The Long Island Daily

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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***

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

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***

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

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***

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

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***

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.

Consider a donation to WLIW-FM today!

Tue, 17 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.

***

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.

***

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.

Federal judge allows Empire Wind to continue construction

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Young people under 25 are at increased risk of developing gambling problems compared with older adults, whose brains are fully mature. Mental health professionals and industry experts say this factor, combined with the 24/7 accessibility of mobile sports wagering apps, has made gambling addiction among Long Island's younger generations including teenagers a harmful and growing trend.

In response, at least one school district on Long Island has started educating graduating seniors about the dangers of gambling. Area universities are also taking proactive steps to provide outreach to students and some local education advocates are pushing gaming platforms to strengthen their safety checks, particularly for minors.

Lorena Mongelli reports in NEWSDAY that on the state level, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently unveiled a proposal to expand age verification requirements for gaming platforms and to strengthen privacy settings. The legal age to bet online is 18 for fantasy sports and 21 for sports wagering. Online casinos are not legal in New York.

While many gamblers are over 18, experts say they are also seeing underage players developing problematic betting habits.

In 2018, federal restrictions on sports betting were lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court. New York State in 2022 legalized online betting, which includes mobile sportsbooks and fantasy sports. Since then, online wagering has surged in popularity. Online bettors in New York wagered a record-breaking $26 billion in 2025, more than any other state.

But the increased appeal has come at a cost.

Local mental health professionals said their treatment offices are seeing more Gen Z patients struggling with gambling. Gambling recovery organizations on Long Island said they are also fielding more calls from people seeking help.

A spokesman for Gamblers Anonymous Long Island said the increase began around the time online betting was legalized. Last month, the local branch received double the number of calls compared with November, with people as young as 18 seeking help.

***

A federal judge yesterday granted Empire Wind a preliminary injunction to allow the project off Long Island's South Shore to restart construction following a stop-work order by the Trump administration last month over unspecified national security concerns.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols granted the order Thursday morning, calling for an expedited summary judgment briefing schedule for the ongoing case by Jan. 20, according to court filings. The order from the Washington, D.C.-based federal court means the project, which is more than 60% complete, can go forward and avoid critical work deadlines that could have canceled it, developer Equinor of Norway said.

"Empire Wind will now focus on safely restarting construction activities that were halted during the suspension period," the company said in a statement yesterday. "In addition, the project will continue to engage with the U.S. government to ensure the safe, secure and responsible execution of its operations."

White House spokesman Taylor Rogers responded, “President [Donald] Trump has been clear: wind energy is the scam of the century," with Americans "forced to pay billions more for the least reliable source of energy." He said the administration "looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”

Equinor has already spent $4 billion on the 810-megawatt project, which is 14 miles off the coast of Jones Beach and will bring all its energy to the New York City power grid late this year and next. The company plans to spend another $2 billion to complete the project this year.

Earlier this week, a Washington, D.C., district judge granted a similar injunction for a second offshore wind array impacted by the order, Revolution Wind off New England. Orders remain in place for three others, including Sunrise Wind in Shirley, which is scheduled to bring its 924 megawatts of power to the Long Island grid by 2028. Sunrise has filed for an injunction to restart work.

***

Southold Before the Revolutionary War at Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library is this coming Sunday January 18 from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

Join Amy Folk for a look at the local and national levels of how we went to war. Starting in 1765 and ending in August 1776, what happened that drove us to what some historians call the first civil war of our nation? Sponsored by the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council & Museums.

That’s this Sunday at 2 pm in the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Free Library. And while there get your Suffolk County 250th passbook stamped by The Cutchogue New Suffolk Historical Society & Museums.

***

A growing number of parents are refusing vitamin K shots for their newborn babies, federal data shows, which Long Island doctors said is leaving more infants vulnerable to a rare but life-threatening bleeding disorder.

An analysis of 5 million newborns revealed that the number of babies who did not receive the shot increased 77% from about 2.9% in 2017 to 5.2% in 2024, according to a National Institutes of Health study released last month. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that doctors on Long Island said they are seeing the ramifications in their hospitals, sometimes with serious consequences.

Over the last two years, Stony Brook Children's Hospital has had to hospitalize at least five children who had not received the vitamin K dose, said Dr. Candice Foy, a pediatrician and medical director of the newborn nursery at the hospital. "This year, there were more refusers than I had ever seen," she said. "We are seeing the repercussions."

Dr. Heather Levin, an obstetrician/gynecologist who specializes in maternal fetal medicine at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, said she has also seen "the rates of refusal" increase over the last few years. She said parents are getting information from social media and questioning standard practices.

"We want to have those conversations with them and for people to make informed choices, but there is also a lot of misinformation out there," Levin said.

Though giving a shot of vitamin K — which is not a vaccine — has been a routine procedure at birth for decades, both doctors and vaccine skeptics attributed the drop to growing distrust with established medical practices and health policies.

Experts said newborns need a dose of vitamin K after they are born to help their blood clot and prevent a rare but potentially life-threatening bleeding disorder.

Medical associations and prominent physician groups have been alarmed by guidance coming out of the federal government and Trump administration regarding vaccine use, despite decades of evidence about their safety and efficacy.

Babies are born deficient of vitamin K, which helps blood clot. This means a small bruise or cut can lead to abnormal bleeding, according to the NIH. Doctors are most concerned about a rare but deadly condition known as vitamin K deficiency bleeding, or VKDB.

"They use up whatever clotting factors they were born with pretty quickly to heal after birth," Dr. Foy said. "Then they need something else."

Infants who develop VKDB can experience the bleeding internally and on the brain, which can lead to permanent damage.

***

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged to save drivers a bundle of money on car insurance by switching state laws on personal injury lawsuits – but high-powered attorneys want to ensure that never happens. Carl Campanile reports in THE NY POST that Governor Hochul said she will push reforms that would put the brakes on soaring auto insurance premiums as New Yorkers pay an average of $4,000 per year — a whopping $1,500 more than the national average.

But her pitch to change the state’s nebulous “serious injury” threshold to weed out minor lawsuits has already riled the NYS Trial Lawyers Association, a high-octane lobby whose members donate big bucks to Democratic legislators.

“Weakening victim protections lets Big Insurance off the hook while working families pay more,” the association said in a statement…The idea that auto insurance companies will suddenly ‘do the right thing’ and lower rates is laughable,” the group added. Governor Hochul said in her annual State of the State address on Tuesday that she’d target high premiums with a crackdown on staged accidents, saying insurance companies are “jacking up prices” due to fraud and “runaway litigation costs.”

