upcoming public events at the site, including the return of the East End Food Market on March 21.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the CSA Fair this coming Saturday, March 7, will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the intersection of Route 25 and Route 105 in Riverhead. It’s a chance for “families to meet local farmers offering up shares of seasonal produce, chat with local farmers and find the right fit to enjoy the best of the East End harvest all season long,” according to an announcement from East End Food.

CSAs are subscription services in which members sign up and pay at the beginning of a growing season for a share of the farmer’s harvest throughout the year. Since the late 1980s, these types of farm businesses have provided farmers with much-needed seed capital at the beginning of a growing season, and provided consumers with a stake in the farmer’s success.

The Food Hub is also organizing several upcoming events in partnership with Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, which “will focus on learning opportunities to support the region’s farming community.

Several evening educational sessions this spring will focus on tax preparation for farmers. A full listing of events is at eastendfood.org/calendar.

***

Riverhead Town officials are ready for a fresh start at Enterprise Park at Calverton after a NYS Supreme Court justice threw out all but one claim a venture aerospace company alleged against the town in a lawsuit over the canceled $40 million sale of the property.

In the Feb. 27 ruling, Justice David Reilly dismissed 16 of 17 claims in the complaint filed by Calverton Aviation & Technology, which sought to transform the 1,643-acre site into a high-tech aviation and industrial hub.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the decision dismantles the company's effort to force Riverhead to close the deal and clears the town of allegations of breaching contracts, fraud and other claims. But litigation will continue as Reilly's ruling clears the path for a trial on a surviving claim of tortious interference.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin called the decision a “win” for residents and said he wants to explore ideas big and small for the site.

“It’s an opportunity to create a brighter future,” Halpin told NEWSDAY. “It’s time to get busy and start putting that property to work for the taxpayers.”

Ronald Rossi, a Manhattan attorney representing Calverton Aviation & Technology, said CAT plans to proceed to trial on that tort claim and appeal the dismissals.

A notice of a pending lawsuit remains in place on the EPCAL site, limiting Riverhead Town’s options for the property until the legal issues are resolved.

But local lawmakers and residents are envisioning the future of the site, where Grumman once built F-14 jets. After the plant closed, in 1998 the U.S. Navy sold the property to Riverhead for $1, intending it be used for economic development to offset 4,000 lost jobs and tax revenue.

John McAuliff, coordinator of the community group EPCAL Watch, said the Town of Riverhead should conduct a "serious investigation” into the best long-term uses based on resident feedback and development specialists.

***

Gas prices on Long Island jumped 10 cents overnight Wednesday, with the average price of regular gasoline across Nassau and Suffolk counties hitting $3 a gallon, and industry experts warning of the war in Iran's potential to drive up consumer costs at the pump and beyond.

Victor Ocasio reports in NEWSDAY that a gallon of regular gasoline on Long Island was $2.90 on Tuesday, an increase of roughly 3 cents from Monday, according to AAA’s online fuel price tracker.

The ongoing U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which started Saturday has driven up crude oil prices and severely impacted oil refinery operations in the Middle East, AAA Northeast said yesterday.

Long Island gas prices are up 14 cents from a week ago, the roadside assistance nonprofit said.

Nationally, gas prices jumped 9 cents from Tuesday into Wednesday and were up to $3.19 a gallon, 22 cents higher than they were last week.

Crude oil prices were $75.67 a barrel in late-day trading Wednesday. By comparison, prices per barrel were about $65 last week before the war began, Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast, told Newsday.

"Long Island is catching up with other markets," Sinclair said, adding that Nassau and Suffolk counties have traditionally enjoyed a lower price at the pump due to efficiencies in gas distribution. Although gasoline pricing on the south fork of Long Island is usually higher than the national average...especially east of Southampton Village.

"Retailers are coming to the obvious conclusion that this is something that is going to affect everybody," he said.

Reaching $3 a gallon marks a significant "pain point" for many drivers, particularly for lower income families, he added.

According to a national 2022 survey, 40% of respondents said $3 or more per gallon would be the point at which they would start "pulling back on the family budget," combining errands with their work commute to reduce drive time and putting off major household purchases like new appliances, Sinclair said.

More than half of respondents, 59%, said they would make spending changes if gas hit $4 per gallon.

"Those that are struggling, living on the edge, so to speak, will start to feel an impact," Sinclair said.

***

Application deadline is March 13.

For more information and an application, students at Southampton High School should contact the school’s Counseling Office at 631-591-4610.

Students graduating from other public or private high schools may come into the Library’s Administration Office or download an application here.

If you require any further information, you may contact R.M.L. at 631-283-0774 ext. 500.

***

As demand for power has soared in the United States, sky-high electricity bills have followed, contributing to an affordability crisis across the country.

It’s these concerns that have prompted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to consider drastic changes to the state’s 2019 climate law, the implementation of which, her agencies say, could lead to even higher energy bills.

In New York, among the 10 most expensive states in terms of electricity costs, the battle over utility rates is pitting climate activists and like-minded legislators, who believe it’s crucial to aggressively ramp up solar, offshore wind and other green energy projects, against supporters of Ms. Hochul’s “all-of-the-above” approach, which emphasizes a balanced mix of energy sources, including nuclear.

Hilary Howard reports in THE NY TIMES that natural gas, which heats nearly half the homes in New York and generates nearly half the state’s electricity, is at the center of the debate. So is the climate law, which was considered a trailblazer when it was introduced seven years ago because of its ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While both sides agree that gas is expensive, they have differing opinions about how to keep costs low.

Ms. Hochul’s camp, which includes some moderate Democrats, argues that penalizing polluters through the climate law will drive up oil and gas prices when too many New Yorkers remain dependent on fossil fuels for electricity, heating and cooking.

The law’s “timetables are proving unachievable,” a statement from the Business Council of New York State, which represents large and small businesses, said in February.

Activists and many lawmakers remain committed to meeting the goals of the law, which calls for New York to get 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydropower by 2030 and to shift entirely to carbon-free power a decade later. But they fear that Ms. Hochul is taking steps to amend the law, and that it could fall victim to the backroom dealings that are common in Albany.

At a news conference on Monday about the energy and affordability crisis, Ms. Hochul, who has considerable leverage to amend the law, seemed transparent about her intentions. “I’m raising the alarm,” the governor said, adding that she hopes to engage the NYS Legislature soon in a robust conversation about energy costs.

Bridgehampton residents push back against proposed horse farm

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Residents of Bridgehampton last week assailed a proposal before the Southampton Town Planning Board to create a new horse farm with more than 70,000 square feet of structures, including three four-bedroom houses, on a swath of open land that Southampton Town bought the development rights to more than two decades ago. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that neighbors said that the developer’s representatives are misrepresenting the allowances of covenants placed on the Lumber Lane property when it was made an agricultural reserve area in 2001; are stretching the legal definitions that allow horse farms to be considered agricultural uses; and are being disingenuous about the scope of the project’s impacts on the land to avoid a more in-depth environmental assessment.

But the developer’s attorney said that the 2002 preservation deal allowed for the property to be used for equestrian purposes, which carries with it the implicit right to build related equestrian structures and, by extension through NYS agriculture law, housing for agriculture employees.

The property is expected to employ as many as 15 people, attorney Wayne Bruyn told members of the Southampton Town Planning Board at a public hearing on the application last Thursday, nodding to the housing shortage for low- and middle-income workers in the region.

The project’s would-be developer is Gabi Morris, the equestrian enthusiast daughter of a New Jersey housing developer, who has an agreement to purchase the land from the current owner, Steven Klein.

The opposition to the project is being led by a new citizens group formed by neighbors of the Klein property, the Bridgehampton Conservation Alliance, which itself has lined up a team of attorneys to attack the legal details of the proposal.

Members of the Bridgehampton Civic Association, a residents’ group, urged the Planning Board to stand up for the spirit of the preservation agreements and not let the threat of legal fights sway them.

The Southampton Town Planning Board said it would hold the public hearing open for another opportunity for residents to speak on the application before proceeding with its technical review.

***

A former Sag Harbor PTA official accused of stealing more than $10,000 from the organization was charged with third-degree grand larceny on Tuesday, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said. Michael O'Keeffe reports in NEWSDAY that Hope Livingston, 50, surrendered to the district attorney’s office yesterday and pleaded not guilty at an arraignment before Riverhead Town Justice Sean M. Walter later Tuesday.

D.A. Tierney said in a statement, "The allegations in this case represent an egregious betrayal of the trust the residents of Sag Harbor placed in this defendant, and my office will continue to hold accountable those individuals who unlawfully enrich themselves at the public’s expense."

Justice Walter ordered Livingston released without bail. Under New York State law, prosecutors cannot ask a judge to set bail for third-degree grand larceny, Tierney said.

Livingston was represented at the arraignment by the Legal Aid Society.

Livingston served as the co-treasurer of the Sag Harbor Elementary School PTA from July 2021 to June 2022, Tierney said. She served as vice president from July 2022 through June 2024. She had access at that time to a debit card for the PTA’s bank account, which she was only to use for PTA-related purchases.

When the PTA bank account was turned over to new board members in September 2024, officials learned Livingston had used PTA funds for personal expenses, including purchases from Costco, Amazon, Target, Lululemon and Sag Harbor businesses, according to the statement. The D.A.’s office said Livingston also withdrew, and stole, cash.

The investigation was conducted by the district attorney’s Public Corruption Squad with assistance from Deputy Sheriff Sergeant Matthew Matz.

***

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island & North Fork invites LWV members, prospective members and interested residents of the Shelter Island and North Fork communities to a program titled “LWV: History, Mission and Future” this Thursday…that’s tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

Held in the Peconic Landing auditorium, at 1500 Brecknock Road in Greenport, tomorrow’s event offers an opportunity to explore the rich, over 100-year legacy of the League and discover how to become an active participant in democracy.

As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, the League welcomes people with diverse perspectives and ideas to attend, for an evening of education and civic engagement, complemented by light refreshments.

“LWV: History, Mission and Future” is tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

For information about the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island & North Fork, visit its website at lwvhsinf.org

***

The village of Sag Harbor, N.Y., said yesterday that it would delay releasing footage of the singer Justin Timberlake’s 2024 drunk-driving arrest after he sued to prevent making the footage public. Ashley Southall reports in THE NY TIMES that law enforcement had planned on Tuesday to release eight hours of footage from a camera worn by officers showing Mr. Timberlake’s arrest on June 18, 2024, in Sag Harbor. Mr. Timberlake filed a lawsuit before that release, arguing through his lawyers that releasing the footage was an unwarranted invasion of privacy that would only serve to humiliate him.

“The harm from public exposure — stigma, harassment, reputational injury, and the permanent loss of privacy — is immediate and irreparable,” his lawyers said.

According to the lawsuit, the police department in Sag Harbor told Mr. Timberlake’s defense lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., on Sunday that it planned to release the video of his arrest with appropriate redactions in response to a public-records request filed around the time of the incident. Mr. Burke objected in writing, but police officials said they were going to release it anyway. Mr. Timberlake sought an emergency order against the police department to halt the release in State Supreme Court in Suffolk County. However, the judge handling the case did not act on the request during a court meeting on Monday, according to lawyers for Sag Harbor.

However, the Law Office of Vincent Toomey, which represents Sag Harbor Village, said the disclosure of the video was on hold while officials tried to work out a resolution with Mr. Timberlake and his lawyers.

The singer pleaded guilty in September 2024 to a low-level charge of driving while impaired, avoiding a more serious charge. He agreed to pay a $500 fine and serve 25 hours of community service at a charity of his choosing.

Officials did not indicate how much of the footage they planned to release, nor did they state what portions would be redacted.

Brendan J. O’ Reilly, the digital editor of The Express News Group, one of many media organizations who requested the video, wrote on 27east.com that the police were scheduled to release it last Friday. However, at the last minute, officials delayed the disclosure citing “technical difficulties.”

It was the second time that officials had agreed to release the footage, only for Mr. Timberlake’s lawyers to intervene, he said.

Mr. O’Reilly, in a statement, said the footage should be made public “so that the public can assess whether police handled the traffic stop and investigation appropriately. This latest delay tactic further obstructs the public’s right to know.”

***

Peconic Bay Community Housing Funds, funding programs for affordable housing in four of the five East End Towns, have taken in $79.1 million between April of 2023 and the end of 2025, reported New York State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni yesterday. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the programs, known locally as CHF, can be used for land acquisition, affordable and workforce housing developments, loan and grant programs for accessory dwelling units and first time homebuyers, in addition to other housing-related purposes spelled out by Community Housing Plans in each of the towns.

The CHF programs, administered separately in each of the four towns, are funded by a .5 percent real estate transfer tax paid by buyers of property.

This funding mechanism is similar to the Community Preservation Fund, a 2 percent real estate transfer tax that has generated more than $2.5 billion for land preservation on the East End since its inception in 1999.

Community Housing Funds are in place in East Hampton, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold towns, and like the Community Preservation Fund, significantly more money is collected in the towns with the most land and highest property values and frequency of real estate transactions.

Southampton Town has taken in the greatest amount of Community Housing Fund revenue since the program began to be funded in April of 2023 — nearly $45.7 million. East Hampton Town took in nearly $25.2 million in that time period, while Southold took in a total of just over $6.7 million and Shelter Island took in just over $1.5 million, according to Mr. Schiavoni.

“The Community Housing Fund is necessary to address the severe housing shortage that we face here on Eastern Long Island,” said Mr. Schiavoni of Sag Harbor. “I can’t emphasize enough that this housing is for our children. The people who are going to be living in these places are going to be, by and large, the people who already live here, people who have grown up here or who work here. We need all of them to be here.”

Mr. Schiavoni added that local funding, like that created by the CHF, is “critical to get state grants, so these monies can be parlayed up.”

***

The East End Food Hub, at the site of the former Homeside Florist on the busy corner of Route 25 and Route 105 in Riverhead, is reopening its doors to the public this weekend for a pop-up fair connecting residents with farmers that offer Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions. The fair kicks off a series of upcoming public events at the site, including the return of the East End Food Market on March 21.

Several evening educational sessions this spring will focus on tax preparation for farmers. A full listing of events is at eastendfood.org/calendar.

***

A federal judge yesterday blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to end New York’s congestion pricing program, calling the federal government's reasoning for shutting down the tolling program flawed and "breathtaking."

In a 149-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Lewis ‌J. Liman said "it is difficult to imagine more arbitrary and capricious decision making" than that behind U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's attempt to rescind federal approval for New York’s Central Business District Tolling Program.

Judge Liman restored federal approval for the program and ruled that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority can continue charging vehicles.

Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that supporters of congestion pricing, which charges most vehicles $9 to travel below 60th Street in Manhattan during peak hours, said the decision was a major victory that keeps the tolls in place.

"Donald Trump's unlawful attempts to trample on the self-governance of his home state have failed spectacularly," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation in a statement said it disagreed with the decision and is reviewing all legal options, including an appeal.

"Once again, working-class Americans are being sidelined under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s policies, which impose a massive tax on every New Yorker," a DOT spokesperson said. "The Trump Administration will not stop fighting to make everyday life more affordable for American families."

After the MTA sued to stop the Trump administration, Judge Liman in May of 2025 issued a preliminary injunction that allowed congestion tolling to continue.

Supporters of the first-in-the-nation program say the tolls have already significantly cut down on traffic in New York City, improved air quality and reduced crashes. The tolls also generated more than $500 million in funding for the MTA’s transit system.

Among the many legal arguments made by Duffy is that President Trump has the "sovereign authority" to break the agreement between the federal government and New York that allowed for congestion pricing to be enacted.

"The Secretary’s argument is breathtaking," Judge Liman wrote in his decision. "If accepted, it would make all the other arguments irrelevant. It is wrong."

In a statement yesterday, MTA CEO and chairman Janno Lieber said Liman’s ruling "leaves no doubt: congestion pricing is legal. It’s here to stay. And it works."

Justin Timberlake files suit against Village of Sag Harbor

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Officer patrols, police dogs, drones and a helicopter are being deployed as security precautions in Nassau County to avoid potential local retaliation over the United States' and Israel's ongoing bombing of Iran. Matthew Chayes and Maureen Mullarkey report in NEWSDAY that local measures are focused on houses of worship, popular gathering spots, and places of mass gatherings, particularly last night at Jewish institutions celebrating the holiday of Purim, as well as at mosques and Islamic schools, according to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who spoke at a news conference yesterday about the county's security efforts.

"People sometimes lash out in different ways that's not anticipated," Blakeman said. "Whether it's Christian, Muslim or Jewish, Sikh, whatever, we will be out doing stops at all of those institutions to make sure that we have a presence and that we keep them informed."

As is typical when an international conflict could reverberate locally, authorities across Long Island, New York City and beyond said they have stepped-up security to deter, detect, and combat terrorism and other violence.

There are no known credible local threats, officials have said.

Michael Martino, a spokesperson for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, cited a statement over the weekend from Romaine and the county’s police force that patrols were being stepped up at government buildings, "critical infrastructure" and religious institutions.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the NYPD and other agencies were "taking proactive steps, including increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations out of an abundance of caution."

Stepping up patrols and putting into place other counterterrorism measures involves hundreds and potentially thousands of police officers, according to John Miller, the police department's former deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism who as a journalist once interviewed Osama bin Laden.

Miller noted that there are finite resources, and ordinary policing doesn't stop.

"That also means there’s a city of eight and a half million people that still needs policing. People will still call 911, there will still be emergencies, there will still be nonemergencies where people expect a response," he said. "And that’s the kind of thing where, when you start to scrape the bottom of your personnel numbers you just have to account with overtime."

***

A single-engine plane that took off from Long Island MacArthur Airport last night with two people on board later crashed in the Hudson River north of upstate New Windsor, according to a spokesperson for the Town of Islip. The pilot of the Cessna 172 and a passenger survived the crash with injuries not considered life-threatening, said Caroline Smith, the town spokesperson, in an email to Newsday. Islip Town owns MacArthur Airport.

Zoe Hussain reports in THE NY POST that data from Flightradar24 showed that the privately owned plane left from Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma around 6:55 p.m. Monday and crashed into the major waterway about an hour later. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the safe rescue of the two people “another miracle on the Hudson,” in a post on X last night. “Thank God both the pilot and passenger of a single-engine plane that performed an ice landing near Newburgh have been located with only minor injuries,” she wrote. New York Rep. Pat Ryan also posted on X that his office has been closely monitoring reports of the crash. “I’m in touch with officials on the ground, who have shared that both passengers are safely out of the water & have been evacuated by EMS,” he said.

New York State Police from Troop F, headquartered in upstate Middletown, responded to the crash. Trooper Jennifer Alvarez told NEWSDAY, "We are still investigating, and more information will be released as it becomes available."

***

The Greenport Civic Association celebrates its first anniversary with its First Annual Membership Meeting this evening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 768 Main Street, Greenport. Guest speakers will be Southold Town Board member Alexa Suess and Southold Town Trustee Liz Gillooly, both of whom are Greenport residents. Greenport School Superintendent Beth Doyle will also join the conversation.

“The Greenport Civic Association connects residents to discuss and address pressing local issues. Our initiatives emphasize inclusivity, education and advocacy.”

Tonight’s Greenport Civic Association forum starts at 6 p.m. in the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 768 Main Street, Greenport, N.Y. 11944

Further info available online here.

***

Interview rooms with handcuff bars, holding cells and weapon storage areas are among the extensive renovations proposed to turn Internal Revenue Service office space in Holtsville into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing and detention center, according to architectural drawings submitted to the Town of Brookhaven. Sandra Peddie reports in NEWSDAY that Brookhaven Town officials, who said they weren't aware of the plans' extent until Newsday contacted them, said yesterday they are rejecting the plans because holding cells are illegal under the town code for buildings zoned for office use.

"It’s not a permitted use," Town Attorney Annette Eaderesto said. "That’s not an office."

The Town of Brookhaven’s decision does not stop the project, however. Eaderesto said the applicant must now try to secure a zone change or use variance for the Barretts Avenue property, which is privately owned and leased to the federal government. Both requests would require public hearings. Attorney Keith Archer, of Melville, who represents the applicant, 5000 Corporate Holdings DE LLC, did not respond to calls or an email from NEWSDAY.

The Town of Brookhaven’s rejection appears to be the first time a local municipality has exercised oversight of an ICE expansion plan on Long Island. The Holtsville proposal needs town approval because the U.S. government doesn't own the property.

“If the federal government was to buy this property, the town would have no say,” according to Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico.

Coming just weeks after ICE leased space in Woodbury for 40 attorneys, the plans further signal ICE’s efforts to grow Long Island operations, immigration advocates say.

"The expansion of ICE operations is a valid fear," said Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, a nonprofit Latino advocacy group.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), who represents Holtsville and chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement he'd been in touch with ICE and "there are currently no plans" for a Holtsville detention center. His office didn't respond to NEWSDAY requests for clarification, given the town's confirmation of the submitted plans.

The proposed ICE facility would be located in the same building that also houses U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes applications for legal immigration. ICE agents have arrested people showing up to the building for routine appointments before moving them to cells inside the federal courthouse in Central Islip.

Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino said in a statement: "Suffolk County is not involved in any decision related to ICE."

Suffolk does not have an ICE cooperation agreement, and the county sheriff does not honor ICE administration warrants or detain individuals for ICE. Suffolk County is still in litigation over a $112 million lawsuit regarding the jailing of immigrants, sheriff's office spokeswoman Vicki DiStefano said in a statement.

***

Justin Timberlake has filed suit against the Village of Sag Harbor, its police department and police chief to prevent the release of body camera footage from the pop star's 2024 drunken-driving arrest, with the actor and musician arguing it would "devastate" his privacy, according to newly released court filings. Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that Timberlake and his attorneys are seeking a temporary restraining order from a Suffolk County Supreme Court judge to block the release of the footage, captured by police during his traffic stop and arrest on June 18, 2024, as part of a Freedom of Information Law request by members of the media, according to the March 2 court filing.

The footage depicts Timberlake "in an acutely vulnerable state during a roadside encounter with law enforcement, capturing intimate details of petitioner’s physical appearance, demeanor, speech, and conduct during field sobriety testing, the subsequent arrest, and petitioner’s confinement following arrest over the next several hours," the filing states.

Timberlake pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired by alcohol, a noncriminal lesser charge, and was sentenced to 25 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $500 fine.

On Sunday, Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke Jr., wrote to Sag Harbor Police Chief Robert Drake asking him not to fulfill the FOIL request on the basis that it would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

On Monday, Sag Harbor village special counsel Vincent Toomey denied Burke’s request.

The application filed yesterday in Suffolk County Supreme Court names Timberlake as the petitioner and the Village of Sag Harbor, its police department and Chief Robert Drake as respondents.

Media organizations seeking video footage under FOIL requests with the Sag Harbor Village Police Department include The Press Newspaper Group, the Associated Press, NewsNation, WCBS-TV, NBC Network News, Fox News Digital, TMZ, the New York Post, Guardian News & Media, “Extra,” “Entertainment Tonight,” News 12 Long Island, ABC News, Court TV, KOMO-TV Seattle, In Touch Weekly, Us Weekly, The Daily Beast, Daily Mail, The U.S. Sun, JT Documentary LLC and Law & Crime Network.

***

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island & North Fork invites LWV members, prospective members and interested residents of the Shelter Island and North Fork communities to a program titled “LWV: History, Mission and Future” this coming Thursday, March 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

Held in the Peconic Landing auditorium, at 1500 Brecknock Road in Greenport, Thursday’s event offers an opportunity to explore the rich, over 100-year legacy of the League and discover how to become an active participant in democracy.

The Hamptons, Shelter Island and North Fork Chapter runs debates for local public office, voter registration drives, educational programs on the democratic process and forums about issues relevant to the East End of Long Island.

“LWV: History, Mission and Future” is this coming Thursday, March 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

For information about the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island & North Fork, visit its website at lwvhsinf.org

***

A newly expanded beach on the western edge of the inlet to Lake Montauk took the brunt of the recent blizzard that swept through the region, eroding the shoreline back by what appears to be about a dozen feet.

But the new beach, called a feeder beach, is designed to funnel the sand from the east side of the beach, near the jetty, down toward the more sparse areas along the road toward Culloden Point, creating a self-sustaining source of sediment in the face of erosion.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that formed over the course of this winter, the newly expanded beach was one of the fruits of the recent 17-foot deepening operation during which two dredges, Oyster Bay and Scrod II, arrived in Montauk at the behest of East Hampton Town officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sand lifted out from the floor of the inlet was pumped westward over the jetty onto Sunset Beach, before being molded into a shape outlined by the Army Corps.

Through the course of the project undertaken over the course of the past winter, the Army Corps piled 95,000-plus cubic yards of sand from the surface of the inlet onto the beach.

Due to the extent of rock buildup in the inlet — and the resultant lack of sand — the Army Corps was unable to stretch the sand as far down the newly expanded beach as had been originally planned. While that rock posed an issue for filling in the full beach, its removal was crucial for moving the dredging project forward and ensuring safe navigation of the inlet.

“What you’re seeing for the first time in nearly two decades is actually the proper deepening of the channel,” said East Hampton Town Councilman David Lys. “They ran into a lot of hardpan out there, which ended up breaking a lot of the equipment of the contractor. But overall, the Army Corps guaranteed a navigational depth of 17 feet, plus potential of 2 feet overburden cut, which we hope will maintain the channel for a longer time period now, and also make it safer to navigational means.”

Meanwhile, the new dune at Ditch Plains, constructed in the fall, fared well in the recent storm, given the severity. The water did not appear to have breached the fenceline marking the start of the fresh dune.

Archaeology at Sylvester Manor reshaping understanding of slavery

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

When Long Island school officials learned they would not have to make up for missing class last Monday — after a historic blizzard dropped about 2 feet of snow on the region — some breathed a sigh of relief. Lorena Mongelli reports in NEWSDAY that it meant meticulously planned school calendars could remain intact. Even districts that had depleted their limited snow days would not need to scramble to meet the state's required 180 days of instruction — which could result in a loss of state aid if they fell short. It was "a welcomed decision because safety of our students and staff is paramount first, and no district wants to be in a position of making a decision about instructional days and the potential of losing state aid,” said Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. This winter's severe weather — which has included two major snowstorms in as many months — highlights the challenges educators face as they develop their school calendars for the year. School administrators must balance contractual obligations, an increasing number of religious and cultural holidays and constraints imposed by the state. Some districts have responded by limiting the number of snow days built into their calendars. With recent winters being on the milder side, this has not been an issue. But this year's snowstorms have forced some school officials on Long Island to choose between canceling classes now and taking back vacation days later in the year, or offering virtual learning, which has had mixed reactions from parents.

School districts in New York State must have 180 instructional days in their calendar every year. Educators said the year cannot extend past the last Regents exam at the end of June and often does not begin prior to Sept. 1, because state aid does not kick in until then.

Some districts have added new holidays to their calendars in recent years, including Diwali, Eid al-Adha and Lunar New Year, which was designated an official public school holiday in 2023.

“Some people think a school calendar is an easy thing to navigate but between mandated holidays, traditional breaks, it gets very difficult,” Vecchio said.

***

A State Supreme Court justice has dismissed all but one of Calverton Aviation & Technology’s claims in its lawsuit against the Town of Riverhead, the Riverhead Community Development Agency and the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency over the planned sale of 1,643 acres at the Calverton Enterprise Park.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that in a 19-page decision and order filed late Friday afternoon, Justice David Reilly granted the town’s motion to dismiss 16 of the 17 causes of action in CAT’s complaint.

But the judge let one claim proceed: CAT’s claim against the town for tortious interference with contractual relations.

On Saturday, Supervisor Jerry Halpin said, “This is a WIN for the Riverhead taxpayers. The 1,643-acre EPCAL property belongs to the taxpayers and is literally our most valuable real estate asset. I look forward to exploring all ideas — big and small — and hearing from taxpayers about what they think would be the best fit for the future of EPCAL. I also want to thank our Town Attorney’s office, who under the leadership of Erik Howard, successfully navigated the Town through this case,” he said.

Friday’s decision came 15 months after attorneys for both the town and CAT argued the town’s motion to dismiss before Justice Reilly on Nov. 21, 2024 and more than two years after CAT first filed its complaint.

***

The 2026 “I BIRD NY” challenge began yesterday. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s annual “I BIRD NY Challenge” asks birders of all ages and experience levels to identify 10 wild bird species anywhere in New York State.

As posted on Riverheadlocal.com, the 2026 challenge runs from March 1 through Nov. 1, with entries due to DEC by Nov. 18. Participants who complete the challenge receive a commemorative patch and a completion certificate and are entered into a prize drawing, DEC said. Two youth and two adult winners will be selected, with an extra prize entry available for those who submit a photo documenting their challenge experience.

To complete the challenge, participants identify any 10 wild bird species and submit a challenge sheet to DEC. The agency said more than 1,600 birders completed the challenge in 2025.

Challenge sheets can be submitted online via SurveyMonkey or sent by email or mail, according to DEC. Entry forms are available in several languages un addition to English, including Spanish, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French and Urdu.

The program as a low-cost or no-cost way to get outside and connect with nature, the DEC said. Many birds can be identified without specialized gear, though binoculars can help, the agency said. New York’s range of habitats supports more than 450 bird species throughout the year.

For people looking for places to go, DEC points birders to the New York State Birding Trail, a statewide network of birding locations across multiple regions.

***

Long Island and other key New York congressional representatives Saturday were divided along party lines over the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran and President Donald Trump’s call for the Iranian public to seize control over their Islamic leadership.

Billy House reports in NEWSDAY that Republicans rallied behind Trump and his “Operation Epic Fury,” while Democrats were largely critical of his unilateral action without first making a case to the American people or obtaining approval from Congress, a route some branded as unconstitutional.

Here in Suffolk County, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) said he supported the action as “a necessary step to defend American lives and interests and to confront a regime that has long funded the killing of Americans from Beirut in 1983 to more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Congressman LaLota...who represents the east end... said the operations are geared to holding Tehran accountable “for its decades of destabilizing conduct and attacks on U.S. forces,” to make clear that America will not tolerate a nuclear-armed theocracy and to empower the Iranian people “by creating conditions for them to reclaim their destiny and build a future rooted in liberty and engagement with the world.”

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said, “America stands with our military. America stands with Israel.” He added: “The Iranian regime is the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism and has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans.”

Garbarino noted the congressional standoff over a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that has frozen some of that agency’s operations in a fight over immigration enforcement tactics. “As we face a heightened threat landscape” amid hostilities with Iran, Garbarino said “it is more important now than ever” the department gets its funding and operates at “maximum readiness.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate — which was away from Washington during the weekend — should quickly return to session “and reassert its constitutional duty by passing our resolution to enforce the War Powers Act.” He is referring to a separate bipartisan resolution to block Trump from the use of U.S. military forces against Iran without congressional authorization.

“Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon, but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home,” Schumer said.

New York’s junior senator, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, said no one disputes that the Iranian regime is a “brutal dictatorship” or that it is a destabilizing threat to the United States and its allies. But she said “no one should be comfortable with Congress giving President Donald Trump a blank check for war at taxpayers’ expense.”

“Congress should return to session immediately to vote on a war powers resolution,” Gillibrand added. “The president lacks the constitutional authority — and in my opinion, the temperament and judgment — to act in such a reckless fashion."

***

This winter's severe weather left many schools without traditional snow days, forcing them to go to virtual instruction or risk falling short of the state's instructional minimum mandate. Failing to meet the state's 180-day instructional requirement could mean losing a portion of state aid that school districts said is vital. School officials said developing academic calendars, including incorporating snow days plus meeting other obligations, is challenging.

Lorena Mongelli reports in NEWSDAY that Hampton Bays schools Superintendent Lars Clemensen…who recently served as President of the New York State Council of School Superintendents…said administrators need to respect the religious and cultural customs of students and their families.

“While we're looking for regional consistency...we also acknowledge holidays and recognize them, particularly when there's significant areas in the community who are represented by that cultural religion," he said.

Clemensen said his district built in two snow days this school year. Officials there are saving one, in case unforeseen circumstances arise.

"Emergency days are not just for snow. If a pipe burst or something else unexpected happened and we had to close school, that's what those days are for," he said.

Schools are also bound by employee contracts, which can include how many days staffers must work.

Failing to meet the 180-day instructional requirement can have serious consequences for a district. For every day lost, districts risk losing a fraction of the state aid that they depend on.

***

The Eastern Long Island Hospital Auxiliary, a dedicated volunteer organization of nearly 100 members, recently presented a record-setting gift of $643,020 to Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, bringing the group’s total giving over the past five years to more than $2,876,000.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that for more than 120 years, the Eastern Long Island Hospital Auxiliary has dedicated itself to ensuring that residents and visitors on the North Fork and Shelter Island have ready access to the highest quality healthcare.

In 2024, their all-volunteer group of 100 passionate community members provided over 14,500 hours of service in total.

Eastern Long Island Hospital Auxiliary motivation today remains the same as it was in 1905, to ensure that our local community hospital, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, continues to thrive and has the resources needed to add innovative technologies and care programs.

***

A decades-long archaeology project at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island is reshaping how historians understand slavery, labor and multicultural life on Long Island.

Excavations at Sylvester Manor, a former provisioning plantation settled in 1651, have uncovered a vast trove of artifacts and evidence that helped flesh out the lives of Africans, Native Americans and Europeans who lived and worked there from the 17th through the 19th centuries.

Discoveries there were the subject of a lecture Thursday at the East Hampton Library by Nedra Lee, an archaeologist and professor at UMass Boston.

While archaeology is associated with the ancient past, Lee aimed to show a side focused on more recent events “in what many would argue is our backyard.”

As reported in NEWSDAY, Sylvester Manor once encompassed all of Shelter Island — roughly 8,000 acres. Now it's a 236-acre educational farm and historic site with fields, two historic cemeteries, an 18th-century Georgian manor house and a 19th-century windmill, run by a nonprofit.

The property was first settled by Nathaniel and Grizzell Sylvester, Anglo-Dutch settlers who arrived to establish what Lee called a “provisioning plantation” — an agricultural operation designed to feed and supply lucrative sugarcane plantations in Barbados. It was the largest of its kind north of Virginia and was primarily owned by 11 generations of the Sylvester family, Lee said.

Archaeologists from UMass Boston’s Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research have been excavating Sylvester Manor since 1999. Over 25-plus years, faculty, staff and graduate students have recovered more than 360,000 artifacts, including animal bones, ceramics, smoking pipes, and about 100 fieldstones used as informal grave markers.

Taken together, Lee said, the artifacts offer “a really interesting snapshot of everyday life at Sylvester Manor.”

In addition to being on the National Register of Historic Places, Sylvester Manor is part of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, a global network of institutions that “work to counter the erasure of the past and to foster dialogue and civic action,” Lee said.

Research through the Fiske Memorial Center has helped produce two books, several scholarly articles, a dissertation and 10 master’s theses, Lee said.

Partnerships like the one between Sylvester Manor and UMass are “underutilized” in the state, Lee said, and can “shed light on the lives and experiences of people from underrepresented communities who once lived, labored and loved there.”

Vigils for Justice to be held tonight at 6pm

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

School districts across New York State and Long Island could see some relief in the state budget as legislative leaders discuss ways to help schools that are struggling to make the transition to emission-free buses by a 2035 deadline. Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that State lawmakers in 2022 passed a law requiring new buses sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2027 and all buses on the road to be zero-emission by 2035 in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change. Zero-emission buses can include battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses. Much has since changed since then, with rising costs from federal tariffs, delays to some of the state’s clean energy projects by the Trump Administration and cuts to federal aid promised under the Biden Administration that would have helped pay for buses and charging stations.

"We have to deal in the reality," Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, told Newsday. "We’re flexible because we understand the world has changed with this administration." "We’re talking about how to manage this, yes," Hochul said, when asked if help for districts would be discussed as she and state legislative leaders negotiate the state’s $260 billion budget. The budget is due by April 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year.

The discussion comes after Hochul last year delayed a state mandate requiring new buildings to be "all-electric." She is now reportedly eyeing changes to the state’s climate law, citing the need for affordability.

And all 213 legislative seats and the governor’s seat are up for election in November, increasing political pressure to deliver for constituents. Lawmakers could also opt to do nothing on controversial items, saving them for a nonelection year.

School leaders and education advocates say funding would help with the cost of buses and charging infrastructure. But for some districts, money won’t fix the problem as they face a slew of different challenges including concerns over battery life on long routes and power grid capacity.

Education leaders and advocates say lawmakers should push back the 2035 deadline or rethink the mandate.

"We’re not at a point right now where that’s realistic or possible for way too many districts," Brian Fessler, chief advocacy officer for the New York State School Boards Association said. "Districts are hoping something is going to be done because they can’t move forward."

Environmental advocates say the state should stay the course.

"We really need to move forward on this policy to make sure that kids and bus drivers and communities are safe and healthy getting to school," Liz Moran, New York policy advocate for Earthjustice, told Newsday. Exposure to toxic diesel bus fumes can lead to a host of health problems including childhood asthma, she said.

***

Riverhead Town officials are sounding the alarm about an email phishing scam targeting local residents. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that scammers are emailing residents who’ve had some interaction with the town planning or zoning board, bogusly copying official Riverhead Town correspondence, and advising recipients that they must wire funds to the sender to cover fees associated with their application. The fake documents bear the Town of Riverhead’s official seal and are accompanied by an email message that purports to be from a town official. Scammers appear to be targeting individuals who have pending applications before the planning or zoning board, perhaps scraping information that appears on board agendas and application documents posted on the town’s website, officials said. At least one individual received an email message purporting to be from Zoning Board of Appeals Chairperson Otto Wittmeier, with attachments including an invoice for $4,000 and an “itemized breakdown of application approval fee,” detailing the services for which the fees are being charged. The Town of Riverhead does not use wire transfers to collect fees of any kind from applicants, Riverhead Senior Planner Matt Charters said during a Town Board works session discussion yesterday.

“We’re never going to ask you for a wire transfer for anything like that,” Charters said. “If you get a suspicious email for a planning department application, always call [the planning department],” Charters said. The department’s number is 631-727-3200 ext. 240, he said. Always carefully check sender's email address: townofriverheadny.gov is the town's only legit email.

Similar scams are also being reported in the Town of Southold.

***

A Southampton resident and ironworker attended the 2026 State of the Union address on Tuesday night as a personal guest of U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that Aleshandra Fernandes is a member of the Local 361 ironworkers' union, which represents ironworks from New York City to Montauk. She has worked on the South Fork Wind project led by Ørsted, where she spent weeks at sea working on the turbines.

Fernandes grew up in Southampton where her father was a contractor, and she would spend time on job sites with him. Years later, while attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, she took a renewed interest in construction and ironworking.

In a press release, Schumer…the senate minority leader…called out President Trump for his administration's attacks on offshore wind projects.

“Dedicated union workers like Aleshandra have been faced with extreme job uncertainty as Trump has ramped up his attacks on offshore wind projects,” he wrote. “His repeated attempts to halt fully permitted, under-construction offshore wind projects risks permanent harm, including increasing electricity costs for families, job elimination, and weakened electric grid reliability in New York and across the country.”

***

Vigils for Justice in the wake of ICE raids conducted without warrants will be held this evening at 6 p.m. at East Hampton Town Hall, Sag Harbor, Quogue, and Westhampton Beach Village Halls, Southampton, East Hampton and Riverhead Town Halls, the Shelter Island Legion Hall and Greenport’s Mitchell Park. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that an ICE Out protest party with community, coffee, donuts and a march will be held tomorrow at Riverhead Town Hall from Noon to 2 p.m.

Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democrats in the state Legislature agree that they want to limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to partner with local law enforcement.

The question is how far the state will go to achieve that goal.

Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that Governor Hochul has proposed a three-year ban on local cooperation agreements with ICE, while the legislature is advancing a bill that would permanently bar the agreements. And on the periphery is a third bill, NY For All, that would offer even more protections for undocumented immigrants.

While they might not agree on the details, it’s clear that Democrats who control both legislative houses in Albany are poised to act this year on an issue that has exploded since President Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on immigrants.

Hochul has latched on to immigration as a useful cudgel in the governor's race against her Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

Nassau County is one of nine counties in the state with a cooperation agreement with ICE, and Blakeman has been largely supportive of the search for immigrants who have committed crimes after entering and / or remaining in the U.S. illegally.

***

Jeremy Allen, the East Quogue man who was convicted last month of first-degree murder for the 2024 hacking death of a “friend” in his backyard, has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. As reported on 27east.com, Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei issued the life sentence in a Riverside courtroom yesterday.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney applauded the state’s harshest sentence being rendered for the conviction of its most serious, and relatively rarely applied, criminal charge.

“Christopher Hahn deserved better than to have his life violently taken by someone he once trusted,” Tierney said of the Hampton Bays man who Allen beat with a baseball bat repeatedly over several hours and left to die on his home’s deck in September 2024. “For torture such as occurred here, a life sentence without parole is the only appropriate sentence,” stated the D.A.

Allen and Hahn, 43, had been friends since high school and had spent the day of September 28, 2024, drinking at local watering holes before returning to Allen’s house on Oakville Avenue in East Quogue shortly before midnight.

At trial in January prosecutors used security camera footage from Allen’s house to illustrate the case to the jury the depravity of Allen’s assault on Hahn.

After completing his hours long killing, Allen called a handyman he knew to come clean the house, which had been splattered with blood by the initial beating. Upon arrival at the bloody scene, the handyman fled and called police, who arrested Allen at his home.

***

The Village of Greenport announced yesterday that it has been awarded a $25,000 grant from New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation to involve the community in its plan to expand Greenport’s historic district on New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that if successful, the nomination would expand the boundaries of Greenport’s historic district, which now contains around 290 buildings, by about 225 buildings, at the state and national level, according to Greenport Village.

Properties listed on the State and National Registers become eligible for historic rehabilitation tax credits for qualifying renovations, along with periodic grant programs and initiatives, including historic plaques.

The grant was received due to the work of a partnership between the Greenport Historic Preservation Commission, the Greenport Business Improvement District, and the Greenport Village Board.

It builds on a village-wide historic survey conducted in 2020 by Preservation Studios of Buffalo.

***

Suffolk County will study the possibility of a Peconic Bay ferry system as a watery workaround to East End traffic jams caused by summer tourism, the fall harvest and the daily "trade parade" of construction workers from points west.

The planned report, approved yesterday by the regional transportation board, will look at a passenger ferry system between Riverhead, North Sea, Sag Harbor, Greenport, Orient and Montauk, weigh the benefits of a public versus private operation and consider the potential for "amphibious buses."

"We don’t want to leave any stone unturned," Elisa Picca, Suffolk County deputy planning commissioner, said at a meeting of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council. "Maybe there's a way we can have a [ferry] service that some people will use instead of taking their autos."

Peter Gill and Tara Smith report in NEWSDAY that under the $218,750 study, surveys are planned for residents, municipalities, harbor masters, existing ferry operators, transit providers, local fishermen, shellfish growers and business groups.

Connectivity with the bus system and overnight parking for construction contractors will be considered, as will potential terminal sites.

Currently, taking ferries between the Twin Forks is a multistep process: to reach Greenport from Sag Harbor, passengers must take the South Ferry from North Haven to Shelter Island, disembark and travel about four miles to the North Ferry in Shelter Island Heights.

Past proposals to expand ferry service have run into obstacles regarding where to locate terminals.

The study is expected to start late this year and not be completed until 2028, according to Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino.

"We continue to explore all travel alternatives to ease the traffic that continues to make it incredibly difficult for those driving on the East End," County Executive Edward P. Romaine said in a statement.

The plan says it will ensure concerns related to noise, traffic and environmental impacts "are heard from the beginning."

The Peconic Bay study was one of more than a dozen on Long Island, with a total price tag of $4.5 million, approved in the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council's annual budget, which passed unanimously. The board is made up of officials from Suffolk and Nassau, New York State, New York City and the Lower Hudson region.

Recent blizzard makes history as one of top 3 biggest snowstorms to hit the East End

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The Blizzard of '26 which buried the South Fork under as much as 30 inches of snow in some places appears to be firmly in the top three biggest snowstorms to hit the East End since official record keeping began in 1963, the National Weather Service said.

Snow plows and excavators were still hard at work on Wednesday morning, some 72 hours after the first flurries started falling on Sunday to get side streets, parking lots and sidewalks cleared of snow, and many residents still have only the smallest peeks out of their driveways and drifted-in yards.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the snowfall overnight Sunday and through most of the morning on Monday — and whipped by hurricane-force wind gusts — rivaled the January 2015 nor’easter that left 33 inches in parts of the South Fork.

The highest snowfall amount reported to the NWS on Monday was 28.1 inches in Montauk, shortly after noon, when light snow was still falling.

“There were areas of southern Connecticut that recorded 30 inches of snow, so it’s safe to say you could have had that much out there in the Hamptons also,” NWS meteorologist Dave Stark said from the agency’s regional headquarters at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, Long Island.

For residents digging out from the white onslaught this week, the faint differences in the record books were inconsequential.

“It’s the most I have ever seen in my lifetime,” said Mike O’Connell, while getting groceries on Tuesday in Bridgehampton. “My back is never going to be the same.”

And there’s still some east end digging to be done including right here in Southampton Village where the superintendent of public works, Steve Phillips, said that crews have worked to get the downtown business district cleared of the snow piles that block parking spots and are laboring to get packed icy spots cleared to the blacktop in the face of a shortage of road salt. Walking across some Southampton Village sidewalks is perilous, too.

7:06am - 7:07:30am

Suffolk County Police have arrested a Riverhead man in connection with the death of his mother, whose body was found earlier this month in a wooded area in Manorville, police said.

Curtis Trent Jr., 36, of 61 Forge Road, Riverhead, was arrested yesterday and charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Kathleen Harrison Trent, according to a Suffolk County Police Department press release.

Kathleen Harrison Trent, 63, of the same address, had been reported missing to Riverhead Town Police on Jan. 29, police said. Her body was discovered Feb. 11 at about 3:21 p.m. in a wooded area on Connecticut Avenue, south of River Road, in Manorville, police said. Seventh Precinct patrol units searching the area found the body, according to the release.

Police previously said detectives believed the death was criminal in nature. The cause of death remains under investigation, police said.

Trent Jr. was arraigned Wednesday at Riverhead Town Justice Court, police said.

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives ask anyone with information about the case to call 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted through the P3 Tips app or at www.P3Tips.com.

***

Seatuck’s Long Island Natural History Conference, which each year brings together naturalists to discuss all the work they’re doing to understand the natural world here, will be held tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 27 at Stony Brook University’s Charles B. Wang Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that among the discussions this year relevant to the East End are right whale stewardship, wetland protection and identification programs, tracking tiger salamanders and horseshoe crabs, building screech owl boxes and wildlife passages.

The Long Island Natural History Conference is the largest regional forum for the exchange of information about Long Island’s natural history. The annual event brings together Long Island’s leading naturalists to exchange current information, identifies research and management needs, and encourages collaborations and a greater region-wide interest in Long Island’s natural history.

The Conference was established by the Long Island Nature Organization (LINO) in 2012 to support education and research about the natural history of Long Island. The conference resulted from the vision and dedication of Mike Bottini, Tim Green, John Turner and the late James Monaco.

***

Community members gathered Tuesday night at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Riverhead for a solemn service marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The war that was triggered by the invasion grinds on.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that for Ukrainian-American parishioners of the Riverhead church, the war brutalizing their ancestral land is very personal. Some who worship there are refugees of the war. Many have family members living there who are directly affected by the war. Among them is Pastor Bohdan Hedz. He is an immigrant, with family in Ukraine, including his mother.

The small church sanctuary was crowded for a candlelight memorial service Tuesday night, a service Hedz has held annually since 2023. The pastor chanted and prayed aloud in both Ukrainian and English. The air was thick with incense and burning candles.

“I welcome you to this memorial service commemorating the fourth year of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.”

“But as I always remind myself and everybody around me, truly, this year marks the 12 anniversary of war that Russia is waging against Ukraine,” Hedz said, referring to the outbreak of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine that erupted in early 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

He spoke directly to community members from outside his church who attended the service, singling out Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin, whom Hedz called a “vocal supporter.” Hedz thanked the town government for its support and the larger community for its support.

“I want to express my gratitude on behalf of our Ukrainian community for your open hearts, for your sincere help that you still provide,” Hedz said. “You have not grown idle.”

St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Riverhead continues to accept donations of humanitarian aid to ship to Ukraine and to fundraise to aid war victims and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. For information about the church’s ongoing efforts and information on how to help, visit the church’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/sjbucc

***

The buses started arriving at the State Capitol by late morning yesterday, from scattered locations mostly across New York City, carrying people of different ages and circumstances, all driven by the same impulse: to tell New York Governor Kathy Hochul to tax the rich.

In all, about 1,500 people from across the state filled the old Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, N.Y., where a succession of union organizers, democratic socialist elected officials and Zohran Mamdani fans fired up the crowd before a march to the State Capitol.

Benjamin Oreskes reports in THE NY TIMES that speakers invoked Mr. Mamdani’s N.Y.C. mayoral victory as evidence that a more progressive vision for the state was possible. Recent polling from Siena University found that nearly two in three voters across the state favored making child care universal and also backed increasing taxes on those earning more than $1 million a year.

The speakers took turns bashing Governor Hochul’s reluctance to raise taxes. She has said often that she worries that such a move would hurt the state’s business climate. That was not a concern of the attendees yesterday.

“New York is the wealth capital of the country,” said Rafaella Abeo, a local organizer with the United Auto Workers. “We can also be the state that leads the nation in economic justice. The money is here. The question is, Governor Hochul: Do you have the courage to collect it?”

Ms. Hochul, who was in New York City on Wednesday, has committed billions of dollars to expanding child care and supporting N.Y.C. services. Her office declined to comment on the rally.

Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan think tank, said there was a clear consensus that the city and state governments were not delivering enough for New Yorkers. But he questioned the wisdom of raising taxes when, he said, the state is already the highest-taxed place in the country per capita.

“We are chipping away at the competitive foundation of the state when we raise them,” he said.

“We have a ton of money,” he added. “We need to be using that money well to deliver what New Yorkers need.”

***

Southampton Town and the Suffolk County Office of Multicultural Affairs honored Southampton Town Fire Department Chief Polis Walker with its 2026 Black History Month Celebration proclamation for outstanding leadership and Walker’s decades of public service and commitment to the safety and well-being of the Southampton community. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Walker has been a Southampton Fire Department firefighter for 19 years and was recently elected by the department’s volunteers to serve a third 2-year term as the department chief.

In January, Walker and a Southampton Town Police officer dashed into a burning building to rescue a disabled man. Walker, 60, lifted the man over his shoulder carried him out of the house and down a flight of stairs to safety.

Southampton Town Board member Tom Neely proclaimed, “Chief Walker’s volunteerism exemplifies the dedication and integrity that define true public service in our community, and we thank him.”

***

The freezing winter has taken a harsh toll on Long Island's harbors, canals and marinas, leaving towns and villages with big bills to repair damaged docks and pilings.

This year's cold streak sent poles that support docks shooting out of canals and seabeds across the North and South shores, officials said. Saltwater exposed to weeks of extreme cold froze around the poles, gripped them and pulled them out of the seabed during high tide, sometimes by a dozen feet or more. The phenomenon, called ice jacking, has caused damage that could take weeks to assess and even more time to repair.

Sam Kmack and Alek Lewis report in NEWSDAY that dock wreckage has become so pervasive in the Town of Southampton that officials called an ice emergency. The declaration allows residents to more quickly secure permits to repair or rebuild damaged structures.

"We haven't seen an ice freeze like this in over a decade, maybe longer," said Jimmy Mack, president of the Southampton Town Trustees, which regulates dock and bulkhead construction on all of the town's waterways and shorelines. "It's a big problem."

Ice jacking happens when water freezes around pilings that are drilled into the seabed and support docks or boat parking, said Aram Terchunian, a coastal geologist based in Westhampton Beach.

The ice grips, then dislodges the pilings when the tide rises.

"Then the process is repeated, because you get two tides a day," Terchunian said. "Even if it only moves it a couple of inches every time, over a span of several weeks, it'll jack it up many feet in the air."

Seawater freezes at 28.4 degrees, less than the 32-degree threshold for freshwater, according to the National Ocean Service, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

During particularly cold streaks, the municipalities often rely on "bubblers" or "ice eaters" that warm the waters and prevent ice from setting. These techniques keep water moving, preventing it from freezing around the pilings, Terchunian said.

The cost of dock repairs can range from $1,000 to more than $10,000, according to Terchunian, who owns First Coastal Corp., a firm that designs and consults on dock construction. "It depends on the extent of the damage and how big the dock was," he said.

Mack, the Southampton Town Trustees' president, said most docks are not labeled, so those that break off can drift and the town impounds the debris. He and the other trustees are expediting permits to repair and replace marine structures damaged by the icy conditions. That process will be expedited until April 15.

Mack and Terchunian said that in recent years, the warmer winters have caused some homeowners to forgo taking preventive measures.

Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said docks damaged by freezing weather was one reason the town wants to ban private docks on the Great Peconic Bay and Little Peconic Bay.

"It's just showing that … our concern was accurate in light of the circumstances of the last week," she said.

Some LI towns forced to use reserve funds to deal with snow and cold

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

A relentless spate of snowstorms and freezing cold has stretched Long Island town snow budgets, forcing some to dip into their reserves. Earlier in February, the Town of Brookhaven was $2 million over budget. The figure is expected to double after the blizzard from Sunday through Monday. Some villages say they have exceeded their snow removal budgets, too — in large part due to labor costs. Officials said their annual snow budgets are based on seasonal trends over a period of several years. They were not financially prepared, they noted, for a record-setting storm that dumped about 29.1 inches of snow at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma and 28.1 inches in Montauk.

Alek Lewis and Carl MacGowan report in NEWSDAY that some town and village officials said they expect to draw down more of their reserves and seek state disaster aid.

East Hampton village trustees recently approved a $60,000 boost to the snow budget, which will be used to hire contractors to help employees remove snow, Village Administrator Marcos Baladrón said. They truck snow from the village’s business district and major roads to Two Mile Hollow Beach, where it’s left to melt, he said.

Riverhead Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said his salt supply is now “comfortable.” He recently ordered another 300 tons after a $100,000 budget transfer from reserves.

“Safety to me is paramount,” Zaleski said yesterday. “Whether the money is there or not, the job’s got to get done. We’ll find a way to pay.”

***

Most east end schools have announced a two hour delayed opening today, several are still closed with classes moved to remote learning. Schools and government office were closed Monday and Tuesday after the Blizzard of '26. Here are some snow accumulation totals posted across our eastern Suffolk listening area following the Sunday / Monday storm. You may consider them unofficial but close enough.