Hochul defended her proposal when asked about the trial lawyers’ criticism, and her office even mentioned similar reforms already enacted in Florida had lowered auto insurance rates there.

“Governor Hochul’s top priority is lowering the cost of living and improving the health and safety of all New Yorkers. This is about providing relief to real working families, ensuring that we are helping victims, closing loopholes and rooting out fraud and abuse. It’s time to improve the system because New Yorkers are tired of being taken for a ride,” a Hochul spokesperson said last night.

***

Visitors to the Sound Avenue Nature Preserve on Sound Avenue in Baiting Hollow will have an easier time finding their way around the trails, thanks to a new information kiosk installed as an Eagle Scout service project by 17-year-old Anthony Mango of Wading River. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Anthony, a Scout with Troop 94 in Wading River and a Shoreham-Wading River High School senior took on the kiosk project after Riverhead Town officials reached out to his troop to suggest the kiosk project for an aspiring Eagle Scout. The kiosk is built of 6” by 6” posts and a wood frame display with a locking plexiglass door. It is topped by a wood frame, shingled roof. Its two components — the posts with signboard and the roof — together weigh about 500 pounds, Anthony’s father Ken Mango estimated. The project required more than 50 hours of planning, design and construction. The 15-acre preserve, located just east of Dorothy P. Flint 4-H Camp, has about a mile of mulched walking trails and native shrub plantings. Riverhead Town acquired the site in 2006 using Community Preservation Funds and opened it to the public on Oct. 6, 2010. It was the town’s first officially designated nature preserve, according to the Open Space Committee.

***

For thousands of people experiencing homelessness on Long Island, the place where they ultimately lay their heads on a given night might be a sidewalk, a shelter bed, a car, or a motel.

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that to count and better assist them, the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless is now looking for volunteers to disperse across the region for roughly three to four hours on Jan. 27, asking people a central question: "Where [do] they intend to sleep that night?”

Last year’s count identified 4,540 homeless adults and children on Long Island, up from 4,002 in the 2024 tally, or a 13.4% increase, the organization said. In 2025 and the year before that, children made up the largest share of the count at roughly 1,500, though most of them resided in shelters.

According to a report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office, the homeless population on Long Island went up by 32% from 2022 to 2024.

Paul LaMarr, a policy and community planning manager at the coalition, said volunteering for the count is a means to bring more understanding of people who are experiencing homelessness within a region where securing housing is often arduous.

"Our hope is that…people ... recognize that homelessness is a growing problem on Long Island, want to come participate and that they're able to learn a little bit about people who are experiencing homelessness, and…have meaningful engagement with them,” LaMarr told NEWSDAY.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that communities across the country conduct a Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, a tally of people who are dealing with homelessness on one day in January, LaMarr said. On Long Island, the coalition is tasked with organizing, planning and conducting the count.

The count is an important part of how federal funding to address homelessness is dispersed on Long Island and across the country, LaMarr said.

Volunteering registration closes today. Sign-up is here.

Suffolk Dept. of Health warns of wastewater being discharged into Peconic River

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

President Donald Trump yesterday doubled down on his threat to revoke federal funding from New York and other states that have so-called sanctuary policies, even as similar attempts by the administration have been struck down in the courts.

Starting Feb. 1, sanctuary jurisdictions — those limiting local government cooperation with federal immigration agencies — will receive "NO MORE PAYMENTS" from the federal government, Trump said in a Truth Social post after issuing a similar threat a day earlier at a speech in Detroit.

"We are not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens," pronounced President Trump during his Tuesday speech to the Detroit Economic Club.

Laura Figueroa Hernandez reports in NEWSDAY that Gov. Kathy Hochul yesterday vowed to challenge any attempts to withhold federal funding from the state of New York, and she pushed back on Trump’s characterization. Hochul said state authorities do cooperate with federal immigration enforcers "whenever there’s a threat" and when "someone has actually committed a crime."

"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 when asked about the president’s social media post. "So I say this, you touch any more money from the State of New York, we'll see you in court."

Last fiscal year, the state received about $96.7 billion in federal funding, representing about 39% of the state’s overall budget, according to an analysis by NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

The Trump administration has previously tried to suspend funding to more than two dozen states and cities with sanctuary laws. But last August, a federal judge in San Francisco issued a temporary injunction barring the administration from blocking the funding.

The administration has since appealed the injunction to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

***

The Suffolk County Department of Health Services issued an advisory to residents late yesterday afternoon “to take precautions before recreating on the tidal portion of the Peconic River (east of Grangebel Park) this week due to the possible residual effects of approximately 10,000 gallons of untreated wastewater being discharged into the river stemming from a pipe break in the Town of Riverhead Sewage Treatment Plant conveyance network.”

“Corrective actions to mitigate the discharge were immediately implemented and the break in the pipe has since been repaired,” stated the Health Department. “Suffolk County Health officials are working closely with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which has jurisdiction over the permitting and enforcement at the facility and with the management at the Riverhead plant.

“Contact with waters in this tidal portion of the Peconic River should be avoided,” according to the Health Department. “If contact does occur, rinse off with clean water immediately. Seek medical attention if after exposure you experience nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, skin, eye or throat irritation, or allergic reactions or breathing difficulties.”

So stay away from the tidal portion of the Peconic River (east of Grangebel Park) in Riverhead until further notice.

***

The Town of Riverhead’s new Supervisor Jerry Halpin will attend the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association meeting at Riverhead Free Library this coming Saturday, Jan. 17 at 10:30 a.m.

Then from 1p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Riverhead Free Library, the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association will host its 4th Annual Volunteer Expo, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of service.

If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity that fits your interests, consider attending to meet some fabulous, local non-profits, including: Hope and Resilience Long Island; Sound Justice Initiative; East End Arts; Hallockville Museum Farm; River and Roots Community Garden; Harvest Pantry; North Fork Environmental Council; North Fork Animal Rescue League; Youth Enrichment Services; Open Arms Food Pantry; Riverhead Lions Club; and Friends of the Big Duck.

So, this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in the Riverhead Free Library meet Supervisor Jerry Halpin and then at 1 p.m. learn how and where you can volunteer your services on behalf of our east end community.

***

The Town of East Hampton has won a $3.17 million New York state grant to pay for infrastructure to support the construction of 50 new affordable apartments in Wainscott. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the grant will fund a sanitary system, water lines and sewer lines for the apartment complex, which will be built just outside the Village of Sag Harbor on Route 114, also known as East Hampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike. The apartments will be owned and operated by the East Hampton Housing Authority and rented to people earning up to 130% of the median income on Long Island, which is $164,900, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which sets the figure.