Central Islip: 31 inches
Montauk: 28.1 inches
Remsenburg-Speonk: 27.5 inches
Orient: 26.5 inches
Quogue: 26 inches
Shinnecock Hills: 25 inches
Southampton: 24 inches
Mattituck: 23.3 inches
Flanders: 23 inches
Riverhead: 22.5 inches
Shelter Island: 21.1 inches
Upton: (NWS Office and B.N.L.) 19.8 inches
East Hampton: 18.8
Jamesport: 18.3 inches
Hampton Bays: 17.3

***

The African American Educational Cultural Festival will hold a forum on “America and the Black Vote” this evening at 5 p.m. in the Riverhead Free Library.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the non-partisan event “brings together civic leaders, attorneys, and advocates to discuss Black political participation and its impact on American democracy,” according to the organizers.

This evening’s event is free.

“The forum will explore the historical significance of the Black vote, current challenges to voter participation, and the role of civic engagement in strengthening democratic institutions,” according to the organizers, who say it “is intended to foster open dialogue and promote understanding across diverse communities.”

This evening’s forum, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., will be held in the lower level meeting room at the Riverhead Free Library, 330 Court Street, Riverhead. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required, through this Eventbrite link. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/america-and-the-black-vote-forum-set-for-feb-25-in-riverhead-registration-1982596770310?aff=oddtdtcreator

The African American Educational Cultural Festival seeks to build a strong foundation for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in underserved and disadvantaged communities. It provides resources for children and families in education, housing, health, employment, entrepreneurship, and advocacy.

***

A proposed law drafted by Organización Latino Americana and former NYS Assemblyman Fred Thiele of Sag Harbor, which seeks to foster transparency and accountability during federal immigration enforcement actions in local towns and villages, is being pushed across the East End. What the five-page resolution calls for, primarily, is the establishment of a series of procedures and training programs that would stymie the impersonation of federal officers and the adoption of local requirements for reporting enforcement activity. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that it would require local police to approach those claiming to be ICE agents, who are often masked, and ask to see some form of identification, as part of an effort to hinder potential ICE impersonators. Officers then would send the information learned up the chain to local leadership.

OLA plans to meet with leaders of East End municipalities tomorrow to further discuss the proposed law.

The intent of the proposed law is to carve out the space that local governments and police departments can occupy in the event of an ICE raid.

Thiele and OLA looked at how other municipalities around the country, including in San Jose, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are responding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, presence when drafting the law.

“My hope is that the enactment of consensus legislation will be a peaceful and powerful catalyst to ending ICE excesses that threaten community safety and local control in our community,” Thiele said.

Still to come is tomorrow’s meeting with East End leaders where OLA Executive Director Minerva Perez plans to walk through the adaptability of the law, as each village or town will be responsible for the specific implementation plans. The involvement of law enforcement in the law, though, is nonnegotiable.

Before adoption, the law will go through the normal processes, town by town and village by village, with the plan being to have the law appear at a work session and then at a public hearing, prior to finalization.

***

Coming out of Monday’s record snowfall and with more unsettled weather expected this week, the state Attorney General’s Office is advising that New Yorkers who rent know their rights. Victor Ocasio reports in NEWSDAY that in an announcement released yesterday, NYS Attorney General Letitia James advised renters across the state to recognize that their landlords have certain legal responsibilities when it pertains to maintaining access to heat and hot water.

Coping with freezing temperatures and record snowfall can be a major pain for homeowners, but for renters on Long Island dependent on landlords, it can be a matter of legal rights and entitlements, local tenant advocates said. In recognition of potential issues with heating and hot water access, the attorney general's office is advising New Yorkers that the law is on their side.

“Landlords are legally required to provide heat and hot water and to ensure that common areas and building entrances are safe and accessible,” James said. “No New Yorker should be left in the cold or forced to navigate dangerous, icy conditions. My office is urging tenants to know their rights and to speak up if those rights are not being respected.”

Under state law, property owners are required to provide heat between Oct. 1 through May 31, a period known as “heating season,” according to the attorney general’s office.

During those months, landlords must ensure that interior temperatures are at least 68 degrees between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees. At night, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., inside temperatures must be at least 62 degrees regardless of how cold it is outside, James’ office said.

***

The “America and the Black Vote” program scheduled for this evening at Riverhead Free Library has been postponed due to weather conditions, organizers announced this morning. “Safety is our top priority, and unfortunately the current weather conditions make it unsafe to proceed as planned,” African American Educational and Cultural Festival President Marylin Banks-Winter said in a text message. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the Black History Month program, scheduled for 5 to 7:30 p.m. today at the Riverhead Library, featured a panel discussion on the topic of “Elevating Black Voices in Democracy” with Long Island community leaders gathered for “a nonpartisan conversation on Black political participation, representation, and civic engagement.”

“This event is very important to us and we are committed to making it happen. We will be in touch shortly to check your availability for a rescheduled date...We are reminded that Black History is not limited to one month, but 365 days a year,” Banks-Winter wrote. “Thank you for your understanding.”

***

As school buses are now carrying kids back to school where classes have been delayed by two hours today snow is once again falling. Some areas of Long Island may get 2 or 3 inches accumulation although on the east end less than an inch is forecast.

Meanwhile, in the wake of The Blizzard of 2026, snowstorms and freezing cold this winter has stretched east end municipal snow budgets, forcing some to dip into their reserves.

Alek Lewis and Carl MacGowan report in NEWSDAY that some town and village officials said they expect to draw down more of their reserves and seek state disaster aid.

Southold Town officials had tapped $80,000 in reserves for more salt and sand ahead of the blizzard. The town had budgeted $185,000 for those supplies for the year, officials said.

“It’s what Mother Nature gives us,” Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski told NEWSDAY yesterday. “We are prepared for that financially.”

In Southampton Town, highway workers make overtime when town offices are closed, which was the case on Monday and Tuesday, Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle said.

“The crews started at 3 o'clock on Sunday. They haven't stopped,” McArdle said yesterday morning. Around 40 town employees and 20 contractors were out plowing, he said.

East Hampton Town Administrator Becky Hansen said the town is “lucky to have healthy fund balances to address any shortfalls” created by snowstorms. Earlier this month, the Town of East Hampton used $210,000 from reserves to restore depleted snow funds.

Shelter Island Highway Superintendent Ken Lewis said he pushes for a larger snow budget each year. But the figure has remained stagnant in recent years, with the assurance from board members that reserves can close a gap in an emergency.

“The weather's out of our control. It's an impossible thing to predict," Lewis said. "But I'd say … pad the snow budgets a little more."

Town and village snow budgets aren't out of the woods yet.

The region has seen significant snowfall as late as April, and there's also potential for snow in November and December of this year.

“All in all, it's been fine, but it's definitely been a long winter,” Lewis, the Shelter Island superintendent, said. “I'm ready for a thaw.”

New York State DMV to suspend services for multiple days to update technology

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

There are a rapidly growing number of immigrants detained on Long Island and across the country who’ve successfully convinced judges the government jailed them illegally, bringing fresh attention to a centuries-old legal maneuver that’s become a lifeline for many swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Between Nov. 1 and Feb. 10, 108 people filed these petitions in the Eastern District — after only 19 in the first 10 months of last year, according to a Newsday analysis of federal court records.

Judges in the district, which covers Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, have freed the petitioner in 80 of the 95 cases where they have issued decisions, the analysis showed. The other cases are ongoing or were transferred to other courts.

Josefa Velásquez and Anastasia Valeeva report in NEWSDAY that nationwide, people have filed more than 19,000 habeas petitions since the start of 2025, more than three-quarters of them since November.

"The explosion of habeas cases is remarkable," said Peter Markowitz, an immigration law professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York City.

Habeas corpus, Latin for "produce the body," is one of the oldest tools in America’s legal system, giving judges the power to weigh whether someone’s detention is legal. So why the explosion?

The U.S. Justice Department last fall expanded use of a law allowing mandatory detention of immigrants without a bond hearing if they entered outside an official entry point, even if it was years or decades prior. Previous administrations, including during Trump’s first term, didn’t typically jail these people without additional reason, such as criminal charges against them.

More than 5,236 people had been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York City and surrounding suburbs, including Nassau and Suffolk counties, between Jan. 1 and Oct. 15, 2025, according to federal immigration data published by the Deportation Data Project research group and analyzed by Newsday.

ICE released data this month showing that 70,766 people were in detention nationwide, and have said nearly 3 million people had already been removed from the country. This means that fewer than 1% of people detained by ICE have been able to file petitions challenging their apprehension and jailing.

Immigrants targeted for deportation had cases heard in a dedicated immigration court, but the administration’s new policy effectively cut the judges there out of the bond hearing process. Lawyers for these men and women suddenly found themselves unable to protest their detentions in immigration court, so they turned to federal court.

Habeas corpus petitions have proved effective in federal court, experts told Newsday, since their sole intent is to challenge a person’s jailing by the government, and the administration is denying bond hearings or individual review of people’s cases.

***

Starting this afternoon, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend in-person, online and phone services for several days as it replaces its outdated technology systems. Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that as of 2 p.m. today, DMV locations across Long Island and the state will close their doors, according to a department news release.

Why is the DMV closing?

The DMV must halt services to install and test the new software that has been developed over the past two years, the department said. The upgraded system will make routine transactions at the DMV "more efficient for our staff and for customers alike," Walter McClure, the department's director of public information, told Newsday.

How will I be affected by the service shutdown?

New Yorkers must wait until Wednesday to perform any transaction at the DMV, such as renewing a license or registering a vehicle. Even completing a change of address, retrieving a driving record and other tasks drivers can routinely perform online from their home, will not be possible during the multiday closure.

When will services be restored?

All DMV locations are slated to reopen at the start of business Wednesday, according to the release. Online and phone services that allow New Yorkers to handle matters from home will also return Wednesday.

While DMV workers have trained for the upgrade, the department asked "for patience as we adjust to the new system in the days immediately after it launches," DMV commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said in the release.

***

At least three people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a trade parade car crash that closed County Road 39 in Southampton last night.

As reported on 27east.com, the crash occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, February 12, near the intersection of Dale Street and County Road 39, just to the east of North Sea Road.

Southampton Fire Department and Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance and Southampton Volunteer Ambulance crews responded to the accident and transported three people to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.

County Road 39 was closed for about 90 minutes, with motorists redirected around the accident scene between North Main Street and North Sea Road in Southampton between 7 and 8:45 p.m. last night.

***

President Trump yesterday announced he was erasing the scientific finding that climate change endangers human health and the environment, ending the federal government’s legal authority to control the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet. Lisa Friedman reports in THE NY TIMES that the action is a key step in removing limits on carbon dioxide, methane and four other greenhouse gases that scientists say are supercharging heat waves, droughts, wildfires and other extreme weather.

Led by a president who refers to climate change as a “hoax,” the administration is essentially saying that the vast majority of scientists around the world are wrong and that a hotter planet is not the menace that decades of research shows it to be.

It’s a rejection of fact that had been accepted for decades by presidents of both parties.

“This is about as big as it gets,” President Trump said at the White House as a smiling Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, stood by. “We are officially terminating the so-called ‘endangerment finding,’ a disastrous Obama-era policy,” said the president.

Mr. Zeldin…a Republican from Shirley, Long Island who for 8 years represented the 1st Congressional District including the East End… called it “the single largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States.” He accused Democrats of having launched an “ideological crusade” on climate change that “strangled entire sectors of the United States economy,” particularly the auto industry.

In discarding the endangerment finding, Administrator Zeldin is reversing positions he took as Congressman Zeldin from 2019 to 2023. During that time, he voted several times to address climate change, including a vote against an amendment to a spending bill that would have prohibited the E.P.A. from applying the endangerment finding. He even joined the Climate Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group of House members.

In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York on a pledge to allow and accelerate natural gas drilling. After becoming Mr. Trump’s E.P.A. administrator, Mr. Zeldin ridiculed climate change and said he hoped to “drive a dagger” through it by repealing the endangerment finding.

***

New York State Parks and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are planning a controlled burn of piles of trees killed by the southern pine beetle in Napeague State Park on several upcoming dates, beginning today between the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the state agencies announced the burn at a public meeting at Montauk Downs State Park Tuesday evening, at which they gave an overview of planned thinning and burning work to reduce the fuel load in the park. Those plans have been in the works for the past several years.

Long Island’s pitch pines are a fire-dependent ecosystem, and the devastation caused by southern pine beetle infestation of the trees over the past five years has made the woods a tinderbox.

A wildfire burned an area the size of a football field in the state park last summer, leading New York Governor Kathy Hochul to pledge $2.2 million in funding for the project. “Controlled burning of slash piles is a critical tool in wildfire risk reduction and ecological management,” according to the state agencies. “Southern pine beetle infestation has resulted in thousands of dead pitch pine trees on site, which has increased available fuels and impacted forest health. Branches from the dead pitch pine trees have been piled to safely burn these materials.” Roads and trails within the park may be closed during the burns, which are each expected to take about one day.

To get notifications on upcoming prescribed burns at state parks the agencies recommend downloading the NYS Parks Explorer app and saving “Hither Hills State Park.” The state will also post notifications approximately 24 hours before burns on its webpage for Hither Hills (there is no separate page for Napeague), and residents within a one-mile radius will receive reverse 911 alerts.

***

A powerful storm that hit Long Island in late January is still impacting the region’s natural world, helping some plants and animals but harming others. Effects include greater moisture retention for areas still blanketed by snow to changed feeding patterns for some animals, according to experts. Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that some individual animal deaths are possible because of disruptions to food sources but population-level effects are unlikely.

Sea turtles would be adversely affected by the freeze, but those that live in Long Island’s bays or in the L.I. Sound left in September or October for warmer territory, said Maxine Montello, executive director of New York Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead. Electronic trackers that center staff put on turtles show one in the Bahamas, she said. Others go to the Carolinas or into the relatively warm Gulf Stream.

Physiological adaptations, such as a seal’s blubber, or behavioral ones, like changes to a deer’s foraging patterns, help them survive a prolonged freeze like the one we just experienced.

"These animals evolved over thousands of years" and are "well-adapted to this kind of weather," said Robert Marsh, a natural resource supervisor with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. "Even in the last 20, 30 years, we’ve had winters as cold or colder than this."

During winter in general and over these recent frigid weeks, Long Island was not just cold but calorie-sparse, a particular problem for warm-blooded mammals and birds that need to eat to maintain body temperature.

***

Bonac is bracing for a tumultuous Democratic primary for the Town of East Hampton's top job as East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen mounts a challenge against incumbent East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that Larsen, 61, the mayor since September 2020 and a former village police chief, said Burke-Gonzalez has failed to make progress on a number of fronts. Affordable housing is still an acute issue in the region, he said, and the town's building department is slow to process applications, stifling development.

“There's a lot of mismanagement going on down there, and I'm just frustrated by watching it," said Larsen, who lives in East Hampton Village.

Burke-Gonzalez, 64, of Springs, has been town supervisor since 2024 and was a board member for a decade before that. She previously worked in advertising. Burke-Gonzalez is touting her record and experience in town government and has the backing of the East Hampton Town and Suffolk County Democratic Committees.

She points to accomplishments including beach renourishment and dredging projects, the transformation of the historic Montauk Playhouse into a community center, millions for land preservation, and upgrades to parks and beaches.

"There's still work we need to get done,” Burke-Gonzalez said. “We've got a great team in place … and we're getting good things done for our community.”

In East Hampton Town, Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-1, according to data from the State Board of Elections. As of November, there were 9,877 Democrats, 4,207 Republicans and 6,380 unaffiliated voters registered to vote in the town. East Hampton has not had a Republican supervisor since 2013, and Democrats have won supervisor races by double-digits margins since then.

Republicans have yet to name a candidate for supervisor. Manny Vilar, chair of the East Hampton Republican Committee, said the committee is screening candidates to run in November’s general election.

Regarding the intraparty feuding, Rich Schaffer, chair of the Suffolk Democratic Committee, said Larsen’s push to enroll more Democrats who will vote for him was akin to party-raiding. He likened the tactic to Conservatives and Republicans who, Democrats say, have hijacked the liberal Working Families Party ballot line in the towns of Huntington and Southampton. The tactic helps to siphon votes from Democratic tickets.

Larsen called the party-raiding accusation "ridiculous." Because of the Democrats' enrollment advantage, Larsen said, East Hampton Town residents have to vote in the primary to effectively influence the town supervisor's race.

"Just like in New York City, if you win the Democratic line here in East Hampton, you're almost guaranteed to win the general election," he said.

Harsh winter leaves many potholes and rough roads on Long Island

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

"Harsh winter riddles Long Island roads with potholes" is a NEWSDAY headline this morning. A particularly snowy winter, and repeated plowing by heavy trucks, has contributed to the common complaints resurfacing this year. A Brookhaven Town councilman counted 117 potholes last Friday along a 5-mile stretch of Route 25 between Selden and Lake Grove. The state plans to completely resurface Route 25 in Brookhaven, but officials wouldn't provide a timeline. Long-lasting pothole repairs generally require dry conditions and temperatures above 40 degrees. Also asphalt plants don’t generally open up before March.

New York State Department of Transportation spokesman Stephen Canzoneri said crews are "working aggressively" to address potholes caused by the harsh winter across Long Island. He said the agency plans to completely resurface Route 25 in Brookhaven, though he did not provide details on the timeline, adding that it "is engaged in the most aggressive road revitalization project in the Department’s history."

Peter Gill and Carl MacGowan report in NEWSDAY that in 2024, 61% of state-owned lane-miles were in good or excellent condition across New York, an improvement from 54% five years earlier, according to official reports, which do not break out data by region.

Long Island's local roads, however, are in worse condition than those of most state regions, according to the most recently available database of federal aid-eligible roads from 2021. A Newsday investigation found local governments in Nassau and Suffolk spend less on roads, per capita and per car, than those in other regions of the state. At the same time, Long Island's towns and counties receive less road aid through formulas determined by the state, relative to population and road mileage.

Pothole complaints may be more common on state-owned thoroughfares than town or village roads because they get the most traffic, requiring more upkeep, according Daniel Loscalzo, a civil engineer with LiRo Group, which consults on roads for a dozen villages on Long Island.

Residents can report potholes they see to the appropriate state, county, town or village road department. An online map from the state can help determine who maintains the road in question here.

For state highways, one can call 800-POTHOLE (800-768-4653).

***

There was a time on the East End when one thought nothing about leaving your car unlocked with the keys in it.

No longer.

Southampton Town Police are searching for an organized group of would-be thieves who are believed to have swept through neighborhoods in Noyac and Hampton Bays this past weekend, rummaging through unlocked cars.

A Hampton Bays homeowner’s Ring security camera caught at least four people emerging from what appears to be a rented van before dawn on Monday morning, fanning out to various driveways in the neighborhood and searching unlocked cars — before racing back to the van and fleeing in the van when a resident spotted them and chased them from his driveway.

Southampton Town Police said that they have seen the video, which was also posted to the Neighbors app, and are trying to identify the band of thieves. Police also received a report of a similar type of incident in Noyac the night before.

“It’s a pattern that law enforcement has been seeing all over the region for some time now — sometimes it’s a rented car, sometimes a rented van, and they’re coming into a neighborhood and searching cars,” Town Police Detective Sergeant Gina LaFerrera said. Police have not received any reports from homeowners about any items or valuables having been stolen in the burglaries this weekend. Nonetheless, she said that homeowners should protect their property against being victims of this kind of theft scheme.

“We ask people to lock their cars and take their keys out of the car,” she said.

***

Shelter Island Friends of Music are presenting a free concert this coming Sunday afternoon, February 15 at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Performing is PubliQuartet, a chamber ensemble dedicated to bridging the gap between new and traditional repertoire. Known for their communicative presence and imaginative programming, they confront boundaries and form lasting connections with audiences.

The ensemble comprises four versatile musicians who have performed at major festivals and concert series across the U.S. and internationally.

PubliQuartet is committed to championing underrepresented composers, commissioning new works, and engaging audiences through multimedia presentations and contextual programming.

That Shelter Island Friends of Music free concert is this coming Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.

***

Relentless winter weather, a pattern of long-lasting weekend storms and frigid temperatures are pushing Long Island town snow budgets to their limits.

Several towns, including Brookhaven, East Hampton and Southold, have already surpassed their spending allocations for rock salt, sand and other snow fighting costs for 2026 — and there’s still six weeks until spring.

Those towns have dipped into reserves to keep their funds for storm expenses healthy, officials told Newsday.

On Tuesday, town boards in East Hampton and Southold signed off on more money for snow removal.

Tara Smith and Alek Lewis report in NEWSDAY that so far this winter, Long Island MacArthur Airport has recorded 28.6 inches of snowfall, Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Upton bureau, said yesterday. Last year, 10.6 inches of snowfall had accumulated at MacArthur through the same period.

Stephen Lynch, East Hampton Town's highway superintendent, said workers have used about 1,200 tons of sand and salt over the past few weeks. The department has about 1,000 tons left and will receive more shipments soon.

On Tuesday, the East Hampton Town Board approved moving $210,000 from reserves to restore depleted funds for snow contractors, as well as for salt and sand purchases. The town budgeted $65,000 for snow removal contractors and $195,000 for snow removal supplies this year, according to Town Administrator Becky Hansen.

Southold surpassed its $185,000 budget for salt and sand, according to Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin.

Also Tuesday, Southold's town board approved tapping $80,000 in surplus funds from prior, more mild winters to cover an additional $50,000 in rock salt and $30,000 in sand.

"That’ll refill our barn and keep us in a really good position for the foreseeable future," Goodwin told NEWSDAY. "It’s not an option to not treat the roads. These are the materials we need to do the job."

Goodwin said the most recent storm, on Feb. 7, was particularly challenging. Though most of Long Island got 1 to 3 inches of snow, about 5 inches accumulated in Southold. Fierce 50-mph winds created whiteout conditions and deep snowdrifts, some over 6 feet.

The department spent between $20,000 and $25,000 in materials to treat the roads for that one storm alone, Goodwin said.

***

The Riverhead Free Library is partnering with Long Island Cares for a food distribution event at the library this morning from 11 a.m. to 12 Noon. No identification is required to receive food. This is a walk-up service only and will take place in the Riverhead Library parking lot at 11 a.m. today.

Beth Young also reports in EAST END BEACON that the Riverhead Central School District hosts its 17th Annual Black History Month Celebration this evening at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Riverhead High School. The event includes performances by Riverhead music students and the Butterfly Effect Project, a poetry showcase and a preview of a new documentary about Riverhead’s only Medal of Honor recipient, Private First Class Garfield Langhorn, a U.S. Army radio operator who threw himself on a grenade to protect his platoon while under attack by the North Vietnamese in Pleiku Province during the Vietnam War. The community is welcome at this celebration tonight at 6 p.m. in the Riverhead High School auditorium. The event is free.

***

A Long Island school district will be able to hold onto its “Warriors” name an extra year — as it continues to fight a state ban on Native American imagery in mascots and logos. Alex Mitchell and Brandon Cruz report in THE NY POST that the Wantagh School District in Nassau County was granted an extension until June 2027 to come into compliance with the New York State ban, according to a letter sent by the board of education to district parents on Tuesday.

“We just really want to keep the name. It means a lot to the community, means a lot to the school,” Superintendent John McNamara told The NY Post yesterday.

McNamara claimed rebranding from Warriors to a potential replacement such as Wolves would cost the district upward of $700,000.

“We had done a district survey back when this issue first arose and well over 85% of the community wanted to keep the Warrior name,” he added.

In Suffolk County, the Connetquot School District initially agreed to drop its longtime “Thunderbirds” name and rebrand as the “T-Birds” as part of a settlement with the state to comply with the logo / mascot mandate.

But that compromise backfired when the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ruled the district had violated the law by eliminating the Native American-linked names while allowing mascots “derived from other racial or ethnic groups,” like Dutchmen.

Warriors is also suitable in cases like Chenango Valley near Binghamton for not having an indigenous affiliation, according to Superintendent McNamara.

“I think there’s some frustration on the part of the school, the board, the community, that there are other districts in the state that use the warrior nickname, but because it’s not associated with the Native American imagery, they’re allowed to keep it,” he said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state Democrats have previously defended the regulation as a necessary step to eliminate stereotypes and promote inclusion, maintaining that districts must retire Native American mascots unless they obtain approval from a federally recognized tribe.

***

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants the state to step in to help plug a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that Mamdani testified for several hours yesterday during the annual budget hearing for local governments, telling lawmakers New York City is facing a projected $7 billion budget gap. Mamdani blamed that largely on his predecessor, Eric Adams.

Lawmakers also questioned Mamdani on their own concerns in the city, from car break-ins to how he would deal with overcrowding in juvenile detention centers.

During his testimony, Mamdani tried to recast the relationship between the city and the state to one of cooperation. Past mayors, including Adams, Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg, often had contentious relationships with Albany, which they nonetheless relied on to fund signature agenda items.

Mayor Mamdani has proposed an ambitious agenda and is seeking to close the budget gap in part with an increase in the state’s corporate tax rate and a 2% increase on millionaires in the city.

Mamdani noted that New York is the only eligible city in the state to not receive direct state aid known as Aid and Incentives for Municipalities and advocated for a direct revenue stream for the city.

State Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) asked Mamdani how he would ensure his proposed tax increases wouldn’t chase businesses out of the city to other states and whether his plans would impact the city’s suburbs.

Mamdani, who represented Astoria in the Assembly for three terms, said his administration wants to ensure the city remains an economic engine.

"What we want to do is ensure that wealth can extend to the lives of everybody who calls the city home," he said.

Democratic legislative leaders have indicated some support for a tax hike in the state budget, but Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she does not support raising income taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.

Walmart plans to convert Riverhead location into supercenter

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

A proposal to expand a luxury hotel in Southampton Village has won preliminary approval for $1.64 million in tax breaks.

The Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency gave an early go-ahead to the tax breaks for the proposed 40-room hotel on Hill Street. The project, which will have eight units of workforce housing, is next to the Southampton Inn, a 90-room hotel. The owners are the same.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the average nightly rate at the new hotel, which will feature a heated pool, is expected to peak at around $800 in July and August, according to a market analysis prepared by the property's owner. An office building on the property will be converted into eight one-bedroom workforce apartments. Another office building will be refurbished.

The $29 million project is expected to generate a “net public benefit” of $2.5 million over 15 years, said Kevin Gremse, of Grow America, a consulting firm that works for the IDA. Gremse cited a likely revenue boost from Suffolk County's 5.5% hotel occupancy tax.

"This is a shot in the arm for the village and the community, and the people who choose to live there on a year-round basis. They need it,” said Dede Gotthelf, owner of the Southampton Inn and managing partner of 71 Hill LLC, which owns the property, during a recent presentation to the IDA.

But the proposal has drawn some criticism from public officials. An IDA member who opposed the relief said locals will likely be priced out of the hotel. A Southampton Village trustee said the project should include more workforce apartments.

Josh Slaughter cast the lone vote against the preliminary tax breaks during the IDA's meeting on Jan. 29. The owner could hike room rates and not need the public assistance, Slaughter said at that meeting.

The Suffolk County IDA has scheduled a Feb. 20 hearing on the tax relief. A final vote is expected on Feb. 26.

***

Walmart is planning to convert its Riverhead store into a supercenter, the national retailer’s one-stop shopping destination, combining a full-service supermarket offering groceries, bakery, deli, meats and produce with a discount department store. Denise Civiletti reports in Riverheadlocal.com that Walmart representatives met yesterday with Riverhead Planning Department staff to discuss the company’s plans during a pre-submission conference at Riverhead Town Hall.

The footprint of the existing store, currently about 167,000 square feet including the outdoor garden center, would be expanded to about 180,000 square feet under the current plans, according to engineer Alek Kociski of Bohler Engineering.

The plan is to build an addition in the area presently occupied by the outdoor garden center and convert the tire center, which is not active, into retail space. The entire interior of the store will be redesigned to accommodate the new supermarket’s offerings.