“This funding allows us to put in the water and sewer infrastructure needed to make year-round affordable housing possible,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said in a statement. “It’s a practical investment that helps support housing while also protecting groundwater and our waterways.”

The Town of East Hampton acquired two lots, 776 and 780 Route 114 — that together span a combined 6½ acres — in 2019 and 2020 for $1.86 million. In March 2022, the town granted the properties the Affordable Housing Overlay District designation, increasing how much housing density is allowed on the site.

The town transferred the property to the housing authority in August 2024.

The East Hampton Housing Authority is nearing an agreement with a company to co-develop the project, executive director Katy Casey told NEWSDAY…adding the development is needed to increase housing options for middle-income families.

Preference will be given to people who already live or work in East Hampton Town, Casey said. The apartments will range from one to three bedrooms, though the final unit mix has not yet been determined.

In addition to the state grant, the project has received $1.5 million from East Hampton Town’s Community Housing Fund. The fund was approved by voters in 2023 and generates revenue through a 0.5% real estate transfer tax.

Besides new housing developments, East Hampton Town officials are looking at other ways to make housing more affordable, including a new construction loan program for homeowners to incentivize accessory dwelling units. The town is also considering updates to its first-time homebuyer down payment assistance program.

***

Riverhead Town residents who serve as volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel will earn a 10% real property tax reduction after two years of service rather than the current five-year minimum, if a proposed code amendment is adopted by the Town Board. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the property tax reduction, which is authorized by New York State law, is an incentive intended to help the town’s volunteer fire and EMS departments recruit and retain members.

Council Member Ken Rothwell invited local fire service leaders to the Riverhead Town Board work session last week to talk through the proposal and discuss what departments are seeing on the ground as they try to attract and keep volunteers.

Noting the savings the town realizes from volunteer services, Rothewell said, “if we ever had to pay departments, the cost would be astronomical.” The community “desperately” relies on the volunteers for these services, Rothwell said.

Council Member Denise Merrifield questioned the practical and fiscal details behind the pitch, asking about what departments invest in training and how long it typically takes before a new member becomes operational. She also raised concerns about preventing people from qualifying for the benefit and then leaving while retaining the benefit.

Fire officials described the training pipeline as extensive, including a college-level course and additional training for probationary members.

Rothwell, a longtime volunteer firefighter, said the amount of training volunteers must complete in the first two years alone demonstrates a strong commitment. “I think our younger generation that’s coming in [are] the ones that are starting out and just getting married and purchasing a house,” he said. “Why make them wait five years before they can get any type of benefit? So let’s help, let’s help the younger generation as soon as we can,” he said.

“I just want to make sure that we have it in it in the law, that they’re going to be working on Riverhead fires, Wading River fires, all the town of Riverhead fires,” Merrifield said. “I just want to make sure that it’s clear that if you get this tax exemption, that you’re not going to be working for Islip Fire Department.”

The state law allows the exemption if a volunteer serves in a “neighboring town,” Assessor Laverne Tennenberg told the board. Rothwell said the code change must be made by local law and would require a public hearing. The Town Board could schedule the public hearing at its next meeting Feb. 3 and adopt the change at the following meeting. He asked the town attorney to weigh in on the feasibility of getting that done. Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said the amendment would be “a pretty straightforward amendment” to the section of the code that lists the available exemptions and he saw no reason why it couldn’t be in place before the March 1 deadline.

***

The Southold Town Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance is this coming Sunday; January 18 from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm at the Southold Recreation Center in Peconic.

This event is free and open to the public.

The Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force’s annual King Holiday Observance is a time that we celebrate, commemorate, and honor the life, legacy, and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Rev. Tykym Stallings of the Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion Church, the oldest continuing church in Harlem, NYC.

The ABTF’s strategic theme for 2026 is “Mission Possible 2: Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way.” This theme defines the 2026 King Holiday Observance events and programming while serving as a compass for all the work the ABTF will do this upcoming calendar year and beyond.

“The pioneering work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. demonstrated that Kingian Nonviolence (Nonviolence365™) is the sustainable solution to injustice and violence in our world, ultimately leading to the creation of the Beloved Community, where injustice ceases, and love prevails,” says the Southold Anti-Bias Task Force. “We welcome and invite you to join us as we strive to cultivate a Beloved Community Mindset and ultimately transform unjust systems.”

Also, the winners of the ABTF’s Southold School’s MLK essay and poster contest will receive their awards this coming Sunday, too.

***

Increases in 2026-27 school property taxes on Long Island will be capped at 2% for the fifth consecutive year, NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced yesterday.

Dandan Zou reports in NEWSDAY that the state tax cap, which was established in 2012, limits local tax increases to either the rate of inflation or 2%, whichever is lower. For years, the cap has put limits on how much school districts can raise locally through property taxes.

The cap has been 2% since 2022. The latest inflation figure, posted for December by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, was 2.7%.

“School district and municipal officials must continue to find ways to deliver services efficiently as they deal with higher costs and the potential impact of federal actions,” DiNapoli said in a news release.

The tax cap applies to New York State’s 675 school districts, including the 124 in Nassau and Suffolk, where school taxation makes up roughly two-thirds of homeowners’ property tax bills.

The 2% cap establishes a statewide baseline but actual allowable tax levy increases will differ by district. Factors such as payment in lieu of taxes, debt service and spikes in pension costs, among others, could change the final percentage voters see in their district’s budget presentation before the vote in May.

The cap could also be pierced if a district wins a supermajority vote of 60% or higher on its proposed budget. Very few Long Island school districts attempt to do that, however, as it poses a much higher risk of the budget failing to pass.

School district administrators are also waiting to see the coming state budget proposal, which Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to release next week. That proposal includes state funding for public schools.

Regional taxpayer advocate Fred Gorman, of Nesconset, called the tax cap a fair balance that allows districts to operate in an environment of rising costs without significantly raising homeowners’ tax bills.

“It makes school districts live within their means, but it also gives them some sort of growth and money that allows them to continually operate in an environment where things cannot remain the same,” he said. “The tax cap allows you to live here. It keeps expenses down to a limit that makes it survivable for someone on a fixed income.”

Southampton Town pitches plan for first town-run beach in the village

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, eyeing a reelection campaign later this year, used her annual State of the State address yesterday to take aim at two targets: affordability and the Trump administration. Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that Hochul, a Democrat, proposed an array of initiatives she said could reduce everyday costs for New Yorkers: increasing aid for child care, speeding up housing development, lowering automobile and homeowner's insurance costs, reining in utility bills by increasing oversight and boosting aid to food pantries.