The expansion will require the purchase of development rights to allow additional floor area in the shopping center, Riverhead Senior Planner Greg Bergman told the Walmart representatives. The developer in 2010 purchased 41 development rights to build the original center, to develop the Walmart store and the other buildings on the site.

The expansion plan will require no variances, Walmart attorney Brian Kennedy said.

Suffolk County DPW may ask for a traffic study, Bergman said.

Since the supercenter will have a deli and a bakery, grease traps are needed, so that requires health department approval, Senior Planner Matt Charters said.

Jason Klipa, Walmart’s director of public affairs for New York said he couldn’t estimate when the company will file its application for an amended site plan approval, but it will begin working on preparing the necessary documents. The “next closest thing” to the Riverhead supercenter would be the Yaphank Walmart, which opened about six or seven years ago, Kilpa said.

Walmart opened the current Riverhead store across from Tanger Outlets in 2014, relocating from its prior location in Riverhead Plaza, the Route 58 retail center just east of Ostrander Avenue.

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau has opened registration for its Winter Break programs during the February school recess. The free programs are open to students in kindergarten through grade four and will run from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday February 17, Wednesday February 18, and Thursday February 19.

Space is limited, and advance registration is required.

Activities begin next Tuesday with “Get Active at SYS.” Transportation from the Flanders Youth Center will be provided. Next Wednesday children are encouraged to dress up for Costume Day at the Youth Center in Flanders. The week concludes on Thursday, February 19, with “Get Creative at the Parrish Art Museum,” offering an engaging museum tour and hands-on art workshop at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, with transportation included.

All programs are offered at no cost, but preregistration is required due to limited availability. For more information or to register, families may call the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/YBpayment.

***

East Hampton Town officials moved forward with a new Latino Advisory Committee at the outset of the new year, and the committee met for the first time this past Saturday, with front-of-mind questions about what local police can and should do in the event of an ICE raid. Created in the shadow of Department of Homeland Security activity on the South Fork late last year, the bulk of the inaugural meeting, held over Zoom due to the weather on Saturday morning, covered introductions for the 15-person committee, but discussion did eventually morph into what local government can do in the face of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the answer, essentially, was that local police can observe, but they cannot interfere with ICE activity.

Kicking off the meeting was the introduction of the two co-chairs, Yesenia Quichimbo and East Hampton Town Democratic Committee Chairwoman Anna Skrenta, for what town officials have said is meant to be a nonpartisan committee.

Skrenta emphasized that mindset, “This is not a political group, but I do think that introducing or creating a bridge between local government and the community to help folks understand how it all works and how to get involved, I think is super important, and I'm excited for that aspect of this group.”

East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, who said she has worked closely with nonprofits like Ruta27 and Organización Latino Americana during her time in office, said she hopes the committee can work to build trust and safety in the community.

“We want to raise the voices of the Latino members of our community,” Burke-Gonzalez said. “I like to think of it as we are one community, not separate communities.”

***

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado announced yesterday that he was dropping his longshot primary campaign against his estranged boss, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Vaughn Golden reports in THE NY POST that Delgado announced the move in a post on X Tuesday morning, just days after Hochul pulled solid support at the state Democrats’ convention in Syracuse last week.

“I’ve concluded that there simply is no viable path forward,” Delgado wrote.

“Though my campaign has come to an end, I fully intend to do all I can in our effort to build a more humane, affordable, and equitable state that serves all New Yorkers,” added Delgado, a former congressman from the Hudson Valley.

“I will also support Democrats in our effort to hold the line against Trump and take back our democracy,” he wrote.

Delgado would’ve had to petition his way onto the ballot after only securing about 15% of the vote against Hochul at the party’s nominating convention in Syracuse last Friday.

Hochul appears to now face a clear path until November, when she’s likely to face Republican Bruce Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive.

Hochul campaign communications director Sarafina Chitika told THE NY POST yesterday, “Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership, our campaign and our party are strong and ready to defeat Donald Trump and his enablers up and down the ballot, take back the House, and hand Bruce Blakeman yet another loss this November.”

***

The ensemble comprises four versatile musicians who have performed at major festivals and concert series across the U.S. and internationally.

PubliQuartet is committed to championing underrepresented composers, commissioning new works, and engaging audiences through multimedia presentations and contextual programming.

That free concert is this coming Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.

***

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Southold Town Board last night agreed to appoint a Public Safety Task Force to examine the health, safety and welfare concerns associated with federal immigration policy and to examine all proposed federal, state and local legislation.

Meanwhile, Lisa Finn reports on Patch.com that ICE has spoken out about the three men detained in Greenport last Wednesday.

In a statement to Patch on Monday, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman stated, "The fact is on Feb. 4, ICE New York City conducted operations targeting a known criminal illegal alien convicted of aggravated DWI with a child/passenger less than 16 — a felony in Greenport. During that operation, ICE officers arrested three illegal aliens, one who was previously removed in 1998 and illegally reentered, committing a felony, and all in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Violating immigration laws is a crime and carries consequences, which includes arrest, detention, and removal from the United States," the statement said.

According to ICE, "Martir Zambrano-Diaz, an illegal alien from Honduras, provided a false name to ICE officers in an attempt to obscure the fact that he committed a felony and is subject to federal prosecution for illegally re-entering the U.S. after removal."

Hugo Ardon-Osorio, "an illegal alien from Guatemala, and Alexandro Rivera-Magana, an illegal alien from El Salvador, both admitted they illegally crossed the border with Mexico in violation of U.S. immigration law," ICE said.

Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island {Organización Latino Americana} a Latino-focused advocacy group, responded to ICE's statement: "The two men that we have been focusing on have no criminal backgrounds," she said. "If ICE wants to use civil infractions as their definition of 'criminal,' that's up to them. What we see are caring, loving, contributing members of our community — taxpayers and great role models for our community."

Many Long Islanders dealing with burst and frozen pipes

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

In a major boost to its ongoing push for a sewer, Southampton Village announced its intention to purchase the Windmill Lane property where the Express News Group office is located as part of a plan to build a wastewater treatment facility. Once acquired using money from the Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund, the Express News Group building — located at 135 Windmill Lane — would be demolished in order to turn the site into a new dog park. Then, the treatment facility would be built behind the Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance’s building, while leaching fields will be built at the dog park’s current location at 205 Windmill Lane.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that The Express News Group, which publishes The Southampton Press, does not own 135 Windmill Lane but is the sole tenant of the building.

The Village of Southampton is using money from the Community Preservation Fund to acquire the property, though the village would be responsible for paying for the building’s demolition, according to Mayor Bill Manger.

The plan will be discussed at the Village Board’s meeting this coming Thursday, February 12, at the Southampton Cultural Center at 6 p.m., which will feature members of the village’s sewer district task force and an engineer from D&B Engineers & Architects. Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker will also be in attendance, as Manger said that the village is working with Suffolk County to secure funding to build the plant.

Installing a sewer has been a longtime goal for Southampton Village.

Building the facility is a key part of the sewer plan, as it would create opportunities to build new medical offices and restaurants, two “wet uses” currently barred by the Suffolk County Board of Health without a sewer system. It would also allow for apartments located on the second story of Main Street buildings to be used as such, which has also been barred, and prevent the flow of nitrogen and other harmful elements into groundwater and bodies of water.

“It means that the entire central business district of the village will eventually be hooked up to a treatment plant, thereby negating the need for antiquated septic tanks that are basically just polluting the groundwater and bodies of water like Lake Agawam,” Mayor Manger said.

***

Things have seemed a bit quiet lately at the East End Food Hub site at the gateway to Riverhead, but that’s about to change.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the non-profit East End Food received a temporary Certificate of Occupancy from the Riverhead Town Building Department in late January, according to Interim Executive Director Kayla Barthelme who said they’re planning to begin pop-up programming in the space next month.

The non-profit will be installing its commercial kitchen equipment this summer, she said, and will be putting in landscaping to enable it to receive its final Certificate of Occupancy this spring.

East End Food, founded in 2010 as the Amagansett Food Institute, is on a mission to connect farmers, food producers, consumers and institutions that have food service programs, to ensure that food grown on the east end isn’t wasted.

The non-profit, which for years had operated out of the kitchen at Stony Brook Southampton College, has been working on Phase 1 of an ambitious plan to renovate the former Homeside Florist at the corner of Route 25 and Route 105 in Riverhead.

The building will be used as a food processing site for fresh produce grown on the twin forks, and for an indoor sales space showcasing foods made by local producers.

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau will host an Open Mic Night for local youth on Friday, February 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hampton Coffee Company’s newest location, 31 Shinnecock Road in Hampton Bays.

This free event is open to students in grades five through 12 and is designed to provide a supportive, welcoming space for young performers of all experience levels. Acoustic musicians and bands, singers, spoken word artists, poets and comedians are all encouraged to take part.

Performance slots are limited to 20 participants; advance reservations are required. Youth interested in performing may reserve a time slot by emailing pstrecker@southamptontownny.gov or by registering online.

For additional information, contact the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/Activities

***

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman tapped a Utica-area sheriff to be his running mate in the race against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul — just hours after a previous pick supposedly got cold feet.

Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood accepted Blakeman’s offer to run for lieutenant governor yesterday, shortly after Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino was said to have declined an offer to jump into the race.

“Todd is a solid guy. We’ll make a good team together,” Blakeman said.

Carl Campanile and Vaughn Golden report in THE NY POST that Hood previously served 22 years in the Syracuse Police Department before serving in the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office. He became Madison County sheriff in 2018.

Giardino had said he decided to decline the offer over concerns about campaigning statewide while running his sheriff’s department.

Hood, who is a father of three, now serves as vice president of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association and Chairman of the National Sheriffs’ Association School Safety Committee.

Republicans are gathering this week for their convention in Garden City, where they are expected to designate Blakeman…the Nassau County Executive…to lead the ticket against Gov. Hochul, who was picked as the Democrats' designee at their convention last week.

Blakeman introduced the likely GOP ticket at a rally at the start of the party’s convention festivities on Long Island last night, calling Hood “a true New York hero.”

Regarding Bruce Blakeman…who was born in Oceanside and attended Valley Stream Central High School…no Long Island native has ever been elected governor of New York, a fact analysts attribute to New York City's dominance of the state Democratic party and the historical strength upstate of the Republicans according to NEWSDAY.

***

After weeks of subfreezing temperatures, many Long Island homeowners have had to cope with burst or frozen pipes. Temperatures should rise this week, but the thaw could bring another set of problems. John Asbury reports in NEWSDAY that as the mercury goes up and down, pipes expand, contract and sometimes burst.

Experts say prevention is key, along with fixing problems permanently when they occur.

“If you survived this storm, you’re probably doing pretty good,” said Richard Kern, director of operations at Liberty Utilities New York Water, which serves 125,000 customers on Long Island. “When pipes freeze, we try to find out why and try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Water in pipes can freeze in cold weather when they are in areas that are not heated or when they are generally not used, experts said.

The National Weather Service urges residents to check their pipes during extreme temperatures. Pipes at risk are most often found in garages, basements, crawl spaces, and in kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

The icy temperatures can cause a loss of water service or a flooded mess when pipes burst.

“Water is unique when it freezes because it expands,” Kern said. “Water has no place to go in wall piping and it’s so powerful it breaks the pipe open. The pipe is not strong enough . . . [and] wherever the weak spot is . . . it succumbs to internal pressure.”

The same deep freeze can cause water mains to burst, causing multiple homes to lose water service, Kern said.

What do you do when pipes are frozen?

If pipes are frozen, homeowners should turn on the faucet and it will eventually drip as the pipes are thawed, according to the weather service. Pipes can be warmed with a hair dryer, heating pad or a cloth soaked in hot water until water pressure returns.

All pipes, including metal, polyvinyl chloride and high-density polyethylene pipes, are subject to freezing. PVC pipes can be more brittle and subject to bursting, while HDPE may be slightly more forgiving, Kern said.

If a pipe bursts, experts suggest calling a plumber and their water company to identify weak spots and areas that need to be better insulated or heated.

***

Every Minute Matters: Recognizing and Responding to Stroke with Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library is a free presentation tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Join Dr. Lawrence Schiff for an important discussion at the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library on how to recognize and respond to stroke.

Learn how to spot the warning signs using the B.E. F.A.S.T. method: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, and Time, and why quick action saves lives. Dr. Schiff will also share how Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital is nearing Primary Stroke Center designation, further strengthening access to expert, lifesaving stroke care close to home.

Call (631) 477-5164 to Register

Tomorrow’s event is Free at 2 p.m. in the

Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library

27550 Main Road

Cutchogue, NY 11935United States

631.734.6360

***

Around 40 percent of the southern pine beetle population on the South Fork will die during the ongoing cold snap, but, according to a local expert, the insect will quickly bounce back and the frigid temperatures won’t have lasting impacts. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that first detected in Hampton Bays in 2014, the southern pine beetle is an invasive insect that has carved up local pitch pine forests. Since the initial detection, the pine beetle has marched east, making itself known in the Town of East Hampton, where its impacts can be seen at Napeague State Park, which is lined with dead and downed trees — and now, burn piles.

For weeks, the South Fork has been beset with frigid temperatures as snow has piled up, with air temperatures dipping into the single digits and strong winds compounding the already extreme weather.

But these freezing temperatures are unlikely to have lasting impacts on the southern pine beetle, as the cold will not eradicate the population completely and those that survive will recover quickly, likely in a matter of months.

“Cold temps affect southern pine beetle {SPB} mortality, but not as much as you would probably think and hope,” said East Hampton Town Senior Environmental Analyst Andy Drake. “Since their habitat is insulated under tree bark, the temps they get are slightly higher than outside. This is a reason why when felling trees for suppression purposes, we always score the bark to introduce dormant beetles to the outside elements.”

Recent years have seen state and local officials shift from actively trying to suppress the pine beetle to looking to mitigate the impacts when it does pop up. This has involved thinning infested forests and reducing fire fuel density.

East Hampton Town officials have sought to mitigate the impacts of the pine beetle on town lands by hiring a contractor to clear fire roads and reduce the fuel load in areas like Buckskill Meadow.

Aside from its natural tolerance to the cold, southern pine beetles also rebound quickly because the insect produces multiple generations per year, meaning a new generation typically emerges in the spring, jumps to a neighboring tree and begins reproducing right away. Typically, three generations spawn per year in New York.

“Anything above 80 percent is a great reduction in population, but the problem is they are able to rebound quite quickly, reproducing multiple generations in a single season,” Drake said.

Town of Brookhaven joins lawsuit against Albany over cannabis dispensary locations

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The Town of Brookhaven joined Southampton and Riverhead town governments in a lawsuit filed on Friday in Albany that claims New York State has handcuffed local towns’ ability to choose where dispensaries are placed and illegally limited their “home rule” rights to oversight of basic commercial development requirements. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the lawsuit asks a state court to nullify the component of the state’s Cannabis Law that limits local governments to only very narrow power to regulate cannabis dispensaries as far as their hours of operation, parking and traffic flow arrangements and nuisances like noise or smell.

Southampton, Riverhead, and Brookhaven Towns say in their lawsuit that when their respective legislative bodies chose not to “opt out” of allowing retail cannabis sales — as all counties, towns and villages were given the chance to do prior to December 31, 2021 — they did so on the basis of assurances from state officials that they would be allowed to determine where within their boundaries the shops would be allowed.

But the suing towns say that in September 2023, months or years after the three towns had adopted their own new regulations that allowed dispensaries to operate under a set of standard requirements similar to how other commercial businesses are regulated, the state adopted new guidelines that, if interpreted literally, greatly limit the towns’ authority to constrain cannabis stores.

Since that time, the state Office of Cannabis Management has issued several “advisory opinions” regarding regulations adopted by the towns, saying that the towns’ respective cannabis codes were “unreasonable and impracticable” and had limited cannabis business in ways it did not have the authority to under the superseding state law.

While the advisory opinions issued by the Cannabis Control Board do not carry actual legal authority, they have been instrumental in at least three court rulings in the last year that struck down local constraints in Southampton and Riverhead.

“I think I can speak for all of the towns involved in that we are forced to take this action to protect the towns’ Home Rule authority and our ability to control the regulation of land use within our respective towns,” Southampton Town Attorney James Burke said on Friday.

Critics from within the cannabis industry have said that the state’s claim to stringent limits on local authority will discourage other towns from opting into allowing cannabis sales in the future, and will further hamstring the already slow growth of the industry on Long Island.

There are more than 580 state-licensed dispensaries open statewide, but fewer than a dozen on Long Island — not counting the 10 on the Shinnecock Nation territory in Southampton, which are not state regulated.

***

Icy conditions and blowing snow continued to make travel difficult Sunday morning, after a Saturday night that saw dozens of vehicles disabled across town due to drifting snow, Riverhead Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that snow accumulations since Saturday morning were in the 2-to-4-inch range, but sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph caused drifts of 7 to 10 feet in some areas, Zaleski said yesterday. Reeves Avenue and the eastern portion of Peconic Bay Boulevard had the worst drifting, and there was significant drifting on Sound Avenue as well, he said.

Riverhead Town Police Chief Ed Frost said, “Several roadways needed to be shut down due to wind-driven snow drifts, which can cover a roadway very quickly.” The blowing snow caused “very tough conditions,” he said.

“This one was a crippling storm,” Zaleski said. “The winds killed us.”

“There were lots of vehicles on the roads, lots of vehicles getting stuck all throughout the night,” Zaleski said. That hampered highway department operations as they fought to keep drifts under control, he said.

Stranded motorists were a big problem.

Zaleski estimated that highway crews and police pulled about 50 vehicles out of drifts Saturday night and during the early morning hours Sunday.

“A car stuck in the middle of the road stops us from plowing,” he said.

“The team work between the Highway Department, Buildings & Grounds Division and the police department was excellent and led to a successful outcome,” Frost said. He thanked all personnel for their work.

Zaleski also had praise and gratitude for the workers and the job they did.

“These guys takes such pride in keeping these roads open,” he said “I can’t thank them enough.”

***

Every Minute Matters: Recognizing and Responding to Stroke with Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library is a free presentation this coming Wednesday, February 11 at 2 p.m.

Join Lawrence Schiff, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, Vice Service Chief, Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, for an important discussion at the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library on how to recognize and respond to stroke.

Learn how to spot the warning signs using the B.E. F.A.S.T. method: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, and Time, and why quick action saves lives. Dr. Schiff will also share how Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital {SBELIH} is nearing Primary Stroke Center designation, further strengthening access to expert, lifesaving stroke care close to home.

Call (631) 477-5164 to Register

This Free event is on Wednesday; February 11, 2026 at 2 p.m.

In the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library

27550 Main Road

Cutchogue, NY 11935United States

631.734.6360

***

More than 100 people gathered on Front Street in Greenport yesterday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after federal agents last week arrested three longtime Latino residents. Bahar Ostadan reports in NEWSDAY that bracing extreme wind chills, protesters bundled in ski suits, hugged one another and discussed the week’s events. One small group arrived by ferry from Shelter Island, and nearly every passing driver in the village of 2,200 honked to show support.

As music from Bad Bunny blasted, Rosa Valladares stood among the crowd holding a protest sign in Spanish that read, "Kids need protection. Not trauma, not fear."

"I feel so sad," Valladares, 39, who immigrated to Greenport 14 years ago with two children, said through tears. "I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. ... We have to be strong together and pray."

Federal immigration agents early Wednesday arrested three immigrant men who have lived in Greenport for more than 20 years and have not committed a crime since they entered the United States according to community leaders. The whereabouts of the three men remain unclear.

The immigration status of the three men — Alexandro Rivera Magaña, Martir Zambrano Diaz and Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio has also not been reported.

ICE officials have not yet responded as to why these men were arrested.

More than half of the Greenport Village population is Latino, Mayor Kevin Stuessi said, with many immigrants working in vineyards, restaurants, local hospitals and the Peconic Landing retirement community.

The Greenport school district is more than 65% Latino.

Also Sunday, about 50 people responded to a parking lot at a Suffolk Credit Union in Riverhead after reports of ICE agents apparently photographing a man, according to Amy Kurtz, who told NEWSDAY that she witnessed the incident. A crowd of protesters were yelling and blowing whistles at a vehicle with ICE agents inside as local and state police officers looked on, Kurtz said.

Bahar Ostadan reports in NEWSDAY that about 45% of Suffolk County immigrants without permanent legal status — at least 30,000 people — have been in the United States for 20 or more years, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The same is true for 50% of immigrants without permanent legal status in Nassau.

"What has been happening in the United States over the past year is one of the darkest times in modern history," said NYS Assemb. Tommy John Schiavoni (D-Sag Harbor). "It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better."

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, will oversee a key congressional hearing this week with top immigration officials expected to testify. He’s pushed back on the Trump administration limiting congressional oversight, including when officials banned impromptu visits to ICE jails.

***

For additional information, contact the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/Activities

***

Republicans are slamming Gov. Kathy Hochul’s running mate Adrienne Adams for championing legislation to allow non-citizens to vote in New York City municipal elections.

Carl Campanile reports in THE NY POST that Adams, who is now the Democratic Party candidate seeking election as lieutenant governor in the state of New York on Hochul’s ticket, was a Queens councilwoman who voted for the controversial law in 2021. She defended the measure after she became speaker in 2022.

The legislation, which would have allowed 800,000 non-citizen NYC residents such as legal green-card holders to vote in city elections, was eventually struck down by the state’s highest court as unconstitutional.

“Anyone trying to dilute the voices of American citizens and pushing for non-citizens to vote in our elections has no business statewide or any elected office,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn).

New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox said Adams’ extensive overall voting record in the council will be scrutinized, including bills she supported to rein in the Police Department.

“Non-citizen voting is way out there,” Cox said.

Former Staten Island GOP city Councilman Joe Borelli predicted that the issue will only fuel Hochul’s Republican gubernatorial foe, Bruce Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive on Long Island.

Blakeman is set to tap upstate Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino — known for his tough-on-crime and pro-gun stances — as his running mate, sources told The Post yesterday.

“If immigration remains an issue, which by all likelihood it will, Blakeman will surely point to this non-citizens bill as a validation of broader GOP points on illegal immigration and voter ID,” Borelli said. Adams not only voted for the non-citizens bill, as council speaker, she also supported a city appeal after a Staten Island Supreme Court judge declared the measure unconstitutional. “We stand firm in our commitment to empowering immigrant New Yorkers to participate in our local democratic process,” Adams said at the time.

Town of East Hampton announces emergency action to remove iconic "stilt house"

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

A Long Island man is among a group of plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit this week challenging the Trump administration’s recent ban on issuing visas to people from 75 countries.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday by a group that includes American citizens, immigration nonprofits and legal organizations, accuses the administration of seeking to "eviscerate decades of settled immigration law."

The government last month suspended the approval of visas from 75 countries, most of them non-European and with large non-white populations.

Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that one plaintiff, Cesar Andred Aguirre, of Shirley, Long Island is a U.S. citizen and a warehouse supervisor who pays taxes, according to the lawsuit. His wife and 2-year-old daughter are now stuck in Guatemala, one of the 75 countries, after she was told she could not receive a visa.

The State Department said a "pause" was necessary to prevent immigrants from coming here to become "public charges" collecting welfare and other benefits.

In response to the lawsuit, Tommy Pigott, a spokesman for the State Department, said in a statement that a visa was a privilege and not a right, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated immigrants should be financially "self-sufficient."

"Such a requirement prevents billions in waste, fraud, and abuse and protects public benefits for Americans," Pigott said. "The Department is pausing issuance to evaluate and enhance screening and vetting procedures — but we will never stop fighting for American citizens first."

Most people applying for immigrant visas are not eligible for cash welfare for years, the lawsuit states.

Anna Gallagher, executive director of CLINIC, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit, said in a statement that "this administration is trying to shut down lawful immigration from nearly half the countries in the world without legal authority or justification.”

Aguirre's wife, Dania Mariela Escobar Carranza, lived in Shirley with Aguirre and their two children, ages 7 and 2. In January, the family traveled to Escobar Carranza’s native Guatemala for her scheduled consular interview, the lawsuit states. Her visa had already been approved and the fees paid.

She went to the U.S. consulate on Jan. 20 and handed in her documents but was told her interview was actually the next day. When she came back, she was told she could not receive her visa because of the pause, which had gone into effect the same day, the lawsuit states.

***

New York Democrats are gathering today for their state convention with the momentum on their side and three established leaders seeking reelection and party endorsement: Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, political observers told Newsday.

Whether they can sustain the effort and avoid self-destruction remains to be seen.

"The only thing, barring something unimaginable, that can reverse this momentum is that there is an open civil war between progressives and moderates," said Larry Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University.

Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have recently declined over issues including the economy and his immigration policy, which has helped the proverbial winds at Democrats' backs "blow harder" than they might normally, according to Levy. Democrats also picked up a state Senate seat in a major upset in Texas last week, further encouraging the party.

Over 400 delegates from around the state are attending today’s one-day convention in Syracuse. Democrats in New York have a more than 2 to 1 enrollment advantage, but party leaders are gearing up for a tough election cycle, State Democratic Committee chairman Jay Jacobs told Newsday. Few surprises are expected, with Hochul anticipated to receive the lion’s share of votes, James running unopposed and DiNapoli, who has held the position since 2007, expected to do well, Jacobs said.

***

The Town of East Hampton announced yesterday that the town is taking emergency action to remove the storm-damaged “stilt house” on Mulford Lane in Lazy Point, an iconic much-photographed building that had long stood on pilings in the water as coastal erosion took its toll on the shoreline. The house collapsed into the water after ice heaves cracked the pilings during the freeze this past weekend. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that after a heavy freeze in late January, the pressure of the ice caused the pilings to buckle, “causing the structure to collapse and creating an imminent risk to public safety, navigation, and nearby coastal resources,” according to a February 5 statement from East Hampton Town. The town said the house had been seaward of the shoreline for “approximately two decades, has been uninhabitable and disconnected from utilities for many years.”

On Feb. 3, The East Hampton Town Building Department placed a placard on the property deeming the site unsafe under the New York State Property Maintenance Code, at which time the Building Department determined the building “posed a serious risk of further breakup and debris dispersal into Gardiners Bay and surrounding wetlands.”

***

Proposed changes to New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, dominated the discussion during NYS Sen. Anthony Palumbo’s annual “environmental roundtable” Monday at Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts Center in Riverhead.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the proposed SEQRA amendments drew skepticism from environmental advocates and several elected officials at the roundtable. The proposed changes are part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s push to streamline development in the name of housing affordability, but multiple participants at the roundtable argued the changes risk weakening one of the state’s core environmental review and public-participation laws — while failing to ensure any resulting housing is actually affordable.

For example, Bob DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End, responded that SEQRA’s central value is not just the environmental analysis itself but the process. SEQRA “guarantees transparency, public participation and a hard look,” he said noting that if a municipality believes a particular large project has such public benefit and, in the balancing of equities in the project —the environmental, community and economic impacts — the municipality can decide not to require an in-depth environmental review. It can issue a negative declaration, or a conditioned negative declaration, and allow the project to proceed without an environmental impact statement.

First District Assembly Member Tommy John Schiavoni of Sag Harbor voiced his concern, telling the room he was “disappointed” the issue was being framed as a fight between environmental and housing interests, adding that his staff was reviewing the details and that the “majority conference” — fellow Democrats in the NYS Assembly — would be hearing from them.

NYS Senator Palumbo’s environmental roundtable, initiated by his predecessor in the First Senate District, longtime state senator Ken LaValle, is held annually and allows environmental and community groups and local elected officials to discuss issues of concern with state lawmakers.

Anthony H. Palumbo is a Republican who represents the 1st Senate District, which includes the northern portion of the Town of Brookhaven, and the Towns of Riverhead, Southold, East Hampton, Southampton and Shelter Island.