The governor also outlined measures to counter the Trump administration on several fronts: child care aid, vaccine standards, tax deductions and energy development. She proposed a new law related to federal immigration/deportation initiatives — it would create a right to sue federal officers for constitutional violations.

Hochul touted an improving New York economy and declining crime rates. But she also emphasized immediate challenges in making the state more affordable and "defending fundamental rights."

"Today, New York faces serious headwinds. Reckless federal actions are pushing up costs, threatening jobs and putting critical investments at risk," Hochul wrote in a booklet accompanying her speech. "Efforts to divide, exclude, and roll back hard-won rights are testing the values that have long defined our state. And too many families are still asking the same fundamental question: Can we afford to build our future here?"

Governor Hochul asserted that her agenda for the year will help.

"The 2026 State of the State agenda is grounded in a simple belief: Government should make life more affordable, keep people safe and expand opportunity — not shrink it."

Hochul will have to back up her proposals with a funding plan — which she is slated to present to the State Legislature next Tuesday. Her State of the State address set her thematic and aspirational goals for the legislative session, which runs until the beginning of June.

Amid the budget and lawmaking, Hochul also is trying to set a reelection course against the presumptive Republican nominee, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

***

In late fall of 2025, new solar-powered traffic cameras began popping up along roadways throughout the North Fork, raising heated discussions on social media about how the cameras were being used. The Southold Town Police Department has released a bulletin explaining its use of the Flock Safety Camera automatic license plate readers, funded through a state law enforcement tech grant, which has enabled the Suffolk County Sheriff to greatly expand the use of these cameras throughout the county. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Southold Town Board agreed at its Dec. 16 meeting to put a public informational bulletin about the cameras on its website in response to residents’ questions about the purposes of the cameras and what data they are collecting. Chief Steven Grattan said the Town of Southold has used Flock ALPR cameras for about three years, and that both the original cameras and several of those recently installed were donated to the town by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office. The town police department has also recently purchased its own cameras using a state Law Enforcement Technology (LETECH) grant, he said.

Last August, the Suffolk County Legislature approved increasing the number of county Flock Safety Cameras in areas that don’t require local or state legislative approval from 25 to 60 cameras, funded through a $542,500 LETECH grant from the state. Sixteen other cameras were planned to be installed along New York State rights-of-way, including along state Route 114 in Sag Harbor and East Hampton Village and along Route 25 in Riverhead and Southold.

Chief Grattan said cameras in Southold are monitored by town police dispatchers, who receive automatic alerts when the vehicles are involved in missing person, stolen vehicle and stolen license plate cases. Officers can also add a vehicle belonging to a suspect who fled from a crime in a known vehicle to this “hot list,” he added.

***

A couple weeks after assuming office, Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin embarks on his listening tour of local civic associations with two appearances this week — Thursday, Jan. 15…that’s tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the Greater Calverton Civic Association’s monthly meeting in the Riley Avenue School and this coming Saturday, Jan. 17 at 10:30 a.m. at the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association’s monthly meeting at the Riverhead Free Library.

Meanwhile, Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Supervisor Halpin and the Riverhead Town Board are considering where to place a Rotary-sponsored “peace pole,” a multilingual monument intended to serve as a visible statement of unity and peace. The roughly 7-foot post states, “May peace prevail on Earth” displayed on four sides in selected languages, along with a Rotary logo. The message would appear in four different languages commonly spoken in the community: English, Spanish, Polish and Ukrainian. A braille option is also available.

***

Southampton Town officials yesterday pitched their plan to buy and raze an oceanfront mansion as a rare opportunity to preserve coastal property and create the first town-run beach in the Village of Southampton, where beach fees are steep for non-village residents.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the town has an agreement to buy the three-story, 11-bedroom luxury home and in-ground pool on Meadow Lane for $25.8 million. Southampton Town would purchase the 2.2-acre property using the Community Preservation Fund, which generates revenue from a 2% real estate tax.

The purchase would protect the property’s maritime dune habitat and set the stage for a new town beach there, officials said.

Currently, Southampton Town residents who live outside the Village of Southampton must pay $300 for a seasonal sticker to park at village beaches. By comparison, town beach stickers cost residents $50 for the season and are $40 for seniors. They are of no charge to veterans, members of the military and emergency service workers. The annual fee for non-town residents is $500. The Southampton Town board will vote at its Jan. 27 meeting to approve the purchase, Community Preservation Fund Director Jacqueline Fenlon told Newsday.

After closing on the property, the town plans to demolish the home, although that likely won’t happen until next year because of the lengthy bidding and environmental review process that's required, Fenlon said. The town will then build a small parking lot, which will connect to a walkway on the property that residents can use to access the beach, she said.

“This is very helpful on many fronts,” Fenlon said during Tuesday’s hearing. “We're in a rare opportunity where we can get this done.”

At $11.7 million per acre, the Meadow Lane property would be the most valuable the Town of Southampton has bought using the CPF. It would be the second-largest purchase by the town using the CPF, according to town records.

***

Dr. Mary T. Kelly announced on Monday night that she will retire from her post as superintendent of the Bridgehampton School District at the end of the current school term, effective June 20, 2026. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that in an email sent to parents and staff, Kelly said that working in the position over the last five years had been “both a personal and professional honor,” adding that she was “deeply grateful for the trust, collaboration, and support of our students, families, staff and the broader community.”

Kelly has come under fire this school year, as negotiations to sign a new contract for the teachers association have stalled. They’ve been working without a new contract since the end of last school year.

The teachers began showing up en masse in matching teachers association shirts at board meetings at the end of 2025, and Bridgehampton School Teachers Association co-leaders Joseph Pluta and Caitlin Hansen accused Kelly of creating a “toxic working environment” in the district.

The co-union leaders sent a letter to the Board of Education on November 1 expressing their concerns, but a month later, the board issued a statement saying it was “fully supportive of Dr. Kelly’s leadership of the district,” after saying it had reviewed concerns raised by the teachers association and “other relevant parties” and came away with the conclusion that “nothing improper occurred.”

It was not immediately clear if the issues with the contract negotiations and the public spat between the teachers and the administration were behind Kelly’s decision to retire.

Kelly’s current contract, which was signed in 2023, pays her a base salary of more than $218,000 annually with a total compensation package that puts her over $240,000 annually. That contract was set to expire on June 30, 2027. Kelly was hired by Bridgehampton in 2021, after spending 13 years in the Amityville School District, the last seven as its superintendent.