***

At last week’s Express Sessions event, “The Evolution and Preservation of Downtown Sag Harbor,” held at The Church on Madison Street, the panel of Sag Harbor Village officials and other community stakeholders discussed steps the village could take to help preserve the character of the downtown shopping district, at a time when development and market forces threaten many of its most beloved small businesses. Making updates to village code have long been a tool in the toolbox for the Village of Sag Harbor when it comes to that effort among other approaches.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that a new possible strategy garnered some attention — and is in the early stages of being explored as another option. The idea of engaging a new kind of public/private partnership to safeguard mom-and-pop retailers that have given the village its distinct quirky appeal over the decades was discussed. Earlier this week, Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella and former New York State Assemblyman and lifetime Sag Harbor resident Fred Thiele discussed in more depth what that could look like.

The key ingredients in this new recipe, so to speak, would be the Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund; private funds, available through either a new or existing nonprofit; and owners of key downtown real estate that would be willing to sell to those entities.

It would be similar to the effort that was used to revive the Sag Harbor Cinema, where the $4 million from the CPF was used to purchase a historic preservation easement, and the Sag Harbor Partnership secured the necessary donations to purchase the building itself.

“What we’re looking at is to see if the CPF could partner with a nonprofit or public entity to preserve what we consider to be part of the community,” Mayor Gardella said. “We’re just in the beginning discussions about this, to see if it’s even possible.”

***

Sag Harbor’s HarborFrost is tomorrow, and the festivities begin this evening at 5:30 p.m. with the Taste of Sag Harbor Kick-Off Celebration at the Sag Harbor Cinema.

On Saturday, Sag Harbor transforms into a walkable winter wonderland filled with art, music, and seasonal celebration throughout the downtown. A signature element of HarborFrost is the return of Ice Memories’ Richard Daly, who will present live ice carving demonstrations by Long Wharf and at the southern end of Main Street. Live music will echo from several locations along Main Street, while Sag Harbor Chamber member businesses throughout the Village will offer special promotions and seasonal menus. Then tomorrow evening HarborFrost concludes with World Famous Fireworks by Grucci, launched from the end of Long Wharf at approximately 5:45 p.m. in Sag Harbor, U.S.A.

***

An ICE-OUT demonstration on the north fork is being organized for this coming Sunday afternoon at Mitchell Park in Greenport from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. A posting reads, “Community Members, Not Targets Protest. Wear white in solidarity and peace.”

Meanwhile, on the west end of Long Island, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman…the likely Republican nominee in this year’s gubernatorial race…fired at state and local Democrats over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to blow up the county’s cooperation deal with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that the legislation, unveiled by Hochul last week and praised by her fellow local Democrats, would essentially shred Nassau’s current partnership with ICE — something Republican Blakeman warned could backfire. “Hochul’s attempt to end that cooperation won’t make ICE disappear — it will put more federal agents on our streets, operating without local partnership or oversight, all while setting dangerous criminals free,” he told The Post. “Cooperation with ICE has allowed Nassau County to target and remove violent offenders through coordinated, accountable law enforcement,” added Blakeman. Blakeman was one of New York’s first local leaders to sign what is often touted as the most comprehensive and controversial “287(g) agreement” with ICE last year. Hochul, under the proposed Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, effectively wants to bar and eliminate all such agreements throughout the state, by blocking local police departments from helping the feds with civil immigration arrests and prohibiting ICE from using county detention facilities. The governor’s office responded this week that Blakeman’s claims were unfounded and accused the Long Island leader of fearmongering. “There is no evidence to support the claim that ending 287(g) agreements would trigger an increase in ICE activity,” Hochul spokesman Gordon Tepper told The Post. “More than 50 New York counties do not participate in these arrangements, and nothing suggests public safety suffers as a result.” Five counties across the state, including Nassau, currently have such agreements that are at risk of being voided under the proposed bill.

25% of Greenport students stayed out of school fearing ICE raids

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

One-quarter of students in the Greenport school district stayed out of school yesterday as reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests swept through the community, creating fear, chaos and anger, according to officials and advocates.

Three longtime area residents with no criminal records reportedly since their arrival in the U.S. were arrested by federal agents as part of President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign, Latino community leaders said. They identified them as Alexandro Rivera Magaña, Martir Zambrano Diaz and Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio.

Bart Jones and Randee Daddona report in NEWSDAY that the ICE enforcement action, one of the most visible on the East End in months, stirred panic and frustration across Greenport Village as advocates called it a troubling escalation after weeks of anti-ICE demonstrations across Suffolk County.

Southold Town Police Chief Steve Grattan confirmed ICE was in Greenport on Wednesday but said he had not received information from the agency about arrests. Greenport Superintendent of Schools Beth Doyle said many families kept their children home, most likely out of fear of the agents’ presence. The district decided to keep all students on campus throughout the day and not allow seventh through 12th graders to leave for lunch as they typically can, she said.

Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi denounced the raids. "It's a tragedy to see parents being separated from children, and then doubly troubling to see all the fear with local students and families as federal agents were swarming the village this morning," he said.

Residents described early morning scenes of chaos as agents barreled down village streets in pursuit of migrants. Some residents came out blowing whistles, filming the agents and telling them to get out of the community.

***

Some bus stops in Nassau and Suffolk counties remain buried in snow and inaccessible to riders nearly two weeks after a major storm hit Long Island.

Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that Long Island’s bus passengers are far outnumbered by its rail passengers, who make the Long Island Rail Road the busiest commuter railroad on the continent, but they still total in the tens of thousands each weekday.

Some of them now face streetside shelters that are filled with snow or offer limited or no access to the street because of snow or ice…including several bus stops here on the east end where riders have been seen standing dangerously in the road while awaiting the S-92 Greenport to East Hampton bus. Meteorologists say temperatures warm enough to melt the snow and ice won't come until next Wednesday at the earliest.

Suffolk County spokesperson Michael Martino said for 2,224 bus stops, "crews continue to clear snow from bus stops across the county. If there is a location that needs to be addressed, residents are asked to call the county’s 311 line to report the issue."

But responsibility is complicated for the 302 stops with shelters. Of those, 136 are owned by Suffolk County, 95 by advertisers contracted by the towns where they are located, 19 by the New York State Department of Transportation and 51 by private companies. They, not the county, are responsible for clearing the snow from their shelters, Martino said.

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau is offering teens a chance to gain valuable skills and confidence through The Babysitters Club, a free program designed to help participants become responsible, capable, and professional babysitters.

Running on Thursdays from February 26 through April 2, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hampton Bays Community Center, the program is open to youth ages 14 to 18. Space is limited to 20 participants, so early registration is encouraged.

Throughout the six-week program, teens will learn essential child safety practices, explore the stages of child development, and develop fun, age-appropriate activities for children. The curriculum also includes basic CPR and first aid-training, along with job readiness and leadership skills aimed at building confidence, responsibility, and professionalism.

To register, visit southamptontownny.gov/ybactivities or call the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 for more information.

***

Brothers Josue and Jose Trejo Lopez spent more than nine years in Georgia and Central Islip living all-American lives: earning high school diplomas, teaching Sunday school, joining the Air Force Junior ROTC, and eating New York pizza. Their slightly accented English is peppered with American slang. Now, a decade after their mother brought them to the United States as kids, Josue, 20, and Jose, 21, spend most of their time in a small cinderblock house in El Salvador, thousands of miles from their mother, brother, other relatives and friends, in a country where they were born but feel like foreigners. David Olson reports in NEWSDAY that the brothers returned to El Salvador in shackles last May, grasping only white plastic bags with the clothes and legal documents they had when immigration agents arrested them, along with two Bibles they got at an upstate detention center. Their years growing up in the United States didn’t prevent their deportation, nor did their lack of criminal records after entering the U.S. nor a finding from a Suffolk County judge that they should not be sent away.

They and their mother, Alma Lopez, 38, crossed the border on foot into Texas in 2016, when Josue was 10 and Jose was 11.

Regarding this case an ICE spokesperson said in a statement, "All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removed from the U.S." The Trejo Lopez brothers were twice ordered removed from the country, and in 2019, they lost an appeal, leaving them with a standing deportation order, ICE said.

Nearly three in four people — including Josue and Jose — in ICE detention have no criminal convictions reported after arriving in the U.S. Arrests of immigrants when they show up for ICE check-ins were rare until the second Trump administration, experts said.

***

Three east end residents were reportedly apprehended by agents of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Greenport Wednesday morning. Minerva Perez, Executive Director of OLA of Eastern Long Island said a Rapid Response network documented yesterday's raids. Ms. Perez is working with Southold Town officials on a resolution regarding public safety in the wake of this and other raids. Ms. Perez said the three men arrested yesterday had all lived in the area for more than 20 years and had no criminal record. One has a newborn baby, she added. An OLA press alert sent last night identified the three men as Alexandro Rivera Magaña, Martir Zambrano Diaz and Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio. "It's a terrible feeling to see a community that is a healthy, peaceful community broken apart like this," stated the OLA director. “At this point we know they have no criminal background, have been here for 20+ years, and we have no idea of their whereabouts,” Ms. Perez said. “Most importantly, we need to bring these men home.”

OLA (Organización Latino Americana) serves immigrant and US-born Latinos working and/or living in the villages and hamlets of the Towns of East Hampton, Southampton, Riverhead, Southold, and Shelter Island.

***

The East Hampton Healthcare Foundation will sponsor a free community Health Fair at the St. Luke’s Church, 18 James Lane, East Hampton, this coming Friday…that’s tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Highlights will include flu shots, glucose exams, blood pressure screenings, and applications for colorectal screenings. Also available will be appointments for no-cost mammogram and pap smear tests for uninsured women over the age of 40.

Representatives and information will be on hand from health insurance and local community organizations.

All residents are invited to attend.

That’s tomorrow at 11 a.m. in St. Luke’s Church in East Hampton.

***

The United States Golf Association will begin construction this month on the infrastructure for the 126th U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, with work steadily ramping up into the spring ahead of the June 15 start of the tournament. The final day is Sunday, June 21st. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the USGA says it expects as many as 150,000 people to stroll back and forth through the tournament grounds over the course of tournament week. The championship’s manager, John Ryan Celiberti, said last week the challenges in getting those people onto the South Fork and into the tournament grounds, with as little impact on the everyday lives of those not visiting the club, is the top priority for organizers. Parking and transportation, as usual, will be the biggest hurdles. The tournament again will use the Elks Club property on County Road 39, the Stony Brook Southampton campus and — unlike in 2018 — areas of the Shinnecock Territory as part of its logistics scheme.

However, the main offsite parking area for this year’s tournament will be at the EPCAL industrial park at the former Grumman aircraft plant in Calverton.

In 2018, the USGA used Gabreski Airport in Westhampton as the main parking site, but extensive new development at the airport in the years since has eaten up most of the open areas used for parking.

“We know that is going to add travel time for fans coming to the championships,” Celiberti said of the Calverton site.

In 2018, shuttle buses from the offsite parking in Westhampton were caught in snarled traffic on Sunrise Highway and County Road 39 on the first two days of tournament play, which fall on regular workdays — leaving the USGA course managers and many vendors shorthanded, as volunteers and employees were sometimes hours late for shifts.

Celiberti did not offer a clear path to how similar issues will be avoided this time around but said, “We are going to get creative.”

The USGA will again build a temporary train station at the former Southampton College station and is working with the Long Island Rail Road to add more trains to the tournament from New York City and western Long Island, and to add cars to the trains they do run to maximize the number of people who can reach the property without having to worry about clogged roadways.

The tournament will erect the steel pedestrian bridge over County Road 39 that it has used for the 1986, 1995, 2004, and 2018 U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills Golf Clu. It will be erected during a weekend overnight sometime in late May.

Riverhead Town Police Dept. closed 2025 with fewer criminal incidents in Dec. than Nov.

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The Town of East Hampton plans to hike landing fees at its airport in Wainscott by 15% to generate revenue to repair and replace aging infrastructure at the facility. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the town also wants to hike fuel fees at the airport, which are currently 30 cents per gallon, by 2 cents.

The public airport serves a mix of private pilots, charter flights, commercial businesses and seasonal visitors.

The town is increasing fees at a “sweet spot” that lets it pay off the roughly $4.6 million it seeks to borrow for capital improvements, East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said during a work session yesterday. The increases in landing and fuel fees are expected to generate more than $350,000 in additional yearly revenue.

“We're not building VIP rooms or expanding any type of amenity at the airport. Everything that's on this list is critical for airport safety, and I don't think those are negotiable,” Councilwoman Cate Rogers said.

Board members said they agreed to the fee increases and plan to vote on them in March — giving time for aviation industry representatives to weigh in. The rate hikes would take effect on May 1, when flights pick up due to the influx of seasonal visitors.

This year’s big-ticket item is the resurfacing of one of two runways, which is estimated to cost $2.7 million, airport director Jim Brundige told board members. While the town has repaired cracks in the runway over the years, it now “needs to be completely milled out and repaved,” he said.

The town has not raised landing fees since 2016. Fuel prices were last hiked in 2014.

East Hampton-based aviation businesses, many of which have leases at the airport, are exempt from landing fees, but not from the fuel charge, said Katie van Heuven, outside counsel for the town. Last year, 3,033 of the 12,674 landings at the airport were exempt from the fees, according to town data.

East Hampton Town officials said they will revisit the airport’s fees in 2027 and possibly increase them again to finance future projects. The town wants to ensure the airport remains self-sustaining and is not financed by tax revenue, Burke-Gonzalez said. The airport relies on the fees to operate.

***

The Riverhead Town Police Department closed out 2025 with a lower number of criminal incidents in December than in November, according to the department’s monthly activity reports presented to the Town Board by Police Chief Ed Frost at the board’s Jan. 22 work session. The reports also include year-end totals and a full-year breakdown of criminal offenses recorded in 2025. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Chief Frost presented two months of reports at the work session because the November report had not been delivered previously. He told board members the department logged 2,604 total incidents in December, including 106 criminal incidents — “a significant drop from even November,” he said.

He told the board that “simple assault was down” and that shoplifting was down as well, saying the department recorded 24 shoplifting incidents during the month.

Board members praised the trend. Supervisor Jerry Halpin said it was notable to see shoplifting going down even as the Route 58 retail corridor continues to add businesses.

Frost attributed at least part of the month-to-month results to both policing strategy and store policy. He said some stores have internal thresholds and “do not call us if it’s under a certain amount of money,” even though, he said, the department will respond. The chief also described a visible holiday-season deployment in shopping areas: in the weeks before Christmas, he said, the department assigned extra patrol cars to shopping plaza parking lots. Police coordinated with loss control personnel at various stores that wanted to participate. The stores had extra loss control people on site on a particular date or dates, coordinated with the police department’s crime control and COPE units, Frost said. Measuring the effectiveness of the tactic is difficult, the chief acknowledged, but it will likely be a deterrent.

***

The East Hampton Healthcare Foundation will sponsor a free community Health Fair at the St. Luke’s Church, 18 James Lane, East Hampton, this coming Friday, February 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Representatives and information will be on hand from health insurance organizations, Sun River Health Care, OLA of Eastern Long Island, The Retreat, SNAP (food stamp information and applications), mental health resources for children and adolescents (via YES COMPHS, Youth Enrichment Services Community Mental Health and Support), Meals on Wheels (information and applications), the Town of East Hampton Human Services department, and Cornell Cooperative Extension (family wellness and nutrition educator).

Healthy refreshments will be served. All residents are invited to attend. For more information, call 631-329-2425.

***

Jackie Dunphy, a real estate agent with The Corcoran Group in East Hampton, converted her two-car garage into a living space for her mother 15 years ago. After applying for a permit with the building department, hiring a contractor and completing her periodic check-ins with the Town of East Hampton, she was able to move her mother into the accessory dwelling unit.

Interest in properties like this has spiked on Long Island.

Rachel Weiss reports in NEWSDAY that an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is an additional, smaller living space on the same property as a primary residence, that can either be its own separate structure, attached to the home or converted from a garage, basement or attic. Hopeful buyers are starting to search for properties with ADUs (or the potential to build one) while house-hunting on Long Island, experts say.

This trend has traveled nationwide, according to the Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report of 2025.

As for East Hampton, ADUs are a "highly desirable product in a low inventory," said Dunphy, who lives and works in East Hampton.

Making ADUs even more accessible in the area would help keep residents there, she added, because "like everywhere else, we're in a real critical situation out here with the lack of affordable housing."

Dunphy said there has been an increase in demand for properties like this in East Hampton ever since prices shot up during COVID.

The Plus One ADU Program is described as "an initiative to create and improve ADUs across the state," according to the New York State Homes and Community Renewal website. The Long Island Housing Partnership assists in the application process for the grants, which are offered in Towns such as Huntington and Riverhead. The grants aim to help low and middle-income families, and go up to $125,000.

***

A 2024 proposal to issue permits for short-term rentals and to cap their number at 1 percent of the housing stock in Southold Town could soon go before the community for a public hearing, as the town works to regulate an industry the town believes generates $25 million in revenue for property owners here each year. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that short-term rentals of less than 14 days have been illegal in Southold Town since 2015, but the town has since found the ban difficult to enforce.

In 2024, the Southold Town Board convened a Short-Term Rental Task Force, which recommended the town change the definition of short-term rentals to fewer than 30 days and allow permits to be awarded through a lottery.

The town has since begun using new software, Rentalscape by Deckard Technologies, which enables it to know the length and price of rentals booked on short-term rental websites, and find out in real time when short-term tenants are arriving and leaving the properties, enabling town code enforcement officers to better document and issue citations for the illegal use.

Town officials say this software will be crucial to its enforcement of the new code when it is adopted.

The Southold Town Board got a first look at the proposed code at a Jan. 29 code committee meeting.

“The way we look at it is, it’s really a quality of life issue,” Deputy Town Supervisor John Stype, who chaired the task force, told the Town Board. “We’re concerned with the people who live here full-time and their particular quality of life.”

He added that rapidly declining enrollment in local schools has been driven in part by a real estate market inflated by speculation.

“The cost of homes makes it harder and harder for local people to stay here,” he said. “That’s what we should be concerned with.”

Mr. Stype said the soonest the town could realistically implement the code would be January of 2027 — town staff and the board are still working on a draft of the code, which would then have to be put before the public at hearings.

Councilman Brian Mealy asked where members of the public can turn to air their concerns and questions about this proposal.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said they can contact the Town Supervisor’s office. The phone number there is 631 -765 - 1889.

***

Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara has announced the launch of the 2026 “Hometown Heroes Banner Program.” The initiative, spearheaded in 2023 by Councilwoman McNamara and Westhampton VFW Post 5350, aims to recognize and honor our local military men and women by displaying personalized banners with their picture and military service information in Good Ground Park in Hampton Bays. Over 50 local heroes have been honored since the launch of the program, from WWII veterans to current active military.

2026 Banner applications are open on a first-come, first-served basis, with one banner per sponsor. To qualify, honorees or sponsors must be a former or current resident of the Town of Southampton, and honorees must be serving or have served in the United States Armed Forces. The cost of the eighteen by thirty-six-inch banner will be $150, with a portion of the proceeds to be administered by Westhampton VFW Post 5350 to benefit local veterans’ organizations or to assist families with a banner purchase.

The program will run from Memorial Day through Veterans Day.

For more information about the “Hometown Heroes Banner Program” contact Jamie Bowden at hometownhero@southamptontownny.gov

Or contact Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara. (631) 287-5745

***

New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced yesterday that her office would deploy legal observers to document raids conducted by federal immigration authorities across the state. The observers, outfitted with purple vests, could be sent to where immigration raids are unfolding to serve as “neutral witnesses on the ground,” her office said in a release, adding that they would be instructed not to interfere with enforcement activity. Luis Ferré-Sadurní reports in THE NY TIMES that the initiative, after criticism over the aggressive tactics used by immigration officers in Minneapolis, is aimed at collecting real-time information on immigration enforcement activity and identifying whether federal agents are acting lawfully, her office said.

The effort, which will be staffed by lawyers and other state employees, is the first of its kind by an attorney general’s office, according to Sophie Hamlin, a spokeswoman for Ms. James.

“We have seen in Minnesota how quickly and tragically federal operations can escalate in the absence of transparency and accountability,” Ms. James, a Democrat, said in a statement. “My office is launching the Legal Observation Project to examine federal enforcement activity in New York and whether it remains within the bounds of the law.”

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, accused Ms. James of backing so-called sanctuary laws that prohibit cooperation between immigration authorities and local jails and police forces in certain parts of New York. (While Ms. James is broadly supportive of sanctuary laws, the policies are enacted by city and county officials, not the attorney general’s office).

“ICE law enforcement wouldn’t have to be in the field in New York if we had state and local cooperation,” she said in a statement. “Letitia James is not letting that happen, which puts New Yorkers in danger.”

In New York and elsewhere, federal agents have clashed with activists showing up to record, protest and, at times, confront Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carrying out raids.

Federal judge allows offshore work to resume at Sunrise Wind farm off coast of Montauk

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Mountains of snow have sprung up across Long Island after a major winter storm hit two weekends ago. Municipal and state highway workers made the mounds after moving snow from downtown business districts and highway areas like bridges and ramps. While New York City is using mechanical “hot tubs” to melt some of its snow, common practice on Long Island is to let the snow melt naturally – even if it takes weeks.

For example, piles of snow stand in the Hampton Bays fire department parking lot nine days after a foot fell on the east end. Nicholas Spangler and Nicholas Grasso report in NEWSDAY that there are more mountains alongside some state highways, where about 380 highway maintenance workers used loaders and dump trucks to haul "tons" of snow from shoulders, bridges and ramps, according to Stephen Canzoneri, a state Department of Transportation spokesman.

There are mountains in Southold, where crews removed a few hundreds truckloads of snow from Love Lane in Mattituck and Main Road in Cutchogue "just to get passable sidewalks and on-street parking reestablished" Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin said. The mounds went up at Strawberry Fields fair grounds in Mattituck and on Highway Department land in Peconic.

In East Hampton, the mountains occupy parking lots that will be used in warmer months by surfers and swimmers at Atlantic Avenue and Ditch Plains beaches. Stephen Lynch, East Hampton’s highway superintendent, said town workers will use road sweepers to clear snow treatments or gravel after the snow melts.

In Southampton, aside from the piles at Hampton Bays depot, most snow is simply pushed into the 10- or 15-foot strip of right of way on each side of the road, Highway Superintendent Charles McArdle said. Eventually, as in East Hampton, workers will use street sweepers to clean whatever sediment they can collect from the melted snow, the key word being melted.

"That’ll be when?" McArdle said. "July?"

***

U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota…the Republican from Amityville who represents the east end in the U.S. House of Representatives…has announced a pair of initiatives that will see a total of $440 million in federal investments make their way to Suffolk County to support clean water, coastal resilience and public safety.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the first initiative is $429 million for research institutions, strengthening coastal protection and water-quality programs, and expanding support for law enforcement and public safety. After Congress passed three appropriations bills on January 8, President Donald Trump signed the funding package into law on January 23.

Meanwhile, the second, also signed into law on January 23, will provide more than $11 million for 10 community projects throughout the 1st Congressional District, including $782,100 for upgrades to the technology in the Southampton Town Police Department mobile command center. This will see the Southampton Town Police Department’s 23-year-old mobile command unit be modernized with dual-band radios, computers, cameras, dispatch equipment and monitors.

“The money is focused on public safety; it's focused on infrastructure; it's focused on water quality, all three of which are important to my constituents and me,” LaLota told The Express News Group.

Included in the measures is $40 million for the National Estuary Program — of which the Peconic Estuary Partnership is a part — which will go toward water quality preservation.

Another $40 million will ensure critical dredging projects remain in place across the East Coast, like the one that has been ongoing for the past two months or so at Lake Montauk.

Congressman LaLota also highlighted the $155 million that will go toward Brookhaven National Laboratory.

***

A federal judge has allowed offshore work to resume at Sunrise Wind’s offshore wind farm about 30 miles off the coast of Montauk, the fifth of five projects allowed to continue work by the courts after they were blocked by the Trump administration and U.S. Department of the Interior in December.

“Purportedly new classified information does not constitute a sufficient explanation for the bureau’s decision to entirely stop work on the Sunrise Wind project,” Judge Royce Lamberth stated when making his decision yesterday.

The Sunrise Wind project offshore of Smith Point County Park in Shirley, Long Island is presently about 45% complete with its 84-turbine wind farm. Last month, The City reported that Ørsted lost approximately $1 million per day while the project was halted.

“Today’s court decision allowing Sunrise Wind to immediately resume construction is a win for New York’s working families and our economy,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand {D-N.Y.}in a statement. “As energy costs continue to soar, the Trump administration’s ridiculous attempts to halt this project would have killed good-paying jobs and raised energy costs on New Yorkers.”

***

Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to increase access to universal pre-kindergarten would send millions of dollars to school districts across New York and require every district to have a full-day program for 4-year-olds by the 2028-29 school year.

Lawmakers, education leaders and advocates say it's a "step in the right direction."

They also fear it may not be enough to make pre-kindergarten truly universal.

Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that the Democrat’s $260 billion state budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 boosts spending on child care and pre-kindergarten by $1.7 billion — allocating $10,000 per pupil to school districts to expand current prekindergarten programs or start new ones. The executive budget, if approved by the New York State Legislature, would require every school district to have enough seats for all eligible primarily 4-year-olds whose parents apply by 2028-29. Programs can be located in a school building, or districts can partner with a community-based organization to run the program.

After years of sporadic funding, lawmakers, education leaders and advocates applauded the proposed increase in aid, which could be used largely for instruction. But more money may be necessary to address the need for additional space, transportation and qualified staff, they told Newsday.

Education advocates and lawmakers expressed concern that the mandate could become an issue if underfunded and become a burden local taxpayers would have to shoulder, particularly in high-wealth but expensive areas like on Long Island that typically receive less state aid under the school aid formula.

Statewide, 624 of the 673 school districts have some form of prekindergarten program, also known as pre-K, according to the State Education Department.

Research has shown that pre-K programs can help prepare children for kindergarten and help them have greater success in their school career, making them more likely to graduate high school, graduate college and get high-paying jobs, said Marina Marcou-O’Malley, co-executive director for the Alliance for Quality Education, an advocacy group. “The return on investment is huge.”

Universal pre-kindergarten is not child care, “it’s an early childhood education program,” said Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, the state’s largest teachers union representing nearly 700,000 members. It’s important to align what’s taught in prekindergarten with K-12 educational programming and to have certified teachers, Person said.

***

Southampton Town’s recent creation of new floating “Community Housing Overlay Districts” has paved the way forward for four housing developments already under consideration, and for an expansion of one of the town’s first community housing success stories — the Sandy Hollow Cove apartment complex — with a new development of single family townhouses next door. A total of up to 68 units, of a variety of designs ranging from houses for first-time homebuyers to apartments and senior cottages are currently being considered for changes of zoning to the new “Community Housing Overlay Districts.”

Each of the proposals will have a separate public hearing before the Southampton Town Board at a future date, after the board elected at its Jan. 29 work session to consider the applications.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Town planners, housing officials and a representative from the affordable housing developer Georgica Green Ventures gave an overview of the proposals at last week’s work session.

The projects include a complex that could have between 20 and 30 units at 99 Montauk Highway in Water Mill, 10 senior rental units at the former Easterner Motel in Shinnecock Hills, nine single-family homes at 90 North Sea-Mecox Road, four single-family homes at 205 North Sea-Mecox Road and 15 single family townhouses at 147 Sandy Hollow Road, adjacent to the existing Sandy Hollow Cove complex.