***

The East End Special Players, a nonprofit theater and creative arts organization serving adults with diverse abilities, has announced new artistic leadership as it enters the next chapter of its more than 35-year history.

Adam Baranello has been appointed artistic director of the program, effective January 10. Baranello is a multimedia artist and dancer whose work emphasizes storytelling, self-expression, music and movement — elements that align closely with the strengths of the Players ensemble.

Joining the artistic team is Gail Baranello, a teaching artist, choreographer and performer whose work centers on the belief that the arts should be a tool for authentic self-expression rather than conformity to traditional performance expectations.

The organization also announced the retirement of longtime artistic director Jacqui Leader from her role leading the program. Leader, who has served the organization for more than 35 years, will continue to lead the Explorers Program, providing continuity and support during the transition.

Samantha Kinney will continue in her role as general manager, overseeing operations and logistics.

Founded in 1985, the East End Special Players is based in Sag Harbor and is dedicated to enhancing the lives of adults with diverse abilities through performance, artistic exploration and community engagement. Through its Players and Explorers programs, the organization focuses on building confidence, self-expression and meaningful connection.

***

Starting this year, borrowers who get their federal student loans forgiven could face big tax bills.

Maura McDermott reports in NEWSDAY that the new rule will apply to those in income-driven repayment plans, which limit monthly payments to a portion of borrowers’ income and typically result in loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years. Borrowers in those plans had been protected in recent years from federal tax bills under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. That law expired at the end of 2025, and the tax protections were not extended in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Those affected by the change “are obviously, and rightfully so, really worried about this,” said Carolina Rodriguez, director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program at the Community Service Society of New York. “It's never too early to talk to an accountant to understand what that potential tax liability looks like and then, if possible, start saving money to pay that tax liability and understand their options.”

For borrowers in income-driven repayment plans who qualify for loan forgiveness in 2026 or later, the discharged debt will be treated as income and borrowers will need to pay taxes on it, loan experts said.

Borrowers in such plans owe about $58,000 on average, said Mark Kantrowitz, an expert on student financial aid. For that amount of forgiven debt, a borrower in the 12% federal tax bracket would owe roughly $7,000 in taxes, and those in the 22% tax bracket would need to pay about $12,700, he said.

State officials said the debt would not be subject to state taxes.

Loans discharged through public-service loan forgiveness programs, or for reasons such as death or disability, remain tax-free under federal law, said Winston Berkman-Breen, legal director at the nonprofit group Protect Borrowers.

Gov. Hochul to give State of the State address, expected to cover math instruction, coastal initiatives, and more

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

This afternoon New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to announce plans to boost math instruction in her State of the State policy speech through guidance for school districts and increased professional learning opportunities for teachers. Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that the Democrat’s 2026 legislative agenda also is expected to address literacy, with a proposal to provide targeted resources to the state’s highest-need districts to help improve reading efficiency and allow teachers to access microcredentials in the science of reading at state and city universities at no cost, according to the agenda provided exclusively to Newsday ahead of the speech.

"My dream is for New York students to be the absolute best in the country academically — that’s why we’re making record investments in evidence-based learning models to get our kids up to speed in math and literacy," Hochul said in an emailed statement to NEWSDAY. The Governor’s speech today will lay out her legislative agenda for the year and is expected to focus largely on affordability — a rallying cry for both Democrats and Republicans heading into an election year. All 213 seats in the New York State Legislature are up for election. Hochul, who also is facing reelection, already has released plans to make child care more affordable, increase access to universal pre-kindergarten, lower auto insurance rates and eliminate the state tax on tips up to $25,000 a year.

She also has called for increasing social media and artificial intelligence protections for children, investing in peer-to-peer mental health training for teens, and preventing the building of homemade "3D guns."

Details on how Hochul plans to pay for her agenda and address a $4.2 billion budget gap for fiscal 2027, which begins April 1, will be released in her budget proposal next week.

***

A Suffolk County judge has upheld the termination of Gadi Capela, the former longtime rabbi of Congregation Tifereth Israel, the historic Greenport synagogue. Joshua Needelman reports in NEWSDAY that the congregation voted to remove Capela, the rabbi since 2013, in September, following three days of voting. That came more than a month after Capela was removed "for cause," which was later changed to a suspension.

Capela filed a lawsuit in October, alleging he was illegally terminated and suffered "severe" reputational damage because of the firing, attorneys for him and several of his supporters said.

The lawsuit called for Capela to be reinstated as the congregation's "lawful rabbi."

Suffolk state Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski wrote in his decision Friday that it would not be proper for the court to consider Capela's claims. He wrote that "American Courts are precluded from adjudicating disputes involving ecclesiastical governance."

"Even if this Court was possessed of sufficient knowledge and understanding of Judaism in order to discern whether Rabbi Capela violated any tenets of faith, the aforestated Constitutional prohibitions forbid this Court from uttering any such determinations," Modelewski wrote.

Modelewski did not rule on Capela's claim of defamation, and set a court date of Feb. 20 to discuss that claim.

Eighty-two congregants "in good standing" participated in the vote to determine Capela's employment, with 52.4% voting for his termination according to Sara Bloom, president of the temple's board, who calls Tifereth Israel, founded in 1892, the "synagogue of record on the North Fork."

***

Peeko Oysters Founder Pete Stein will discuss “How Oysters Shape Our Shores” in a talk at the Cutchogue Civic Association’s monthly meeting this coming Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library 27550 Main Road in Cutchogue. He’ll discuss how oysters are grown in the Peconic Bay, why shellfish farming helps local waters, what daily life on an oyster farm looks like and a quick introduction to sustainable aquaculture in the community.

This event is free.

That’s this coming Thursday evening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library 27550 Main Road in Cutchogue.

For further info visit cutchoguecivic.org

***

This afternoon New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will announce a new set of coastal initiatives her administration says will help Long Island communities protect against erosion and floods.

Seeking reelection this year, the Democrat also will tout new coastal-protection grants specifically for disadvantaged communities and expanded search-and-rescue resources for dealing with natural disasters. Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that the plans will be announced in the governor’s State of the State address today at 1 p.m. in Albany.

“Since I've taken office, we have seen once-in-a-hundred-year storms become the norm as a result of climate change,” Hochul told NEWSDAY. “While Republicans in Washington roll back protections, I am committed to ensuring local communities have the tools they need to fortify their infrastructure against floods, wildfires and other extreme weather.”

Specifics about the coastal grants will be detailed when Governor Hochul delivers her proposed 2026-27 budget to the State Legislature next week.