Georgica Green Ventures would be co-developing the Montauk Highway, Water Mill project and the Sandy Hollow Cove 2 project with the Town of Southampton Housing Authority.

Southampton Town has already used Community Housing Fund money to purchase the first four properties for use as community housing.

***

Saks Off Fifth, one of the largest stores in the Tanger Outlets mall in Riverhead, shut its doors yesterday.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the store’s financially troubled parent company, Saks Global, announced last week it is closing the majority of its Off Fifth stores, including two on Long Island. The Off Fifth store at Tanger Outlets in Deer Park is also closing. The Garden City location will remain open, according to a list posted on the Saks Global website.

The closings come after Saks Global voluntarily filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in Texas Jan. 14.

Saks Off Fifth, in addition to having one of the largest footprints in the Riverhead outlet mall, was, after 28 years of operation, one of the mall’s oldest tenants. Saks Off Fifth in 1997 was one of the first stores to open in Tanger II, a major expansion that more than doubled the size of the three-year-old outlet mall. After the completion of Tanger II in 1998, the center consisted of 735,000 square feet and was home to 200 stores— one of the largest in the country at the time.

The flagship Saks Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan (611 Fifth Ave) remains open despite recent bankruptcy filings by its parent company, Saks Global.

***

More than 40% of New Yorkers support deporting people who are in the United States illegally – but overwhelmingly are souring on the Trump administration’s tactics and ICE operations in Minneapolis, per a poll released today. Vaughn Golden reports in THE NY POST that 61% of respondents told Siena University pollsters they disagreed with how ICE was operating amid the surge in Minneapolis – including 81% of Democrats and 54% of Independents – while 61% of Republicans supported the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s tactics.

Suburban voters in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Orange and Putnam Counties have also largely soured on the immigration enforcement agency’s operation, with 61% opposed.

However, 43% of voters supported deporting migrants who are in the U.S. illegally, versus 35% against deportations and 20% “in the middle,” roughly the same as when Siena asked the question last May. 80% of Siena’s respondents said they supported deporting migrants with a criminal background in a poll about a year ago, including 71% of Latinos.

The poll, conducted last week, also shows the highest ever favorability for Gov. Kathy Hochul — at 49%. With 40% of respondents rating her unfavorably in the latest poll, she now has a net favorability rating of +9%.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is still largely unknown statewide, with 60% of those surveyed saying they don’t know the likely GOP challenger to Hochul. At this point, Blakeman would lose to the incumbent Democrat 54% to 28% in a head-to-head gubernatorial matchup according to the survey.

A majority of voters, 51%, did, however, tell Siena they would rather someone other than Hochul be governor, with only 42% saying they’d vote to re-elect the New York leader.

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who is waging a primary challenge against Hochul from the left, is also unknown to 61% of those surveyed. As such, he gets beaten in a head-to-head matchup with Hochul, 64% to 11%.

Gov. Hochul plans to prevent local police departments from collaborating with ICE

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Abandoned office buildings at Grumman Aerospace's former Calverton plant could be redeveloped into an indoor cannabis cultivation facility, but the Central Pine Barrens Commission must first give approvals. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the 20-acre property on the south side of Grumman Boulevard includes three buildings that were built between 1960 and 1988. They have been vacant since Grumman closed the facility, where the U.S. Navy once assembled and tested fighter jets, in 1996.

Signature Partners, a Manhattan commercial real estate firm, is the site's new owner. Fenced in by barbed wire, the campus of former office buildings recently sold for $750,000, according to a deed filed with the Suffolk County Clerk's office in early January. The property was previously owned by TJ Enterprises LLC.

Signature officials outlined preliminary plans to redevelop the property as an indoor cannabis grow facility during a meeting of the Central Pine Barrens Commission Jan. 21 meeting. The company needs a hardship waiver because the property is in the Central Pine Barrens Core Preservation Area and is considered new development, officials said.

Development is not typically allowed in the environmentally sensitive area so as to protect the environment and groundwater, according to the commission's land use plan.

In a Jan. 7 letter to the Pine Barrens Commission, the developers said a hardship waiver was unnecessary. The applicant seeks an “adaptive reuse” of existing buildings, rather than an entirely new development, the letter said.

“We are not going to change the envelope of any of the buildings,” Signature Partners' CEO, Andrew M. Weiss Jr., said at the meeting. “It’s a restoration type of project.”

Under the proposal, the existing buildings would be reused for cannabis cultivation following interior renovations, parking lot resurfacing, landscaping upgrades and improvements to septic systems, fire sprinklers and other utility connections, according to documents filed with the commission. Ten wooded acres would remain untouched, according to a concept presented to the commission. “We will do nothing to injure or impair the existing majestic pine trees,” the letter states.

The property is in Riverhead Town’s “Natural Resources Protection” zoning district, which allows agricultural production. Cannabis is considered an agricultural crop under state law.

Town site plan approval would also be required, though no official plans have been filed yet.

“At this early stage, we are focused on making our application to the Central Pine Barrens Board. Once that is complete, we look forward to working with the Town of Riverhead to ensure that this long abandoned property is restored and can once again become a significant employer and taxpayer,” Weiss said in a statement.

Weiss added that they plan to make a formal application to the Central Pine Barrens Commission for a hardship waiver. A public hearing would be held before the commission decides.

***

New York's gubernatorial front-runners, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, are using well-known political figures as proxies to attack each other, with Hochul linking Blakeman to President Donald Trump and Blakeman associating Hochul with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that this strategy looks to leverage the high negativity ratings of these proxies outside their own parties to energize voter bases, despite the risk that voters may not connect the intended dots. Analysts suggest that while using a bogeyman can be effective, it often results in low-information voting, ultimately disadvantaging voters.

"Gov. Hochul blasted Bruce Blakeman for putting his loyalty to Donald Trump ahead of New Yorkers" begins a recent Hochul campaign release.

"Donald Trump saying [Blakeman is] 100% MAGA. Pretty much the kiss of death here in New York," Hochul herself said in a recent television interview.

Blakeman, for his part, keeps trying to tie Hochul to Mamdani, the freshly elected democratic socialist mayor. It’s not new: he used Mamdani as a foil in his 2025 reelection campaign for Nassau County executive.

"When you see what’s going on in the city of New York, they’re basically in turmoil right now with an administration that is antithetical to the values that we have here on Long Island," Blakeman said not long after his reelection in November.

"These proxies, or foils as I like to call them, are so deeply etched in people’s minds, politically, that there is no danger of confusing someone or not being clear of the criticism you are trying to make," Grant Reeher, a Syracuse University political scientist, said. "Every campaign wants to define their opponent before they can define themselves" to the public. However, even if using a foil works, Reeher said, in the end "the problem is the loser in all this is the voters."

"To the degree you are swayed by this approach, you are motivated to vote against someone who isn’t even the person you are voting against," Reeher said. "You [campaigns] are trying to get them to vote in a very low information way."

***

To register, visit southamptontownny.gov/ybactivities or call the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 for more information.

***

Beneath frozen ground and snow-covered grass, cesspool piping quietly cracks amid the pressure of expansion. Sewer and water lines are under increased stress as the ground shifts, said cesspool professional Salvatore Motta.

"In many cases, we're forced to bring in excavators just to dig through the frost before any repair can even begin," according to Motta, CEO of Melville-based Quick Drain. "This lack of access is a major reason winter repairs cost so much more."

Arielle Dollinger reports in NEWSDAY that amid a stretch of extreme cold, homeowners on Long Island have been confronted with frozen pipes and cesspool backups — realities experts said could impact both home inspections and wallets because of emergency pricing.

"We're seeing flooded homes and broken lines nonstop with this cold, and a big reason is what's happening underground," Motta said. The winter usually brings more opportunity for various plumbing issues to expose themselves, said Phil DePaul, CEO of Farmingdale-based 1-Tom-Plumber.

Plumbers handle hot water heating systems, he said, so winter generally comes with "a certain cadence or flow of weather-related calls."

Frozen pipes, through which water is not flowing, often lead to burst or broken pipes, he added. The volume of calls about these issues has been above average of late because of the low temperatures and wind chill, he said. But when a homeowner calls about a frozen pipe, "Truth be told, there's only so much a professional can do when a pipe is actually frozen," DePaul said.

Motta estimated a repair that could cost $2,500 in the springtime could cost $3,500 or more in the winter. He attributed this cost increase to frozen ground, longer repair times and additional labor and equipment.

"The combination of frost-related pipe failures, buried tanks and limited access is why winter plumbing emergencies are not only happening more frequently — but are far more disruptive and expensive for homeowners," Motta said.

For this reason, Motta said preventative maintenance and knowing where the cesspool or sewer system is located before temperatures drop and snow falls can have a significant impact.

***

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday said that she would push to bar police departments in New York from forming partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the latest in a recent effort by Democratic leaders to limit cooperation with President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Maia Coleman and Grace Ashford report in THE NY TIMES that the proposed legislation, called the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, would ban participation in so-called 287(g) agreements, which allow ICE to deputize local police to enforce civil immigration law. Though police officers in New York City are prohibited from collaborating with federal agents on civil immigration matters under the city’s sanctuary policies, a handful of counties in the state have passed such agreements.

Last fall, the federal government announced that ICE would begin reimbursing local agencies that participate in the agreements, including by paying the annual salary and benefits of eligible officers.

“We’re sending a strong message to ICE,” Ms. Hochul said during a news conference at her offices in Manhattan on Friday morning. “You will not weaponize local police officers against their own communities in the state of New York.”

She was flanked by Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, and an array of district attorneys and other police officials.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, condemned the legislation on Friday. “Governor Hochul would make New Yorkers less safe as a direct result of this policy,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a statement. “When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with D.H.S., our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence.”

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement that ICE agents were protecting American communities. “Local officials should work with them, not against them,” she said.

***

The Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton invites you to visit them this coming Friday, February 6, and spend a leisurely morning in conversation, while enjoying a cup of joe…as the Bookmark Café hosts another Coffee Social from 10 am to 12 noon.

Then stick around for Word Game Palooza, a casual afternoon of Scrabble, Boggle, and other word games! Word Game Palooza starts at 1 pm…Coffee Social at 10 a.m. this coming Friday, February 6 in Southampton’s Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Rd, Southampton, NY 11968.

***

The Village of Southampton is moving toward a referendum to lengthen the terms of mayor and trustee from two to four years, reviving a divisive proposal. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the board of trustees recently voted 4-1 to schedule a public hearing on a law which, if adopted, would be placed on the ballot in June as part of the village’s annual election.

Under the current system, Southampton Village elections are staggered annually. Two trustees are elected one year, followed the next year by the election of two trustees and the mayor.

The proposed law would keep staggered elections but shift them to four-year terms.

If approved, the shift would begin with the 2028 cycle. That year, trustees would be elected to three-year terms. Then, in 2029, the other two trustees and mayor would be elected to four-year terms. In 2031, the two trustee seats would be up for four-year terms.

Trustee Ed Simioni cast the lone dissenting vote during the board's work session on Jan. 20. He said two-year terms are important for holding elected officials accountable. He pointed out that a similar village proposal in late 2023 was shelved after resident opposition.

Mayor Bill Manger said Simioni was being “undemocratic by not letting the people of this village vote” on term lengths.

According to the Southampton Village planning commission, more than half of Suffolk County towns have four-year terms for supervisor, and all of them have four-year terms for council members. Twelve villages in the county have four-year terms for trustees and mayor, the report noted.

It also notes that Suffolk County voters in November approved a referendum expanding terms of legislators from two years to four.

Southampton Village is not “the only place that’s doing this,” Manger said.

Last October, the New York State Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a 2023 state law moving many county and town elections outside of New York City from odd to even-numbered years. Beginning in 2026, voters across the state will cast their ballots in several local elections at the same time that they vote in state and federal contests.

Tonight across East End, 9 vigils to be held for civilians killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

New York and a dozen other Democrat-led states are part of a federal funding review ordered by the White House’s budget office, as President Donald Trump vows to block the flow of funds to states as early as Sunday that do not fully cooperate with his immigration crackdown.

Laura Figueroa Hernandez reports in NEWSDAY that the Office of Management and Budget, in a memo sent to federal departments last week, ordered agency leaders to provide a detailed listing of all federal grants and funds given to 14 Democratic states and Washington, D.C.

“This information will be used to better understand the scope of funding in certain states and localities in order to facilitate efforts to reduce the improper and fraudulent use of those funds through administrative means or legislative proposals to Congress,” reads the Jan. 20 memo obtained by Newsday, first reported by Real Clear Politics.

Only the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs were exempt from the request, according to the three-page memo.

The sweeping review comes after President Trump in a Jan. 13 speech to the Detroit Economic Club said his administration planned to stop “making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities” starting Feb. 1.

Trump has already moved to freeze funding for other New York projects and programs, including $3.4 billion for child care and social services programs and the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel Project, which project leaders have warned will stop construction of the massive Hudson River rail tunnel starting Feb. 6 if funds are not released.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said the state will sue the Trump administration if it blocks additional funding over New York's immigration policies.

The administration has taken aim at the state’s 2019 Green Light Law, which allows individuals to apply for a driver’s license regardless of citizenship status. The law also requires the state Department of Motor Vehicles to notify the license holder "when immigration enforcement agencies request" their information.

“This is just a threat to intimidate states like New York into bowing into submission, and that is something we'll never do," Hochul told reporters in Albany on Jan. 15. "So I say this: You touch any more money from the State of New York, we'll see you in court."

***

On the East Hampton Town Police Department’s wish list this year are automatic translators that would be used during traffic stops to facilitate communication with Spanish-speaking drivers and passengers.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that first presented at the Town Board work session on January 20, the translator devices would cost $115,000 in the capital budget and would come from a company called Axon, which has a contract with Town Police for the currently used body cameras. Axon first rolled out the new technology about two years ago, but it wasn’t available to East Hampton Town Police until now.

Currently, when translation is needed during a traffic stop, the responding officer calls in a Spanish-speaking officer to assist or uses a department cellphone, donated by Organización Latino Americana, to call a “language line” service, which provides translation for Spanish and a host of other languages.

The Axon translators are “push to talk,” meaning the officer would hold down a button and the machine, which attaches to a body camera, would provide real-time translation between the officer and the person who had been stopped.

“This will allow immediate real-time translation services in any situation that our officers encounter, without having to bring down another officer to translate, without having to sit down with the language line,” said East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo. “Tremendous new technology... a really positive thing for the community and for our officers.”

East Hampton Town Police have been working with Axon on piggybacking on the body camera contract to allow for installation. Once the funding from the capital budget becomes available, the translators could be implemented and flipped on.

***

For this evening, nine vigils have been scheduled across the East End from 6 to 7 p.m. in remembrance of the two civilians killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis this month. The vigils will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Hook Mill in East Hampton, the Sag Harbor windmill on Long Wharf, the Macy’s parking lot in Hampton Bays, the Gazebo in Westhampton Beach, at Riverhead Town Hall, at the Cutchogue Village Green, at Greenport’s Mitchell Park and at Shelter Island Town Hall. Organizers are asking attendees to bring a flashlight or a candle.

Those east end vigils begin at 6 o’clock tonight at the aforementioned locations.

***

Integrating artificial intelligence into the classroom could potentially bring "unprecedented innovation” from helping neurodivergent kids navigate social situations to assisting dyslexic students with reading — but at the moment, the benefits "pale in comparison" to the risks, according to a recently released report from the Brookings Institution. The 219-page report, released this month, is the result of a yearlong study by the Center for Universal Education at Brookings. In the report, the authors said AI can save teachers time when it comes to lesson planning, grading and assessing students. It can also personalize lessons for students and provide additional support to those who need it. But, the report found, AI can also threaten students' safety, undermine their cognitive and emotional development and degrade trust in education. Darwin Yanes reports in NEWSDAY that with AI still a relatively new technology, the authors say there is still time to develop tools that will benefit students. They recommend developing regulations to protect student data and emotional well-being, improving AI literacy among teachers and families to help identify misinformation and bias, and ensuring oversight over AI learning. On Long Island, educators had mixed reactions to the use of AI in the classroom. Some argued educators have a duty to prepare students for a future where AI will likely be commonplace, while others raised concerns about how AI will impact students' ability to think for themselves.

Kings Park schools Superintendent Timothy Eagen, who is also president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, said educators need to teach kids how to "use and interpret AI effectively and safely."

He argues educators do students a disservice if they fail to expose students to this new and emerging technology.

“That quantum shift in technology has happened," he said. "It’s our duty in public education to make sure that our students are prepared and ready to go out in the environment.”

***

Drivers lose nearly $4,000 annually on New York City, Long Island and New Jersey roads due to congested and deteriorated roads, according to a transportation nonprofit’s report released yesterday. John Asbury reports in NEWSDAY that the national transportation research nonprofit group known as TRIP said drivers in the metro area, which includes Long Island and parts of New Jersey, spent about $3,755 per vehicle due to higher costs, traffic crashes and congestion delays. Statewide, those expenses total $40.3 billion, according to the group’s report.

"A lack of adequate investment in transportation and increasing inflation in construction costs could hamper New York’s ability to make needed improvements to its transportation network," the report stated.

Those figures are up from about $3,500 per vehicle in last year's report.

Nearly half of major highways and local roads statewide, the report noted, are listed "in poor or mediocre condition," which costs drivers an additional $718 in gas and maintenance expenses. In the NYC metro area, about 35% of roads are considered in good condition while 31% of roads are in poor condition, according to the report.

The report also found that 435 bridges, or 7% of the region's bridges, were in poor condition and in need of immediate repair. Another 68%, or 4,562 bridges, were in fair condition.

Officials said the cost of highway repairs had increased, while state transportation spending had dropped. Highway construction costs nationally have increased by more than 70% since 2020, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

New York City and Long Island drivers also are losing time and money commuting, according to the report. The nonprofit estimates the average driver loses 99 hours each year in delays. Commuting costs average drivers about $2,662 in lost time and fuel.

The average driver wastes about 31 gallons of fuel due to congestion, costing drivers $20 billion annually. Analysts said New York City area traffic had returned to pre-pandemic levels and the state DOT estimates traffic will increase 23% by 2040, the report notes.

***

An ICE OUT NOW event is scheduled for tomorrow along Route 58 in Riverhead. Organizers said they are inviting residents from across the East End to gather from 10 a.m. to 12 noon outside Staples Plaza. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that their press release reads as follows: “Our call to action is to engage community members to join action groups, to demand accountability for ICE agents who are acting outside of the law, and to get our community leaders and all government officials to step up in meaningful ways to protect public safety.” Tomorrow’s gathering is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. by the Staples on Route 58 in Riverhead.

***

New York City has scads of very large buildings, but not many are as big as the glass-and-steel structure nearing completion on the south side of John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The airport’s huge new Terminal One will encompass 2.6 million square feet of passenger check-in zones, security checkpoints, baggage-claim areas, restaurants, duty-free shops and boarding gates.

That will make it nearly as big as the Empire State Building and bigger than JPMorgan Chase’s new headquarters on Park Avenue and more than triple the size of the new LIRR train hub beneath Grand Central Terminal.

It’s so massive that it is supplanting three of the eight terminals that once made up Kennedy: the existing Terminal 1 and the demolished Terminals 2 and 3.

Patrick McGeehan reports in THE NY TIMES that the only airport terminal in the United States that will rival its size is the lone terminal at Denver International.

But Terminal One’s builders know that its sheer magnitude is not what the tens of thousands of international travelers expected to pass through it daily will measure it by, after the first phase opens later this year. The goal underlying its design and planning was to make it one of the five best airport terminals in the world, said Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Kennedy. Construction of the $8.5 billion Terminal One is just one piece of a plan to remake the 78-year-old airport without interrupting its steadily rising tide of travelers.

Now, with his retirement approaching, Mr. Cotton, 81, said he was confident that the first phases of the two big JFK terminals would be completed this year.

“The momentum is way beyond question,” Mr. Cotton said. “The Port Authority has proved its capability to manage projects of this scale and to do them at world-class quality.”

Town of Southampton looking to purchase 30 acres at 130 Old Country Rd

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Long Islanders cleared their sidewalks of ice and snow this week, obliged by neighborly custom and, sometimes, the law.

Like much else in this land of 13 towns and two cities, the relevant details — residential or commercial property, size of fine, extent of grace and enforcement — depend on the jurisdiction. Most, but not all communities have laws on the books about a property owner or occupant’s obligation to clear "obstruction by snow or ice and icy conditions."

Many municipal officials said they issue warnings before tickets and that the laws exist to keep sidewalks safe, not raise revenue.

Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that some towns also have laws on the books that let them simply do the snow and ice removal themselves, billing the property owner for "direct and indirect costs of repairing, removing and/or remedying the condition," as Huntington code puts it. To ensure payment, the town places a lien against the property and collects "in the same manner as real property taxes."

In Southampton, no law is needed because, at least for now, Highway Department workers do the job, funded by the $300 to $500 most property owners pay annually in highway taxes, Highway Superintendent Charles McArdle said. But significant sidewalk expansion over the last several years has increased the snow clearance workload for highway workers so much that the practice will likely have to end, McArdle said.

"Everyone thinks they pay taxes and should have every bit of service done, but there’s a point where we wouldn’t be able to manage," he said.

Southampton Town leaders are expected this spring to take up new rules putting the responsibility on property owners, perhaps modeling the legislation on Brookhaven’s, McArdle said.

Finally: if, in the course of snow clearing, a Long Islander is tempted to throw the stuff into the street, they should not. It makes extra work for plow crews, it's explicitly prohibited in many municipal codes, and their neighbors may give them more than just nasty looks if such a move should result in personal injury.

***

Early discussions have been held between Southampton Village, the Southampton Fire District and the Southampton Fire Department about potentially building a new firehouse to serve the village. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the talks — which according to Trustee Roy Stevenson, the village’s liaison to the fire department, have been happening for a few months — have centered on a piece of property on North Sea Road off County Road 39 that is owned by the fire district. Stevenson said that since many of the volunteer firefighters live north of County Road 39, it is difficult for them to get to the village’s three firehouses — located on Windmill Lane, Hampton Road and St. Andrews Road, all south of County Road 39 — during the summer due to traffic congestion.

David Price, the chairman of the district Board of Fire Commissioners said that a new firehouse would lead to better coverage and make it easier for firefighters to get to the station, as well as to house larger vehicles that the older Windmill Lane station cannot accommodate.

Stevenson also noted that the Windmill Lane firehouse’s location in a floodplain “is not an ideal place to have a firehouse when you need to get it and you have an emergency” like a flood or hurricane.

Stevenson said that he estimates that “anything that we decide now probably isn’t going to even happen for four or five years,” though he noted that the village is continuing to pursue the idea as the population grows.

If the new firehouse is eventually built, Price floated the idea of turning the historic Windmill Lane firehouse into a museum featuring old firetrucks that the village owns.

“We have these beautiful antiques that no one gets to see except on the Fourth of July,” he said. “If they could be put in a house right there where they could be on display all the time, that would be phenomenal.”

***

The Riverhead Water District will be able to begin construction this year on a water main extension in Calverton that will provide clean drinking water to homes in Calverton with private wells contaminated or threatened by pollution from the former Grumman plant. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Rep. Nick LaLota on Friday announced $2.25 million in Community Project Funding for a town water district extension to serve 28 homes west of Edwards Avenue in Calverton, along Railroad Avenue, Canoe Lake Drive, River Road and a private road south of River Road. Known as Extension 95, the project will cost an estimated $5.6 million. The balance of funding for the extension comes from a portion of a $5 million grant announced in January 2024 as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Emerging Contaminants Fund, through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. “Suffolk County families deserve clean drinking water and safe communities, and these federal investments will deliver exactly that,” said Congressman LaLota, a Republican from Amityville who represents C.D.-1 which includes the east end.

***

A significant reduction in net international migration, amid the Trump administration's deportation crackdown, contributed to New York State having just a minimal population bump between 2024 and 2025, according to recently released U.S. Census Bureau data. New York’s population stood at roughly 20,002,427 on July 1, 2025, about 1,000 more than the count at around the same date in 2024, according to Vintage 2025 estimates released Tuesday. Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the net international migration to New York between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, was estimated at roughly 291,000. However, as the Trump administration stepped up deportations and other immigration enforcement efforts, net international migration into the state dipped to roughly 96,000 between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, data showed. New York State’s decline in net international migration mirrors national figures.

Jan Vink, a senior extension associate at Cornell’s Program on Applied Demographics, noted the estimates cover the last six months of the Biden administration and the first half-year of the Trump administration.

"There are a lot fewer people arriving in the country and in New York due to the changing [immigration] polices," he said.

New York remains the nation’s fourth-most populous state, the Census Bureau said. And for the last few decades, New York has seen more people leaving the state than coming in — a trend exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when more than 300,000 people left, according to the analysis.

People are still moving away from the state, but not at those pandemic levels. In 2024, the loss was about 119,000, according to recent estimates. The following year, the loss was about 138,000.

***

The Town of Southampton is moving to purchase more than 30 acres off Jackson Avenue that it plans to use a portion of to build a wastewater treatment plant for a future sewer system serving Hampton Bays' downtown. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the Southampton Town Board had acknowledged late last year that it had an agreement with the owner of the property at 130 Old Country Road to sell the parcel to the town, and this week it unveiled the details of the deal and scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for Tuesday, February 10.

The Town of Southampton will pay owner Tom Hogan $3.2 million for 30.8 acres of land using the town’s Community Preservation Fund water quality improvement funds and another $465,600 from the town’s general fund surplus for an additional 4.8 acres that will be merged with the existing town facilities on Jackson Avenue — for which the town is in the middle of developing a master redevelopment plan. Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said it will likely be at least four years before the treatment facility and sewer system are constructed on the parcel the town hopes to close on quickly. “Once we get the property purchased, then we can hire an engineering firm to start on the designs — which, that is probably about two years in, then to build it will probably be another two years,” the supervisor said on Tuesday. The conceptual plans for the project call for the wastewater treatment plant to be built on about 6 acres of the larger parcel the town is purchasing, which lies just to the northwest of the town’s offices and courthouse on Jackson Avenue. The treatment facility would be connected to a sewer system serving the downtown business district and some neighboring parcels.

***

The North Fork Action Center will present a conversation with Organización Latino Americana of the East End Executive Director Minerva Perez this coming Monday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. in the Unitarian Universalists of Southold meeting house at 51900 Main Road in Southold.

Per the North Fork Action Center posting, the O.L.A. director is expected to speak to such questions as

“What’s happening with our neighbors? Our workers? What can we do?”

That’s this coming Monday at 6 p.m. in the UU Meeting House, 51900 Main St, Southold.

Per their website, The North Fork Action Center mission is:

Protecting the U.S. Constitution, working toward justice, civic engagement, evidence-based science, diversity and a free press.

***

The median price of a home on the south fork of eastern Long Island - aka THE HAMPTONS - climbed more than 33% in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the same period a year before, reaching a record $2.3 million, amid a surge in high-priced home sales. Celia Young reports in NEWSDAY that at the same time, the median price of a home on Long Island — excluding the ritzier East End — reached $739,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, the second-highest price on record, according to a report released today by real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman and the appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The report, which includes condos, details prices for homes in the Hamptons and North Fork separately.

A strong year on Wall Street helped spur more sales in the Hamptons, pushing up prices, said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel. The average bonus of a Wall Street employee rose to $244,700 in 2024, the most recent year data is available, according to the New York State comptroller. The comptroller’s office anticipated the bonus pool would grow again in 2025, as Wall Street profits rise, according to a 2025 report.

"The Hamptons are joined by the hip with the securities industry in New York City," Miller said. "Probably the most significant reason [for higher prices] is that Wall Street has had another year in a row of record compensation and record profits — so far." Ernie Cervi, regional senior vice president for the East End at Corcoran, said prices in the Hamptons could continue to grow, depending on Wall Street’s performance.