New York and federal officials have stepped up aid to communities as sea levels rise and intense storms batter coastlines on Long Island and elsewhere.

For instance, in October 2024, Hochul earmarked $3.5 million to rebuild South Shore beaches as part of a dredging and shoreline protection project. In January 2024, Hochul announced $2 million to repair damaged playground structures and replenish eroded sand at Overlook Beach in Babylon. Her administration also awarded $2.5 million to rebuild and fortify Ditch Plains Beach, an iconic Montauk surfing spot.

In today’s address the governor will propose “a new round of grants to local communities for targeted projects that strengthen shorelines, protect critical assets, and reduce flood risk in vulnerable communities,” according to speech documents.

She also will “launch a new competitive grant program to support community-based organizations in environmental justice and disadvantaged communities for strengthening local preparedness and response capabilities.”

***

The Southampton Town Board will hold a public hearing today at 1 p.m. regarding a Community Preservation Fund {CPF} acquisition of property at 1950 Meadow Lane in the Village of Southampton. Jorge Fitz-Gibbon reports in THE NY POST that the nearly $26 million purchase of a luxury 11-bedroom oceanfront mansion is intended to give locals public beach access along the 172 feet of waterfront property at the Meadow Lane home.

The purchase would also help preserve the natural habitat of the town’s waterfront dunes according to Southampton Town officials.

“We have been trying to, throughout the town, prioritize coastal properties for coastal resiliency practices, habitat restoration and habitat preservation,” said Jacqueline Fenlon, director of the town’s Community Preservation Fund, which would make the purchase for the land. The 2.2-acre property is at the edge of Southampton Village heliport. The mansion is owned by Frances Katz, according to town records, and was listed for $27 million. The property was listed for sale in 2021 at just under $25 million, but pulled from the market months later, with the Town of Southampton now proposing to buy it for $25.8 million.

“I think when you can get an oceanfront piece of property, you’re offsetting a long-term public cost,” Bob DeLuca, president of the nonprofit environmental advocacy organization Group for the East End, told Newsday. “You’re offsetting the human risk of people residing in areas like this.” He said the purchase would also protect rare wildlife like snowy and short-eared owls. “It definitely has a habitat value,” DeLuca said. “It definitely has a public safety value and it has a public access value.”

***

The Heart of Riverhead Civic Association will host its 4th Annual Volunteer Expo, in honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of service.

That’s this coming Saturday afternoon, January 17 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Riverhead Free Library.

If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity that fits your interests, consider attending to meet some local nonprofits, including: Hope and Resilience Long Island; Sound Justice Initiative; East End Arts; Hallockville Museum Farm; River and Roots Community Garden; Harvest Pantry; North Fork Environmental Council; North Fork Animal Rescue League; Youth Enrichment Services; Open Arms Food Pantry; Riverhead Lions Club; and Friends of the Big Duck.

That’s Riverhead Civic Association’s 4th Annual Volunteer Expo this coming Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Riverhead Free Library.

***

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will use her State of the State address today to set the agenda for this year’s legislative session in Albany. The speech is an annual ritual, but there’s more to it this year: She is running for re-election, and she’ll want her message to play in purplish parts of the state that Democrats hope to win over in November. Grace Ashford, who covers state government for the Metro desk at THE NY TIMES tells James Barron of THE TIMES that, “In the aftermath of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota, I’ll be watching the degree to which the governor takes a stand against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration. There’s a bill called the New York for All Act that was introduced several years ago and would prohibit state and local officials from cooperating with ICE across the state. It will be interesting to see if she throws her support behind that, and what other actions she takes to express “New York values,” which she likes to contrast with those of the federal government. The State Senate majority leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, has already said that the New York for All Act was among her top priorities." That's from an analysis by Grace Ashford of The NY TIMES.

Gov. Hochul is also expected to announce today that New York plans to quintuple its nuclear build-out - jumping from 3.4 gigawatts currently to 8.4 gigawatts - a scale of expansion larger than all U.S. nuclear construction over the past 30 years combined according to James Walker, a nuclear physicist and CEO of NANO Nuclear Energy,

The move comes as grid operators warn electricity demand will surge 50 to 90% over the next two decades, driven by electrification, AI data centers, and decarbonization targets that wind and solar can’t reliably meet.

Southampton Town plans to purchase oceanfront mansion to create public beach

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

New York education leaders and advocates are pushing Gov. Kathy Hochul to overhaul the state’s decades-old school aid formula in her budget proposal this month — a formula that currently would cut funding for hundreds of districts if not for a safety net policy.

The complex formula, known as Foundation Aid, was enacted in 2007-08 and is the single largest source of financial support for public schools in the state, sending billions of dollars to Nassau and Suffolk counties alone.

Parts of the formula are regularly updated, but others are frozen and haven’t kept up with rising costs, education leaders and advocates told NEWSDAY. The calculation also doesn’t consider the state’s 2% cap on property taxes, which limits how much districts can raise locally.

Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that a safety net policy, known as "hold harmless" or "save harmless," ensures districts that otherwise would see cuts under Foundation Aid receive at least as much as they did the previous year. More and more districts are relying on the policy, due largely to declining enrollment and rising income and property wealth, which reduce the state aid districts are eligible for according to the Foundation Aid formula. This school year, more than 56%, or 378, of the state’s 673 school districts fall under "save harmless," according to data from the Association of School Business Officials of New York.

On Long Island, 67 of the 121 school districts are on "save harmless" — including 42 in Suffolk County.

"The higher that number goes, the greater the risk is that you really don’t have a functioning formula," said Robert Lowry, deputy director for the New York State Council of School Superintendents. "Fewer and fewer districts are actually on the formula and thereby dependent on getting some sort of minimum percentage increase."

The state budget for 2025-26 guaranteed at least a 2% increase in aid for all districts and maintained the "save harmless" policy, but neither is guaranteed this year.

***

New York State’s plans for scores of battery-energy storage plants by 2030 face new headwinds this year after another fire at an upstate battery plant in December, Suffolk County’s rejection of a variance for a proposed plant in Holtsville and the federal government’s freeze on wind-energy arrays designed to feed the batteries. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that developers who had planned large battery plants for Long Island had already faced waves of opposition from most Long Island towns with moratoriums on construction of the plants, following fires at three plants in New York State in 2023. One of those, in East Hampton, has been back in operation since summer after a devastating 30-hour fire that required a near complete reconstruction.