"When Wall Street bonuses are really good, we find that people come out and spend those bonuses out east," Cervi said. "There’s no way to tell whether it will go higher or not, but it seems to be going higher."

The Hamptons saw a record number of homes sell for higher prices. For example, 82 homes sold for $5 million or more in the fourth quarter — the highest number on record — and roughly 70% of homes in the ritzy enclave sold for $1 million or more, Miller said. That’s the largest share of Hamptons homes to sell for $1 million or more, he added.

Meanwhile, the North Fork saw the median sales price drop slightly, by 1.3% to $987,000 in the fourth quarter of last year when compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Elliman report. At the same time, sales surged, jumping 18.6% to 166 deals when compared with the fourth quarter of 2024.

East Hampton Town Supervisor issues statement on ICE actions in Minneapolis

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The Southampton Town Board yesterday approved the $25.8 million purchase of an oceanfront mansion, which the town plans to demolish to create a beach access point.

The three-story, 11-bedroom home at 1950 Meadow Lane — a stretch of multimillion-dollar oceanfront estates in the Village of Southampton — will be acquired by the town, razed and ultimately replaced with a small public parking lot, officials said.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that Southampton Town officials have framed the purchase as a rare opportunity to secure prime beachfront land for passive recreational use and protect the area's maritime dune habitat. The removal of the home and its pool meets the state's goal of moving people and structures away from the shoreline, which are at risk of flooding during an extreme storm, said Jacqueline Fenlon, the director of the town's Community Preservation Fund, during a hearing earlier this month.

The unanimous vote by the board authorizes Southampton Supervisor Maria Moore to sign the town’s contract with the seller, Frances Katz, to buy the 2.2-acre property.

"It's going to be used for generations," Councilman Bill Pell told Newsday. He called the purchase a "good investment" and said the town is pursuing more waterfront properties for acquisition.

Some town residents have said they were elated at the prospect of expanded beach access in Southampton Village. Town residents who live outside of the village are subject to high beach fees.

Supervisor Moore told NEWSDAY most town beaches are west of the Shinnecock Canal, Southampton Town's geographic midpoint. Residents who live further east will now have a closer beach to enjoy.

Money for the purchase comes from the Community Preservation Fund, which generates revenue for land preservation and water quality projects through a 2% real estate tax. The fund can be used to purchase properties for a variety of reasons, including open-space and parkland preservation.

***

North Fork residents came to the Southold Town Board’s meeting last night urging the board to make a strong public statement of their support for the local immigrant community and their grave concern about federal immigration enforcement actions here and around the country. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that they brought with them a petition signed by 800 residents, which many said they’d continue to carry. The crowd was unimpressed with a statement read by Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski, who said it was drafted during a lengthy discussion with the town’s police chief about public safety earlier Tuesday.

Supervisor Krupski’s statement discussed the town police department’s commitment to fair enforcement of the law, “treating all individuals with dignity” and ensuring that everyone in town feels comfortable interacting with town police.

“We pledge to work proactively to ensure all community members, regardless of background or immigration status, feel safe calling 911, participating in school, shopping for needs and accessing health care without fear,” said the supervisor, adding that the Town of Southold plans to follow up on a letter it sent to federal immigration officials in early December “expressing concerns about public safety with immigration enforcement.”

Though immigration enforcement has been quiet out on the North Fork in recent months after two reported raids in Greenport last summer, ICE agents have been deployed to Riverhead, Riverside, Hampton Bays and Westhampton Beach in recent months.

***

The Eddie Westfall Arena - the ice rink at Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton - is closed while the operator works to remove ice and snow from portions of the dome and its perimeter.

Rink staff are working to reopen the facility as soon as possible, Peconic Ice Rinks said in a social media post yesterday.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that a portion of the dome deflated under the weight of the snow and sleet that accumulated during Sunday’s storm, according to Peconic Rinks director Kevin McCormack.

“We’ve had extensive conversations with the town engineer and the fire marshal and the building inspector,” McCormack said. “Before anybody occupies the building again, it will be signed off by an independent engineer,” who will certify that everything is safe, he said.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin in a press release announced that the arena had been “temporarily closed by order of the Fire Marshal due to possible impacts from the snow event this past weekend. On Tuesday afternoon the supervisor said that the town fire marshal, building department and the town engineer have been out to Veterans Memorial Park to look at the dome. “So it’s closed until they can remedy it,” Halpin said. “We want to make sure there’s no damage. It’s our facility. We have insurance on it. The town owns it, and at the end of the day, it’s the town’s responsibility and if it needs repair, that’s added cost.”

***

Nine vigils for people killed by federal agents in Minneapolis are being organized for this Friday evening across the east end.

“Faith leaders and community volunteers will be on site to lead the vigils and everyone is welcome to attend to share in community and a call for peace and justice,” said the press release, sent out by Anita Boyer of Hampton Bays, one of the organizers of the actions. Participants are asked to bring a flashlight or candle.

Friday evening’s vigils are planned from 6 to 7 p.m. at the following locations:

East Hampton at Hook Mill; Sag Harbor at the windmill; Southampton at Agawam Park; Hampton Bays at Macy’s lot; Westhampton Beach at the gazebo; Riverhead at Town Hall; Cutchogue at the Village Green; Greenport at Mitchell Park; Shelter Island at Town Hall.

A second event is planned for Saturday, Jan. 31, along Route 58 in Riverhead. Organizers said they are inviting residents from across the East End to gather from 10 a.m. to 12 noon outside Staples Plaza.

“Our call to action is to engage community members to join action groups, to demand accountability for ICE agents who are acting outside of the law, and to get our community leaders and all government officials to step up in meaningful ways to protect public safety,” the press release states.

“This is a coordinated response of concerned local advocacy groups and community members working together to defend our democracy and uphold our constitutional rights,” the press release continued. “Both actions are peaceful gatherings within our First Amendment rights to gather and protest.”

***

The Hampton Bays movie theater will close for good following its final showings Thursday night, January 29…that’s tomorrow.

The cinema’s longtime manager, Mary Russo, confirmed Monday that the theater will close this week — a decision made between the theater’s parent company, Cineworld, and the landlord, WDP Enterprises.

The property’s owner, Walter Morris, said he is preparing to apply again to Southampton Town to “de-theaterize” the two-story, 15,000-square-foot cinema space so that it can be repurposed for rent to a retail or similar type use.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the theater was shuttered for more than a year during the coronavirus pandemic and had been on the chopping block as Cineworld went through bankruptcy in the wake of the pandemic but reopened in 2021 amid the “Barbenheimer” double-feature surge in movie-attendance.

Referring to Cineworld, “They were great tenants,” Morris, a Huntington-based developer who owns and operates several other commercial malls and properties around Long Island, said. “They told me that they were not going to be there long term but that if I gave them a reduced rent they would stay open as long as they could. That time has come. They were losing money.”

In 2019 Morris signed a 25-year lease with CVS to take over the 15,000-square-foot space. But the application to the Southampton Town Planning Board for the structural renovations to the building were met with opposition from the community, he said, and after 5 years the pharmacy giant backed out of the agreement.

So now the landlord is back to hunting for a new anchor tenant to the small shopping center, with much more urgency.

Morris said he reached out to “every theater company in the country” in hopes of finding someone that would take over the cinema as it is — to no avail.

“So the plan is to remodel the shopping center, which is something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” said Morris, who has owned the Montauk Highway shopping center for 25 years. “The last time it was remodeled was in the 1990s so it needs work. New roofing, nice mill work, nice lighting, copper accents, some better signage so we can attract retailers. Something really pretty.”

***

East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez...a Democrat who is running for reelection this year... has issued a statement in response to ICE agents actions in Minneapolis.

It reads as follows:

“An American exercising his First Amendment rights was killed by his own government. A son. A friend. A nurse who cared for our veterans. A person who spent his life helping other people survive their hardest moments, and he did not make it home.

When the Trump administration decided that fear and intimidation is a governing strategy, the result is not safety. The result is a parent grieving the loss of their child, and a country where more and more people feel like one encounter with the federal government could shatter their lives forever.

The harm does not stop at one street or one city. It spreads. It changes how families live. It changes who feels safe asking for help. It changes whether a witness speaks up. It changes whether a child can breathe easy when their parents walk out the door for work in the morning.

Here in East Hampton, we are a community that shows up for one another. We treat people like neighbors. We believe that when your neighbors are hurting, you show up for them. Should you want to show up for your neighbors in this moment, you can shine a light and attend the vigil for the victims of ICE at Hook Mill this Friday at 6:00 PM. Or consider signing up for OLA’s Rapid Response program, a community effort where volunteers act as peaceful observers to ensure our neighbors are treated fairly.

We will not accept a future where people must prove they deserve dignity and fear is the price of living your life.”

That's a statement posted this week by East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez.

***

The rise in homelessness on Long Island is being substantially driven by the uptick in unhoused seniors, experts say. From 2024 to 2025, the number of verified homeless seniors on Long Island grew from 198 to 253, marking a 27.8% increase, according to data compiled by the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. Many of the senior citizens who are homeless have never been so before, advocates say. They have typically experienced hardships such as high medical costs or a hike in housing costs. Some no longer have the physical capabilities to take on work to increase their income.

"If we don't figure out how to ensure an adequate supply and affordable housing and access to address health care needs, really for all Americans, then we won't be able to stem that older adult crisis that we're seeing, because everybody gets older," said Marcy Thompson, vice president of programs and policy at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that in 2024, nearly 150 of the area’s counted homeless lived in emergency shelters, 19 lived in transitional housing and 26 of them either lived in vehicles, train stations or other places on the streets, according to data from the coalition.

Last year, the coalition helped nonprofits obtain roughly $17 million in federal funding to help deliver permanent supportive housing to people experiencing chronic homelessness. Experts warn the number of homeless reflected in recent years are undercounts because those figures do not include people living with relatives or doing so-called couch surfing in various homes. Moreover, finding homeless people can often take a lot of detective work, especially in dangerously cold temperatures when they are not out in the open.

On Long Island, homelessness is on the rise. Last year, 4,540 people experienced homelessness on Long Island, marking the highest number counted since at least 2007, when the figure was 1,728, according to the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless.

East Hampton Village beach permit sales day moved to January 29

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

In Montauk all public school classes move to remote learning today otherwise most east end school districts have implemented a two hour delayed start.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that tomorrow marks 40 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing high school teacher Christa McAuliffe and the six astronauts aboard. McAuliffe had been selected for a trip on the Challenger from a pool of more than 11,000 teachers who had applied for NASA's inaugural Teacher in Space Project. Grade school students on Long Island and nationwide took special interest in the flight, since McAuliffe was planning to give lessons from space…and witnessed the explosion as it happened.

While the makeup of the crew appeared extraordinary, NASA missions themselves felt quite ordinary by the mid '80s. With the Space Shuttle program's record of success, it seemed safe to welcome aboard McAuliffe, selected from the more than 11,000 teachers who vied for her seat.

"The shuttle was being billed as a routine then," Joshua Stoff, the curator of the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, told Newsday. "They were talking about sending kids into space." While children looked up to the astronauts aboard the Challenger, many Long Islanders felt proud of the machine itself, having built several of its essential components, according to Stoff. Long Island’s deep aviation history — from airfields developed after the turn of the century, to the manufacturing of World War II bombers and even the creation of the lunar module that landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon — thrived inside Fairchild Republic and Grumman manufacturing facilities in Farmingdale and Bethpage, according to Stoff.

But NASA had never launched a space shuttle with the temperature as cold as it was at liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986 — 36 degrees, about 15 degrees colder than any previous launch, according to the official commission report. Investigators determined the bitter cold weakened the O-ring seals in the ship's right solid rocket booster, causing the shuttle to rupture. The disaster grounded the Space Shuttle program for more than 2½ years.

"It was almost like the Titanic, ‘the ship is unsinkable, full speed ahead’ kind of thing," Stoff said. "[NASA was] just complacent and didn’t pay attention to a lot of engineers who said it was not safe to launch that day."

***

On Sunday afternoon as a foot of snow was accumulating across the south fork two houses caught fire on Noyac Avenue in the Pine Neck neighborhood of Noyac knocking out power for 28 houses in the vicinity amid the ongoing winter storm.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the fire damaged a pole in the area, per PSEG spokesperson Elizabeth Flagler; PSEG crews had to deenergize the area to make it safe for the firefighters to enter and crews to begin repairs. The pole will be replaced, and PSEG workers were on site attempting to complete repairs as quickly as possible. Power was fully restored to the area by 2:41 a.m. on Sunday, January 26.

The Sag Harbor Volunteer Fire Department was called to the fire at 187 Noyac Avenue at 3:13 p.m., where a fire had started in the garage of one of the cottages clustered in that area. No one was injured, but several residents who were home at the time were displaced, at the peak of the winter storm that had descended on the area and dropped nearly 12 inches of snow. The Red Cross was involved in the effort to help those displaced residents, Sag Harbor Fire Chief Mike Guyer said.

The fire occurred in a cluster of cottages situated on a long driveway off Noyac Avenue that leads down to the bay.

The Sag Harbor Fire Department called in the RIT team from East Hampton and also requested mutual aid from the North Sea Fire Department, which sent an engine. The Bridgehampton Fire Department headed to the Sag Harbor firehouse to be on standby.

Guyer said the fire was knocked down “fairly quickly,” but he did not arrive home until 7 p.m. that night.

Southampton Town fire marshals were on the scene, but had not yet determined the cause of Sunday's fire in Noyac.

***

Due to the winter storm this weekend, East Hampton Village officials have moved the one-day nonresident beach permit sales from January 27 to January 29 at the Emergency Services Building.

There, East Hampton Town residents who live outside the village will be able to purchase nonresident village beach parking permits for $500, down from the usual $750. The intent is to ensure local people get priority access to the coveted permits before the village runs out.

The times remain the same: Doors will open at 7 a.m., and the permits will go on sale at 9 a.m. this coming Thursday at the East Hampton Village Emergency Services Building.

***

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will cap the number of detainees it holds in cells at Central Islip federal courthouse and limit how many hours they can stay there, Long Island's top prosecutor told a judge. Josefa Velásquez reports in NEWSDAY that officials for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, which covers Long Island and Brooklyn, filed a letter to a Trump-appointed judge on Friday saying that ICE will now transfer detainees in the Central Islip hold rooms to other facilities each evening, barring “exceptional circumstances,” and limit capacity inside each of the four rooms to no more than two people.

The planned changes come less than a month after U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown, who was appointed during Trump’s first term, chastised ICE’s use of “putrid, cramped” holding rooms in the courthouse to detain undocumented immigrants “in a manner that shocks the conscience.”

Last month, Newsday reported that roughly 100 undocumented immigrants during the first 10 months of 2025 had been detained in these cells at Central Islip for more than 12 hours at a time, many of them overnight and some for as many as 72 hours.

In a letter made public on Dec. 31, Long Island's top federal prosecutor told Brown that ICE would no longer continue to detain people in the holding rooms at the courthouse beyond a 12-hour period or overnight.

Two of the rooms are described by government officials as 7 feet by 10 feet, while the other two are 8 feet by 10 feet large.

The U.S. attorney’s office said in its Friday letter that it also plans to provide all detainees a written notice of their rights, “including the right to calls with counsel, food, water, changes in clothes, and personal hygiene items,” according to the court filing. Additional meals, water, a change of clothes and toothbrushes, toothpaste and wet wipes are also available upon request.

The government also says it has established a “Habeas Response Team” to help handle the influx of habeas corpus petitions, which are filed to challenge the legality of someone’s detention. Such cases have risen sharply during the Trump administration's illegal immigration crackdown, and federal officials say they will now place an attorney in the Central Islip courthouse “for the purpose of assisting with compliance and court orders.”

***

Adoptive parents would be allowed to provide more financial support to birth mothers under a popular proposal in New York — where critics say it’s easier to get an abortion than to adopt a baby. Carl Campanile reports in THE NY POST that in the State of New York, adoptive parents are currently limited to providing financial support to birth moms from 60 days before the baby is born and up to 30 days after birth, severely hindering help for the biological moms at crucial times of need, critics told the Post.

But Gov. Kathy Hochul tucked a new provision in her $260 billion budget plan that would increase the time in which adoptive parents could cover the birth mother’s expenses for housing, maternity clothing, clothing for the child and other expenses from 60 days to 180 days before birth and from 30 days to 45 days after birth.

The plan would also permit payments beyond these time frames if a court determines circumstances exist that require financial help for a longer period.

“Many New York families rely on this type of adoption, which offers unique benefits for both adoptive and birth parent,” said a summary of the Democratic gov’s proposed legislation tied to the budget.

“However, New York’s rules related to reimbursements for birth mothers are out of sync with other states, making it harder for New York parents to adopt,” the summary said.

The plan does not involve surrogacy, which is governed by a whole different set of laws.

Many New York parents who adopt have been forced to go out of state to find a birth mother set to give up her child because of New York State’s policy, advocates for the change said.

An adoption lawyer said Hochul’s proposal, if enacted, will really help boost adoption. “It’s a win for the birth mother and adoptive parents,” said lawyer Leslie Silver Hoffman. “It helps the woman carrying the child to get the resources she needs. The birth mother needs the support.” Hoffman said the reimbursed expenses have to be related to the pregnancy of the birth parent.

***

The East Hampton Library will launch the 2026 Tom Twomey Series this coming Friday with a free lecture examining the origins of the town’s place names and landmarks.

“Landmarks and Legends: East Hampton Unveiled,” presented by David Cataletto, is scheduled for Friday evening, Jan. 30, from 7 to 8 p.m. at the East Hampton Library. The talk will explore how Native American, African and European influences shaped East Hampton’s roads, places and landmarks.

Cataletto, an East Hampton native, teaches history and English at East Hampton Middle School and serves as an East Hampton Town trustee. He is also involved in historic and environmental preservation efforts in the community.

The Tom Twomey Series is presented in partnership with the East Hampton Historical Society and will continue with free lectures throughout the year.

That’s this Friday at 7 p.m. in East Hampton Library.

Additional information and RSVP details are available at tomtwomeyseries.org.

***

It's been two years since squatters left the Jericho, Long Island home Bobby Chawla and his family bought for his pregnant sister and her husband.

Multiple settlement offers have fallen through, as Chawla attempts to collect some of the $150,000 in legal fees he spent, as well as financial restitution for occupancy of their house for two years.

"Absolutely nothing has progressed," said Chawla, 34, of Lawrence, as the former occupants continue delaying.

Rachel O'Brien reports in NEWSDAY that for years, New York State law stated that a homeowner could not forcefully remove a tenant. Only a sheriff with a court order could do that. And an angry landlord trying to remove a tenant could be arrested. So courts had to get involved, kicking off a lengthy and pricey process — all while the squatter lived for free.

While a new state law excludes true squatters from tenant protections, homeowners like Chawla are still stuck going through a slow court process to recoup their losses long after they get their properties back.

In Suffolk County, the sheriff typically presides over at least 1,200 evictions annually, according to data the office provided to Newsday.

It's unclear how many of those evictions were due to true squatters — those who take possession of a home without permission of the owner, versus holdover tenants who stopped paying rent and refuse to leave.

As part of the FY 2025 budget for New York, an agreement reinforced existing state law and specifically excluded squatters from tenant protections. The reinforced law should mean that police can remove squatters for lack of a lease without having to go through the courts, said Anthony W. Cummings, a commercial litigation attorney who has handled landlord-tenant cases for his firm, Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman LLP in Hauppauge.

Before homeowners rent a spare unit, they should ask themselves "Is it worth it to me in the State of New York?" Cummings said.

It's a mistake to be financially dependent on your rental unit, he said, because it's more risky than people recognize and plan for.

Even with stellar tenants who pay their rent on time, costly repairs to appliances, HVAC or the roof shouldn't be enough to put a homeowner in a hole.

"You need to be ready for variances," Cummings said. "If your finances are so tight that your fridge goes and you need to come up with $2,000 and it's tight, it's not a good idea."

Thomas Weiss, an attorney who has worked on landlord tenant disputes for almost three decades, said whether it's the occasional squatter or holdover tenant that a landlord is trying to remove, slow and understaffed court systems exacerbate the situation.

Long Island prepares for major winter storm to come this weekend

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

From western Nassau County to Montauk Point, Long Island towns are preparing for what could be the largest winter storm to hit the region in four years.

Meteorologists are forecasting 6 to 12 inches of snow this weekend — with local accumulations of up to 15 inches. The snowfall is expected to start falling early Sunday morning and last until Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

On the East End, where open farm fields can expose roads to snowdrifts, highway superintendents are preparing by checking snow fences, which help trap windblown snow, and readying large snow-blowing trucks.

“I don’t really fear the total, I fear the wind,” Riverhead Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski told NEWSDAY. Snowdrifts caused by strong winds can make roads near farms hazardous and impassable, he said.

According to the forecast, gusts on Sunday could reach up to 30 mph.

“We have a few roads that are very open with farm fields on either side,” Southold Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin said. “A road like that, you go through and open it up, and by the time you get to the other end of it, it doesn’t look like you were ever there.”

Employees with the Town of Southold's Highway Department and Department of Public Works will work 24 plow routes to clear 400 miles of road, Goodwin said. A crew will also be stationed on Fishers Island, responsible for about 10 miles of road.

Ahead of the storm, crews are checking plow blades, equipment and about 7 miles of snow fencing throughout town.

Officials expect one of the storm’s biggest challenges to be its duration.

“It’s tough on the crew. It’s a mentally draining job to stay sharp, to stay safe,” said Goodwin. “I’m hopeful that everybody will be able to go home on Monday evening and start to get caught up on a little bit of sleep."

Officials are offering a few reminders about managing the storm, ranging from travel impact to keeping pets safe.

Officials have warned people to avoid travel. But for those who must, it's wise to check for cancellations and schedule changes.

Several airlines have offered to waive change fees ahead of the storm in order to reschedule flights in case of widespread cancellations. There were minimal delays and cancellations listed as of yesterday afternoon at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports through Saturday.

The MTA and Long Island Rail Road generally begin reducing service for between 8 to 12 inches of snow, according to the MTA.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has traditionally seen significant suspensions of service or shut down the full system during more than one foot of snow or blizzard conditions. Service may also be interrupted during subzero temperatures.

The National Weather Service advised those who must drive to consider taking a winter storm kit in case a vehicle gets stuck or stranded. Supplies may include tire chains, jumper cables, a flashlight, a shovel, blankets and extra clothing.

***

East End Arts holds a reception tomorrow for its last show before a massive renovation of its East Main Street Campus in Riverhead.

This year’s member’s show, is titled “In Motion.”

The exhibit’s Opening Reception is Saturday, January 24…that’s tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Movement is both the inspiration and the metaphor for this year’s show, symbolizing not only artistic energy and transformation but also the exciting transition of East End Arts Council itself. This exhibition marks the final show at 133 E. Main Street before the organization’s temporary relocation during the Riverhead Town Square revitalization project.

East End Arts “In Motion” opening reception is tomorrow at 4 p.m.

***

Long Island schools are gearing up to tackle the threat of a major snow storm this Sunday into early Monday.

Lorena Mongelli reports in NEWSDAY that school district superintendents said they consider snowfall amounts, icy conditions, temperatures and travel conditions in determining closures. Parking lots, walkways, paths and roads need to be cleared. The schools coordinate with local officials, agencies and transportation partners to determine the best course of action.

Timothy Eagen, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, said, "District officials will be speaking to town highway departments and facilities supervisors before making decisions." He added that the timing of when the storm hits also matters.

Most districts said they will be making a decision Sunday afternoon or evening about potential closures on Monday. Some districts said there could also be delayed openings on Monday.

Most districts said they have incorporated one to three snow days into the academic year. Robert Lowry, deputy director for Advocacy, Research and Communications at the New York State Council of School Superintendents, said that districts only shift to remote instruction after "exhaust[ing] available days.” East Hampton schools Superintendent Adam Fine said a traditional snow day is “important to the community,” and is included in the calendar year but “if we have subsequent snow days, we will then go remote.”

***

The Trump administration yesterday told a Suffolk County school district that it violated federal civil rights laws by changing the names of its school mascot – a move it made to comply with a state ban on Native American imagery. Alex Mitchell and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon report in THE NY POST that the decision by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against the Connetquot Central School District in Bohemia is the latest challenge from Washington DC to a New York State law that bans the use of Native American-inspired names, mascots or logos.

The Connetquot school board drew fire from the federal government for complying with the state requirement. “OCR {Office for Civil Rights} found the district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by re-naming their traditional ‘Thunderbirds’ mascot to the ‘T-Birds’ solely because it originates from Native American symbolism,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. “We expect the District to do the right thing and comply with our resolution agreement to voluntarily resolve its civil rights violation and restore the Thunderbirds’ rightful name,” Richey said. “The Trump Administration will not relent in ensuring that every community is treated equally under the law.” Federal officials argue that the state ban on Native American-themed logos and names violates civil rights law because the same standard does not apply to other racial or ethnic groups, “thereby unlawfully implementing race- and national-origin-based classifications in education policy.”

Connetquot officials reached a compromise with state officials in September by agreeing to change their name to “T-Birds,” which is essentially a shortened version of Thunderbirds. With yesterday’s ruling, the federal government has now said that’s not good enough.

A Connetquot spokesperson said the district was reviewing the letter.

***

A push to seek National Register recognition for Riverhead’s Polish Town is moving forward, with town officials asking residents to help document the neighborhood’s buildings and collect the stories and records that could support the designation. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that during a Riverhead Town Board work session last week, Landmarks Preservation Committee chair Richard Wines outlined plans to form a small subcommittee to begin the survey work needed for a National Register of Historic Places historic district nomination. Wines said the proposed district could encompass a large area — potentially hundreds of properties — and the first step is a comprehensive survey that includes photographing buildings, doing archival research and interviewing people familiar with the neighborhood’s history. “We’re going to need to photograph all of the buildings, all of the resources,” Wines told the board, describing the effort as a community-driven project that will rely on volunteers to gather information and help identify people who have documents, photos or firsthand knowledge to share. A National Register district is different from a locally regulated historic district, Wines said. Listing on the National Register does not, by itself, impose restrictions on private property owners. Instead, he said, the practical “strings” are tied to tax credits: owners who seek preservation-related credits must meet rehabilitation standards to qualify, but owners who do not pursue credits are not automatically bound by new rules. Wines told the board that one goal of the designation is to make state and federal incentives available for rehabilitation work.

Riverhead Town Councilwoman Joann Waski said the undertaking is substantial and will require broad participation to keep Polish Town’s legacy from being lost. Waski said people interested in helping should contact her office so volunteers and potential sources can be connected with the subcommittee and the Landmarks Preservation Committee as the work begins.

***

Five Long Island school districts have been designated as facing varying degrees of fiscal strain, NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced yesterday.

Darwin Yanes reports in NEWSDAY that the districts, all in Suffolk County, were among 31 statewide highlighted in DiNapoli's report, which is based on information from the school fiscal year ended June 30, 2025. The comptroller's office said that number is up from the prior school year, when 22 districts were considered to be in fiscal stress, including three on Long Island.

Of the five Suffolk districts listed in yesterday's report, the South Country school district was the only one to be identified as facing "moderate stress" — the second-highest level measured by DiNapoli's office.

Four other Suffolk districts — Greenport, Port Jefferson, Southampton and Three Village — were all classified in DiNapoli's report as "susceptible" to stress, the state's mildest of three categories.

Jean Mingot, Southampton's assistant superintendent for business, said that he identified discrepancies in the district's cash and investment and liabilities categories in the comptroller's report.

"We will be contacting the Office of the State Comptroller to request a review and correction of the district’s fiscal stress score," Mingot said.

A release from the comptroller's office said fiscal stress determinations are based on factors such as "year-end fund balance, operating deficits, cash position and reliance on short-term debt for cashflow." DiNapoli in the release suggested that a loss of pandemic funding has put a strain on some school districts.

The release states that from the 2019-20 school year to 2024-25, districts spent $4 billion of about $4.6 billion in available federal pandemic relief funding.

Calverton Civic Association urges public to attend this evening's zoning meeting

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

National Grid Ventures, co-owner of Long Island’s first two battery storage plants, has withdrawn plans for a half-dozen other plants across the region, even as it works with partner NextEra Energy Resources to overhaul a plant in Montauk that’s offline. National Grid Ventures, a division of London-based National Grid whose U.S. operation owns a fleet of Long Island power plants and the regional natural gas system, had been listed in a state grid-connection database as proposing battery plants in West Babylon, Southampton, Far Rockaway, Port Jefferson, Wading River and Glenwood Landing.

Together the projects represented hundreds of megawatts of potential energy storage, some using space at power stations National Grid owns from its acquisition of KeySpan in 2007. (The plants were previously owned by the former LILCO.)

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that New York Independent System Operator, which manages requests to connect to power grids across the state, previously had proposals for about 60 battery-storage facilities for Long Island in 2025. That list has since been whittled to 20. "National Grid is not planning to develop any additional battery sites on Long Island at this time," other than the two on the South Fork, National Grid Ventures spokesman Will Brunelle told NEWSDAY. "The other proposals were withdrawn in favor of opportunities that better aligned with our business priorities."

National Grid was listed as proposing battery plants in Wading River, Southampton and Glenwood Landing. The two existing facilities on the South Fork, in Montauk and in East Hampton, have been operating under contract to LIPA since 2018. LIPA’s 20-year contracts to use the facilities, which are rated at 5-megawatts each, amount to a combined $109 million.

***

Suffolk County health department testing of Peconic River samples following last week’s sewage discharge at an East Main Street construction site have shown “bacteriological indicator levels …. well below NYS Standards for bathing beaches” a health department official wrote in an email to Riverhead Sewer District Superintendent Tim Allen yesterday. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the Suffolk Health Department has lifted a Jan. 14 health advisory urging the public against recreating in the tidal waters of the Peconic. The agency said in a press release “recent analysis of surface water samples collected from the potentially affected area indicates this area is suitable for primary contact recreation.” “SCDHS took multiple rounds of samples for bacterial contamination at various locations in the tidal portion of Peconic River. Results were unremarkable and do not suggest any sewage-related contamination,” Suffolk County Associate Public Health Sanitarian Nancy Pierson said in her email to Allen. A break in a Riverhead Sewer District pipe at the 203-213 East Main Street construction site on Jan. 14 resulted in a discharge of approximately 10,000 gallons of untreated wastewater at the site, located a short distance from the river. Allen said last week the situation was quickly “mitigated” and there was no visible evidence of the discharged wastewater contaminating the river. The property under construction is being developed by Heatherwood with a 165-unit apartment building. Allen told the Riverhead Town Board last Thursday that the discharged wastewater “saturated into the ground” so “there was no cleanup.” The contractor has a dewatering box on site because the shallow depth to groundwater requires dewatering during excavation for sewer pipes and the building foundation.

***

The Calverton Civic Association is urging members of the public to attend this evening’s Riverhead Town Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at 6 p.m. to raise concerns about a proposed construction and demolition debris processing plant at 1792 Middle Road, which is currently the site of a single family home but is zoned for light industry. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the property had formerly been in a regular industrial zone. This comes on the heels of the denial of two variances for a vertically farmed industrial cannabis operation at 1458 Middle Road in Calverton.

The RIVERHEAD TOWN Zoning Board of Appeals meeting is tonight at 6 p.m.

***

A state judge yesterday ruled New York State’s current congressional map unconstitutional because it discriminates against Black and Hispanic people in Staten Island and Brooklyn and ordered it redrawn in a matter of weeks.

The ruling is a huge win for Democrats — if it holds up on appeal.

Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that it could allow a Democratic-dominated New York State Legislature to reconfigure the state’s 26 congressional districts ahead of this fall’s midterm elections and give the party a better chance to seize a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

It also comes as several Republican-led states, urged on by Republican President Donald Trump, have acted to redraw their congressional maps for partisan advantage.

In New York, State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman ruled the 11th Congressional District in Staten Island and Brooklyn dilutes minority votes and deprives minority residents of representation.

Pearlman said it is "clear to the court that the current district lines of CD-11 are a contributing factor in the lack of representation for minority voters."

The district’s current officeholder, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, is the lone Republican in the New York City delegation.

Republicans are expected to appeal to New York’s highest court and then to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. Party leader Ed Cox blasted the decision and Pearlman, who worked as a lawyer for New York Democrats in several capacities before becoming a judge.

"This is a partisan ruling made by a partisan judge brought by a notoriously partisan attorney," Cox said.

He referred to the Elias Law Group, the Washington-based firm that has represented Democrats in redistricting and other election law matters around the country.

Democratic State Chairman Jay Jacobs hailed the ruling.

"I think it’s a good decision that will improve representation," Jacobs told Newsday. "I am hopeful it will be upheld."

Normally, every state redraws its maps following the once-a-decade census, with new maps in place for years such as 2022, 2012 and 2002.

But President Trump has overturned that by pushing Republican-led states to redraw their maps as fast as possible to help the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections.

***

A crew of local eighth grade boys beat out 260 entries to earn the title of best mac’n’cheese recipe in the state — with ingredients like sweet corn, Muenster cheese and garlic toast breadcrumbs.

Alex Mitchell reports in THE NY POST that eleven Southampton Intermediate School kids in the last-period cooking club also used mozzarella, cheddar, bacon and shredded chicken under a pie crust for their award-winning and super aromatic pot-pie MAC.

“Security guards came into the classroom because they could smell it down the hall, everybody loved it,” said Charles Holle, one of the self-proclaimed “Mac Island Mariners.”

“We didn’t expect to win necessarily, but we knew that it had a chance,” he said of the recipe that took first place in Cornell University’s Mac & Cheese Challenge, netting the kids a $300 prize for creative academic endeavors. The close-knit group made the “spontaneous” decision to participate when the contest started last September, with little to no real experience. “They were very excited and really wanted to try it out,” teacher Christina Duryea told The Post. The SIS students were hungry for a win when Duryea told them about the contest on day one. “The next week, we were already working on recipes, and it just kind of all fell into place,” added teammate Cole Collins. Their task, per the competition, was “to develop their perfect macaroni & cheese recipe” and submit it on paper to judges, who would independently prepare the dish based on the students’ cooking recommendations. “We had no clue what the competition was doing because it was private, so we only knew what we were doing,” Collins added. Ms. Duryea said she was most impressed by how the little chefs learned to collaborate — and how their teamwork yielded a product superior to that of hundreds of their peers across the Empire State. And with three hundred bucks at their disposal now the Mac Island Mariners may not be done yet.

Kudos Southampton Intermediate School cooking club!

***

Greenport’s Floyd Memorial Library is throwing a Showtunes Soirée tomorrow evening from 5 to 7 p.m. in conjunction with its new exhibition, “Playbills Throughout the Years.”

Co-hosted by Huck Hirsch of North Fork Community Theatre and Sally Grant, the library’s Art Exhibits Curator, Friday evening will feature pianist Jim Lowe and several vocalists.

Ms. Grant tells EAST END BEACON that, “We’re also thrilled to be joined by members of Greenport High School’s Drama Club who will be performing shortly after the reception starts at 5 p.m.”

The event is not a recital — the organizers hope to channel New York City’s iconic piano bar Marie’s Crisis for an evening of sing-a-longs of much-loved Broadway tunes.

The suggested dress is “your most fabulous, festive, Tony-Awards’ attire.”

That’s the Show tunes reception for Playbill Throughout the Years…tomorrow from 5–7 pm. at the Floyd Memorial Library, 539 First Street, Greenport, NY 11944

***

Forecast models now predict that the probability of 6-plus inches of snow has increased, bringing a "significant winter storm" to Long Island beginning late Saturday.

In an updated alert issued this morning, the National Weather Service said the storm will be accompanied by a prolonged period of frigid air, sending the New York City tri-state area into a deep freeze beginning Friday night and through next week.

While the probability of 6-plus inches has increased to 85%, the probability of a foot or more of snowfall has remained nearly steady, at about 50%, since Wednesday afternoon, the weather service said.

The heaviest snow likely will fall Sunday into a portion of Sunday night.

John Asbury and Maureen Mullarkey report in NEWSDAY that in today's update, the weather service warned that residents should "prepare a plan of action for a significant winter storm, bringing potential for considerable disruption to transportation and daily life Sunday into Monday from heavy snowfall, high snowfall rates, and blowing and drifting snow."

Forecasters cautioned that, three days out, the track of the storm could still change.

NewsdayTV meteorologist Bill Korbel said two of the forecast models that previously varied were in agreement Wednesday, showing a major snowstorm that could bring more than a foot of snow.

"I’ll caution everyone we’re still four days away, but this could have the potential for the biggest snowstorm since late January 2022," Korbel said yesterday.

During that storm MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma got a record 25 inches of snow.

Forecasters also warned Long Islanders to prepare for extended subfreezing weather that will start Saturday and could lead to issues such as water main breaks and frozen pipes.

Dangerously cold conditions are due Saturday, with highs reaching into just the teens, then warming up only slightly, with highs in the 20s to the end of the month.

LI school districts would get 3.8% increase in state aid with Gov. Hochul's proposed budget

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Every 7 minutes on average, a crash causes death, injury or significant damage on Long Island.

Cars playing cat and mouse on the Southern State Parkway.

Motorists regularly pushing 90 mph on the Long Island Expressway.

Drivers casually blowing through stop signs and hitting excessive speeds in residential neighborhoods.

On Long Island roadways, crashes that lead to serious injuries or death often do not involve a singular cause.

Sometimes drugs or alcohol are at play. Other times, it's the weather or motorists driving aggressively or while distracted.

But one thread connecting the bulk of the most serious crashes on Long Island is speed.

"People don't realize just how dangerous speeding is and how much they're increasing the risks of having an accident by routinely speeding," said Stuart Cameron, a former chief of the Suffolk County Police Department. "They need to just slow down…Probably the most dangerous thing that people do on Long Island is to drive their cars."

Robert Brodsky and Michael O'Keeffe report in NEWSDAY that from enhanced driver education and beefed-up enforcement to lowered speed limits and improved road designs, experts contend there are a multitude of ways to reduce Long Islanders' need for speed.

But in a region where most of its 3 million residents use a vehicle to get to work or school or to navigate their daily lives, Long Islanders' desire to quickly get where they're going has made the roads increasingly dangerous, according to data analyzed by Newsday and interviews with more than a dozen traffic safety experts, law enforcement officials and victims of speed-related crashes.

On Long Island, 65 people were killed in 2024 in crashes where police determined that speed was a contributing factor, up from 51 such fatalities in 2019, according to data from the Institute for Traffic Safety Management & Research in Albany. Across Long Island, speed was a factor in more than 35% of all fatal crashes in 2024, the data shows.

Meanwhile, crashes involving serious injuries spiked to a 10-year high in 2024, at 353, according to Institute data.

"Speeding is avoidable — it is dangerous, and it can be deadly," Transportation Department spokesman Stephen Canzoneri said. "There is no question that speeding makes crashes worse on Long Island and across New York State."

***

Long Island school districts would see an increase of 3.8% in state aid under New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal, which would allocate $200 million more to the region’s schools in 2026-27, a Newsday analysis found.

The proposed aid package for Long Island schools totals nearly $5.5 billion, according to aid projection figures released yesterday.

If approved by the state legislature, the governor’s proposal would boost funding for most school districts in Nassau and Suffolk.

Nine districts would see modest declines in their total aid.

Dandan Zou and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that state aid makes up about 30% of the total revenue for schools on Long Island, with the majority funded through local property taxes. School taxation makes up roughly two thirds of homeowners' tax bills.

Governor Hochul's plan calls for a minimum increase of 1% in Foundation Aid for all districts. Foundation Aid is the largest source of school revenue from the state and represents “new money,” compared with expense-based funding that comes in the form of reimbursements, said Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association.

Although the overall amount of Foundation Aid for the region would rise by 2.9% to nearly $4 billion under Hochul's budget plan, educators noted 73 of Long Island’s 121 districts would only see the minimum increase.

“This is an encouraging first step but there’s still work to be done,” Vecchio said of the governor’s proposal.

Educators said districts face rising costs in insurance, health care premiums and special education and they would advocate for a bigger increase in Foundation Aid.

“A 1% increase in Foundation Aid, while helpful, doesn't help close the gap,” said Tim Eagen, superintendent of the Kings Park district and president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association.

***

Two public hearings on creating a new section of town code for “golf cottages” and allowing land preservation credits to be used for their development are on the Riverhead Town Board’s agenda at its 6 p.m. meeting this evening. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that civic associations in Riverhead are concerned that this proposal could be another means the Town of Riverhead is looking to use to attempt to rezone sections of the town code for resort development, after the failure of the town’s widely derided “agritourism resort” code nearly two years ago.

Tonight’s Riverhead Town Board Regular Meeting starts at 6:00 PM in Riverhead Town Hall.

The meeting can be viewed live here.

***

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke yesterday about not tackling any major public safety issues — notably the state’s “Raise the Age” law — in her proposed $260 billion budget for next year. “We have already dealt with many criminal justice reforms that others didn’t think we’d be able to accomplish, including people in this room,” Hochul told reporters. “We did it, so I don’t need to revisit the same reforms. We got them done,” she added.

Vaughn Golden and Matt Troutman report in THE NY POST that Hochul's comments on Tuesday stood in contrast to critics who’ve argued the Raise the Age law needs to be fixed or rolled back. The law raised New York’s age of criminal responsibility to 18, barring 16- and 17-year-olds from initially being tried as adults for most non-felonies.

But since it was enacted in 2019 along with other criminal justice reforms, many prosecutors and police officials — including NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch — argued it’s to blame for rising violence both committed by and against youths. “When Raise the Age was enacted, the original sponsors acknowledged that the law should be revisited and that adjustments might need to be considered at a future date,” Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly, president of District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, wrote in a statement blasting Hochul’s comments. “In the nearly nine years that have passed since Raise the Age first became effected, we have seen limitations and shortcomings in the law, as well as inconsistencies in how the law is interpreted,” the statement said. “Good public policy dictates a thorough examination of Raise the Age and how the state is investing in youth services and crime prevention.”

The district attorneys association, which was instrumental in pushing last year’s reforms to the discovery laws, said it wants public hearings and a continued discourse with Hochul and the legislature “to re-examine Raise the Age with an eye towards meaningful changes.” Many progressives, however, contend the real issue is $1 billion in unspent funds to support programs that keep youths out of trouble. Advocates with The Coalition to Protect Raise the Age argued that New York State should not go back to the days when it was one of just two states that automatically tried 16- and 17-year-olds as adults.

***

Long Island developers hope a proposal to expedite an often lengthy environmental review process will make it easier to build in the region, where low supply has led to sky-high prices for homes in recent years.

While housing advocates have lauded the move, the reforms have drawn mixed feedback from Long Island lawmakers and advocates worried about the weakening of a strong legal tool to protect the environment.

Celia Young, Brianne Ledda and Tracy Tullis report in NEWSDAY that in the budget for 2026-27, New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act — also known as SEQRA — that would cap the process at two years and allow some projects to move forward without the scrutiny that can come with a full environmental assessment.

The proposed changes fit with a broader $25 billion five-year housing plan from the governor to address an affordable housing crisis throughout the state and, if they make it into the state’s final budget bill due April 1, would take effect immediately after its passing.

The proposed SEQRA reforms have drawn mixed feedback from Long Island lawmakers.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez praised the changes in a news release for their potential to promote affordable housing “so the people who keep our town running can continue living here, including teachers, health care workers, first responders, town employees, and young families.”

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico said while he’s still evaluating the proposal, the limited sewer capacity in Brookhaven means there likely won’t be many sites that meet the state criteria to forgo additional environmental review.

***

Three high-ranking U.S. Catholic cardinals Monday said in a statement that the country's aggressive actions at home and abroad are threatening its status as a global moral compass. "The events in Venezuela, Ukraine and Greenland have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace," the statement said. Some Long Island Catholics told Newsday they supported the cardinals' statement while others reacted with scorn or said they doubted the clerics' words would make a difference.

Asked to comment, Bishop John Barres, head of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, said in a statement: "The faithful, religious, and clergy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre join Pope Leo XIV and the Universal Church in praying for lasting peace throughout the world."

Long Island has approximately 1.2 to 1.4 million Roman Catholics, meaning about half the population of Nassau and Suffolk counties identify as Catholic. They’re served by the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

***

New York Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday released a preliminary $260 billion executive budget that called for significantly expanding child care services, lowering energy bills and rebuilding critical infrastructure like sewers and mass transit.

In doing so, the governor made good on her vows from her State of the State address last week by honoring a longer-term pledge not to raise income taxes — especially urgent in a year where she faces a contested re-election.

“This budget reflects two realities at one time,” Governor Hochul told reporters gathered in the Capitol’s stately Red Room. “We do have real momentum here in New York. It’s real, you can feel it. But we have volatility ahead, because of the uncertainty out of Washington.”

Grace Ashford and Benjamin Oreskes report in THE NY TIMES that the threat of more federal cuts hung over the state budget, helping drive a spending plan that largely kept expenses stable. New York received $93 billion from the federal government this year, but already there are indications that President Donald Trump will reduce funding in the fiscal years ahead.

The president warned last week that his administration would withhold funds from any state that contained a so-called sanctuary city that restricted collaboration with immigration officials. (New York has several.) The state cooperates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on instances in which an un-documented immigrant is accused of a crime; it does not cooperate with civil immigration enforcement. The state is exploring legal options to fight such cuts, Ms. Hochul said.

The budget will be hashed out with leaders of the State Assembly and Senate in the coming months, and is due by April 1 — a date that state leaders have tended to view as more of a suggestion than a deadline.

Shinnecock Indian Nation legal battle against New York State continues to get more complex

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

As the developers of two offshore wind farms off Long Island argued in court this month to end Trump administration stop-work orders, their filings for the first time shed light on the cost to build the two massive arrays — a combined $13 billion.

In filings earlier this month, Sunrise Wind, which is scheduled to bring its 924 megawatts of power to Long Island at Smith Point in Shirley by late 2027, said it has “already spent or committed more than $7 billion on the project,” and that it would incur another $1 billion if the project were to be canceled.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that last year Orsted issued special new stock to raise $9.4 billion, some $6.3 billion of which was earmarked for completion of Sunrise.

The stop-work order for Sunrise Wind remains in place, with a court hearing scheduled for Feb. 2. The stop-work order alone is costing Sunrise $1 million a day, the company said in its filings. All of Sunrise Wind's energy production is scheduled for the Long Island electric grid, where the company has said it can power some 600,000 homes -- about half of LIPA’s customer base.

Orsted argued that the “compounding impacts of delay” for the Sunrise project also risk the prospect of “project cancellation,” which would result in the project suffering “enterprise-level harm, including losses of more than $8 billion.” Orsted stock has been battered in recent years by losses and write-downs tied to offshore wind, including cancellation of two big New Jersey projects.

Separately, Empire Wind, the 810-megawatt project being built off Jones Beach, revealed in court papers that it had spent $4 billion to date on the project, which is more than 60% complete, and that it would spend another $2 billion to complete it this year. Empire, which last week got the go-ahead from a federal judge to resume work under a preliminary injunction, will bring all its energy to New York City’s grid by the end of this year and 2027.

***

The 41st Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast drew a crowd of about 400 people to the Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge yesterday, to honor the life and legacy of the civil rights leader. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Rev. Charles Coverdale, who conceived the event shortly after joining the First Baptist Church of Riverhead, was honored by the memorial breakfast committee with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The breakfast committee presented MLK Jr. Meritorious Awards to community healthcare advocate Vanessa Baird-Streeter, president and CEO of Health and Welfare Council of Long Island and affordable housing developer and advocate David Gallo, president/cofounder of Georgica Green Ventures. The committee also presented an MLK Jr. Special Recognition Award to Justice Fernando Camacho, acting Suffolk County Supreme Court justice and New York State Court of Claims judge. In remarks accepting his award, Coverdale, who has just retired as senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Riverhead, reflected on his journey from the South Bronx to Harvard to Riverhead. He said he was a city boy called to pastor a church in the country. Coverdale also looked back on the origins of the MLK memorial breakfast. In 1983, the year Coverdale came to Riverhead, Congress adopted legislation setting aside the third Monday in January to honor King’s birthday. Pastor Coverdale said he realized that there was no countywide event celebrating King’s life, so, working with members of his congregation, he started one. It quickly grew to be one of the premier MLK Day events in the region. The Rev. David L. Kelley II, senior pastor at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Brooklyn, was the keynote speaker at Monday’s event. Musical selections were performed by the Reverend Dr. Marti Luther King Jr. Freedom Choir. Guest speakers included Rep. Nick LaLota, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, and Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon.

***

Dr. Edward Marlatt gives a talk this evening from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on how Long Island’s North Fork was split between Loyalists and Patriots during the American Revolution and remained under British occupation for seven years after the Battle of Brooklyn.

Dr. Marlatt’s presentation is open to the public and free.

That’s Tuesday at the Manor Lecture: Patriots Vs. Loyalists tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Brecknock Hall in Greenport.

***

The Shinnecock Indian Nation has filed a new request for a federal court order to stop state court actions in a case that could see top tribal officials jailed for contempt, even as it amended its federal complaint to name as a defendant the state Supreme Court judge who has ruled against the tribe. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the federal lawsuit filed last week against Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and NYS Supreme Court Justice Maureen T. Liccione, comes amid increasingly consequential state and federal cases that most recently included Liccione’s ruling that top Shinnecock officials and their billboard operators were in contempt of court for not turning off the tribe's digital billboards.

Court papers and an appearance in federal court last month indicated Liccione was considering possible jail sentences for top Shinnecock officials, including the Nation’s first chairwoman Lisa Goree, because the Nation has declined to obey Liccione’s order to turn off digital billboards on Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays. The Nation maintains state courts have no authority over the federally recognized tribe.

"The notion that this judge was somehow going to jail the leadership of the Shinnecock Nation is unacceptable," said Lance Gumbs, vice chairman of the Shinnecock Nation's council of trustees, charging it ignores tribal sovereignty. "We’re taking that seriously."

The newly requested preliminary injunction, if approved by federal District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury in Central Islip next month, would halt proceedings in the state cases against the Shinnecock Nation leaders, including the state Department of Transportation’s 2019 case seeking to stop operation of the 65-foot digital billboards on tribal property along Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays.

Some local residents and others say the billboards and construction for a separate gas station on the adjacent property are an eyesore and should adhere to local zoning and state law. The tribe says they are necessary for economic development.

The Shinnecock filing also seeks declaratory judgments that state officials are violating federal law by enforcing an illegally obtained right-of-way on tribal land at Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays; and that the state must obtain a “valid” easement with compensation for the tribe. It also seeks to declare the state violated the scope of the existing easement by limiting tribal economic development and a declaration that NYS Supreme Court Justice Maureen T. Liccione is “violating federal law by ordering” state court actions against Shinnecock trustees.

The newly updated federal complaint, written by Shinnecock attorney Tela Troge and outside lawyers, presents a comprehensive history of the state’s 1959 “easement” to complete the highway, while challenging its legality from federal and state-law perspectives. It notes the Nation was unaware of any alleged pact with the state until work began and that the tribe has never received compensation for the appropriation.

The Nation argues in its complaint that the issues should be resolved “based on federal Indian law,” not state, and that the easement, even if valid, should not have restricted Shinnecock development on the property. The tribe has never received any compensation for the easement, and no tribal officials signed it.

The Shinnecock Nation has long argued that the state’s 3.62-acre easement across the tribe’s Westwoods property in Hampton Bays, effectuated through a 1959 “Notice of Appropriation,” was illegal because it bore no signatures of Shinnecock leaders and resulted in no benefit for the Nation.

New York State demonstrated that it knew Westwoods was restricted Indian land, the suit argued, because its appropriation of the land took the form of a permanent easement rather than through eminent domain, as it did with all other private properties along the route.

***

Southold celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. in the ice and snow Sunday evening with a message that Dr. King’s mission — of using non-violent methods to build an inclusive, beloved community — “is still possible.” Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the crowd was heartened by words from preachers of both near and far, spurred into the spirit by the music of Just B’Cuz, and reminded that there is still much work to be done to realize Dr. King’s dream. Sunday’s annual celebration, organized by the Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force at Southold Town’s Peconic Lane Recreation Center, featured a rousing keynote address from Rev. Tykym Stallings of the Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion Church in New York City…wherein he reminded the crowd that Dr. King’s mission “is still possible.”

“Dr. King was not just a dreamer for a better America. He organized for one. He suffered for one, and ultimately he sacrificed for one,” he said. “He did it not with fists but with faith, not with hate but with hope, not with violence but non-violent love that was so powerful that it shook a nation...The non-violent way is not about avoiding conflict. Rather, it’s about transforming conflict,” he added. “It says that we can fight injustice without fighting each other. It says that we can challenge a system without destroying our souls. It says that we can speak truth without spreading hate. Non-violence wasn’t passive. It was powerful.” The words of Rev. Tykym Stallings delivered at this past Sunday's M.L.K., Jr. celebration in Peconic.

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Roughly 10,000 gallons of raw sewage unloaded into the Peconic River during a construction mishap at a Riverhead apartment complex — but local officials claim there’s no need for a cleanup. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that a broken sewer pipe at a Riverhead construction site spilled dirty waste into the Peconic River for over 45 straight minutes last Wednesday, prompting the Suffolk County Department of Health to issue a safety advisory to stay out of the water at Grangebel Park.

But despite the warning, Riverhead Sewer District Superintendent Tim Allen told the town board Thursday night that any type of cleanup was unnecessary — claiming toxins had already seeped into the ground.

“There was no cleanup because it saturated into the ground,” Allen said. The superintendent told the board that he didn’t see “anything” but “clean groundwater” flowing into the river when he checked the filtration box setup to collect runoff at the construction site. “No smell, no odor,” Allen said. The broken pipe was replaced within an hour, and officials from the Suffolk Health Department and the state Department of Environmental Conservation later took samples from the river, with results expected to be released this week, Allen said.

Environmental activists argued that it’s far too early to dismiss the threat and warned that even short-term sewage discharges can have lingering effects in slow-moving waterways like the Peconic — especially during colder months when bacteria can persist longer.

“[The government] really needs to keep an eye on this, they can’t just say no harm, no foul — that amount of raw sewage can certainly cause major problems,” John Di Leonardo, the president of Humane Long Island, told The Post.

The raw sewage leak could cause a slew of issues, including algae blooms, botulism — a rare illness caused by a nerve toxin — and could even cause harm all the way up the whole food chain, according to Di Leonardo.

But until the state and county’s reporting on the river’s water samples comes back, there is no way of knowing for sure what the impacts will be, he said.

“Last year’s PSEG oil spill, which the company and DEC called ‘nonhazardous,’ we recovered numerous dead animals from that spill despite stakeholders downplaying its effects — so it’s always wise to approach comments downplaying spills with healthy skepticism,” he added.

Suffolk officials did not say how long the advisory would remain in effect or whether additional testing would be conducted. Riverhead officials also did not disclose whether any action would be taken against the contractor responsible for the sewer line break, or if the developer could face penalties.