Proponents of the batteries, which are part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan for a carbon-free grid by 2040, say battery-plant fires have been greatly reduced in recent years and new plants in the state are subject to strict new fire codes that went into effect this month. The codes mandate intense scrutiny of the plants’ designs, continuing inspections and faster emergency response plans.

The battery facilities planned for Long Island vary in size from less than an acre for a facility operating on Brookhaven Town land in Patchogue to more than six acres for the planned Holtsville plant. The plants feature row upon row of large storage containers, each filled with hundreds of thousands of AA-size lithium-ion batteries like those used in other electronic products. The batteries are used safely in countless rechargeable electronic products and utility storage systems, but improper use, poor design or damage can cause them to catch fire and, in the worst scenario, experience an extremely high temperature thermal runaway process that is exceedingly difficult to extinguish.

LIPA last year said it would defer to the state to arrange new contracts for battery-energy storage plants, which store hours of energy to operate sections of the grid.

Governor Hochul, whose vision for 6,000 megawatts of batteries across the state by 2030 is the driving impetus for the plants, has defended the need for them in spite of recent events.

***

Riverhead’s First Baptist Church will hold its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 19 at 8 a.m. (doors open at 7:30 a.m.) at the Hyatt Regency Long Island at 1717 Motor Parkway in Hauppauge. Rev. Dr. David L. Kelley II, Senior Pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Brooklyn will be the keynote speaker.

Organizers will recognize the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2026 honorees, including:

• Lifetime Achievement Award: the Rev. Charles A. Coverdale, senior pastor of The First Baptist Church of Riverhead.

• Meritorious Award: Vanessa Baird-Streeter, president/CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, and Dave Gallo, president/co-founder of Georgica Green Ventures, LLC.

***

Southampton Town plans to buy an oceanfront mansion in one of the Hamptons’ most expensive neighborhoods for $25.8 million, then demolish it to create public beach access.

If the sale goes through, the town would raze the three-story, 11-bedroom luxury home and in-ground pool that sit on 2.2 acres on Meadow Lane. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that Southampton would remediate the property to protect its maritime dune habitat, said Jacqueline Fenlon, director of the town's Community Preservation Fund. The Town of Southampton would look to create a public beach access point there using the property’s 172 linear feet of ocean frontage, she said.

The planned sale is part of an overall effort to expand beach access in an exclusive part of town and preserve more waterfront property from environmental threats, officials said. At $11.7 million per acre, the land would be the most valuable the town has bought using the Community Preservation Fund, which generates revenue from a 2% real estate tax. According to town records, it would be the town's second-largest purchase using CPF money. In 2023, the town paid $30 million to buy and preserve 27.3 acres of farmland in Bridgehampton.

Southampton has an agreement with the seller to buy the property, but the town board needs to authorize the sale, Fenlon said. A hearing on the purchase is scheduled for tomorrow.

Fenlon said the property is a “rare opportunity to be able to preserve such pristine ocean frontage.”

“We have been trying to, throughout the town, prioritize coastal properties for coastal resiliency practices, habitat restoration and habitat preservation,” Fenlon said.

The home on Meadow Lane, with views of both the Atlantic Ocean and Shinnecock Bay, is one of the most expensive in the Hamptons. At the west end of the road is Southampton Village’s public heliport, which many wealthy residents use to fly to and from New York City.

Southampton Supervisor Maria Moore said the town is "eager to complete this purchase to preserve beach access for our town residents."

***

As the use of images created by artificial intelligence explodes, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced yesterday that she would seek limits on how political campaigns can employ the technology before elections. Benjamin Oreskes reports in THE NY TIMES that Ms. Hochul specifically wants to prohibit campaigns from spreading A.I.-generated images of people, including opposing candidates, without their consent in the 90 days before an election.

The new measures, which Governor Hochul will mention in her State of the State address tomorrow, would also outlaw the deliberate dissemination of false information about elections, including their date and time.

“It’s easier than ever for bad actors to spread misinformation in critical moments, including those that can decide elections,” Ms. Hochul said in a written statement.

“Now is the time to take action and protect our democracy or risk a slippery slope,” she added. “We’re leading the nation in setting strong and sensible standards for A.I. use in elections, protecting voters across the state.”

Ms. Hochul’s proposal, if passed by the State Legislature, would allow people or groups to sue if they see images or information that runs afoul of the new rules. The measures build on an array of recent laws passed in New York and across the country that have forced campaigns to disclose how A.I. is used by political candidates in the run-up to elections.

***

This event is free.

That’s this coming Thursday evening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library 27550 Main Road in Cutchogue.

For further info visit cutchoguecivic.org

***

It is a big year for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and the kickoff of the 2026 legislative session could lay the foundation for how it ends. Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that Hochul is facing a tight budget and federal financial cuts from the Trump administration. She will face political pressure from the left in trying to accommodate a new and popular New York City mayor and from environmental activists frustrated by some of the governor’s recent actions.

She will face it from the right in the form of a Republican gubernatorial challenger eager to make Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani a punching bag. And she’ll have to do all of it with an eye toward November, when she not only will try to win reelection but also be a strong enough candidate to impact down-ballot congressional races that could tip the balance of power in Washington.

“It’s not pure hyperbole to say that there never has been more at stake now for New York State, politically and policy-wise, than any other modern-day midterm election cycle,” said Lawrence Levy, dean of suburban studies at Hofstra University. “Thus, every line of every budget proposal and bill will be directed toward gaining ground in November and that, in turn, will drive a focus on affordability — particularly on housing, energy and food — public perception of crime and the appeal of the party brands.”

Hochul will outline her agenda in two important speeches this month. Tomorrow, she will deliver the annual State of the State address in which a governor presents an aspirational and thematic view of enacting policy. On Jan. 20, those themes have to be backed by real dollars and cents as the governor proposes a state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Hochul is sounding more confident than in 2022, when she won a closer-than-expected election over then-Congressman Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican. Now in her fifth year as governor, the Buffalo Democrat has a comfortable lead in the polls and analysts point out that midterm election years — when a president isn’t running — tend to favor the party not in the White House, which means Democrats this time.

“Excellent. Really strong,” Hochul answered in response to a media question about how she is feeling about heading into an election year.

Vigils to be held throughout East End in memory of Renee Nicole Good

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The state will not be able to cover "hundreds of millions of dollars" in expenses for social services like child care, emergency housing and public assistance if a freeze imposed by the Trump administration is not lifted by the end of the month, a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said yesterday. Lorena Mongelli reports in NEWSDAY that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that it was withholding $10 billion in child care and family assistance subsidies to five Democrat-led states, including New York, as it conducts a review amid claims of fraud. The move followed allegations of fraud at several child care centers in Minnesota.

At a virtual press conference Thursday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) told reporters, “This funding freeze is leaving our most vulnerable families and child care providers in a devastating limbo, not knowing if or when they will lose the assistance that they rely on to send their children to day care and keep their businesses running."

NYS Attorney General Letitia James said in a release last night she is leading a coalition of four attorneys general in suing the Trump administration in the Southern District of New York, seeking a federal court order preventing the freeze and declaring it unlawful.

HHS has said it was pausing funds to three programs overseen by the agency's Administration for Children and Families: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Child Care and Development Fund and the Social Services Block Grant.

New York uses more than $3.6 billion yearly to run these programs — $2.7 billion for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which serves more than 202,000 New Yorkers yearly; $832 million for the Child Care and Development Fund, which serves 170,000 children annually; and $93 million for the Social Services Block Grant, which serves 164,000 children and 52,000 vulnerable adults.

As part of its review of the Child Care and Development Fund, the government is asking for attendance documentation for "subsidized child care services," with personal information redacted, according to a letter sent to Hochul that was obtained by Newsday.

For the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Social Services Block Grant program, the government is requesting detailed administrative data such as recipients' names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth from at least 2022 to 2025. The deadline to submit this information is Jan. 20.

***

The Remsenburg-Speonk School District has partnered with the Southampton Town Police Department to implement a new emergency alert system to improve communication between the district and Town Police during emergencies. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that as part of the Centegix CrisisAlert system, teachers and faculty members at Remsenburg-Speonk Elementary School are given lanyards that hold a card with a button to press during emergences. Pressing the button three times will send an internal alert to the school’s security team. Doing so more than eight times will alert the police dispatch. As part of the system, messages are displayed on interactive displays, such as smartboards, in classrooms, including a red banner that reads “lockdown” in those scenarios, followed by instructions with safety protocols. In classrooms without smartboards, these instructions will come up on teachers’ laptops for them to relay to students. The district is currently working on replacing older smartboards in certain classrooms to ensure that each room can properly display the emergency messages.

Remsenburg-Speonk is the first school district in Southampton Town to utilize the system. Superintendent Denise Sullivan said that Town Police see the district as a “pilot” for other school districts in the town considering it. “What Remsenburg School is doing with its crisis alert system is cutting edge,” Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan said in a press release. “It has different levels of response. It’s right there on their lanyard. This is something that’s really working well with our partnership. “What I really like about the system is the relationship it has with the police officer in the area. This system puts a map right in the dispatch area, and they will be guided right to where the response needs to be.”

Before students left for winter break, a lockdown drill using Centegix was held on December 22 at the school. Sullivan called the drill a success, adding that teachers and students have responded well to the system so far.

***

Fundraising for a new headquarters for the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps has topped $6 million and that means there’s a real chance that the new facility can be built and equipped without tax payer dollars.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that with $6.4 million raised, thanks in large measure to generous support from wealthy donors making significant contributions, the ambulance corps is asking the rest of the community for help to reach its goal: raising enough money to cover the cost of construction and equipment without raising property taxes.

A mailer soliciting support for the project recently went out to all residents and RVAC is hoping community response will take the project over the finish line.

Information about RVAC’s ongoing “Help Us Grow” campaign is also available at the ambulance company’s website. https://www.riverheadvac.com/

***

Numerous vigils are being held throughout the East End this evening at 6 p.m. in memory of Renee Nicole Good, a 37 year old mother who was shot to death by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The vigils will be held at Macy’s in Hampton Bays, at the Sag Harbor Windmill, at Agawam Park in Southampton, at Mitchell Park in Greenport, at the Village Green in Westhampton Beach, on the lawn of the East Quogue United Methodist Church and at Riverhead Town Hall starting tonight at 6 p.m.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that local lawmakers have begun to weigh in on the shooting. New York State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni of Sag Harbor called it “a clear demonstration of the dangers of having heavily armed federal agents in our communities…. Masked ICE agents are roaming towns and cities across the country in pursuit of individuals regardless of due process, and this inhumane use of deadly force should be highly scrutinized.” Southampton Town Councilman Michael Iasilli concurred: “Wednesday’s actions have certainly shaken the confidence necessary for public trust in federal immigration efforts,” he said. “I call on our federal representatives to exercise proper oversight authority to ensure the safety of our local communities. We want policies and actions that protect our neighbors rather than endanger them.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the shooting of Renee Good and proposed new state legislation to hold federal agents accountable. Hochul stated she was "sickened as a mom" by the tragedy, noting that Good's 6-year-old child "goes to bed an orphan". Hochul announced she will include language in her upcoming State of the State address to provide New Yorkers with "recourse" if their constitutional rights are violated by federal agents, such as ICE. She criticized federal immigration enforcement tactics, specifically questioning why agents wear masks and accusing them of attempting to "terrorize people." Governor Hochul vowed to "stand up and defend rights" in New York and rejected efforts to "militarize" local streets.

***

Four months after New York State’s school cellphone ban went into effect, a new study found parents across the globe want the smart devices kept out of classrooms. Maureen Mullarkey reports in NEWSDAY that in a research letter published in JAMA Pediatrics this week, Renaissance School of Medicine and Stony Brook University professor Lauren Hale and her colleagues found more than 75% of adult respondents in 35 countries supported smartphone bans in school.

The team analyzed data from UNESCO's 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report, which surveyed the opinions of more than 35,000 adults between June 12 and July 11, 2023.

The survey interviewed both parents and nonparents. Hale and her team found that worldwide, parents were more supportive of a ban on smartphones in schools than nonparents.

"Nonparents aren't thinking about what's happening in the classroom," Hale said. "But those who are familiar with it ... think that this should be of concern."

About 71% of parents surveyed in the United States — which ranked 31st out of the 35 countries — support smartphone bans in schools.

France, with 89% of parents in support, topped the list, followed by Bangladesh and Italy.

The published letter comes almost halfway through the school year, in which a statewide ban took effect prohibiting the use of smartphones from bell-to-bell.

Newsday previously reported that after the cellphone ban took effect, educators said they noticed a positive change in school, with students more engaged during class and social with one another.

Farmingdale High School Principal Jed Herman told Newsday in October he noticed students playing board games during lunch, talking more among themselves and more likely to make eye contact.

"It’s been really nice," he told Newsday. "Kids have really transitioned well to the change."

***

Opening Reception for “Barry McCallion: Artist Books” at Springs Community Library is this coming Sunday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Known for his ability to bring literary narratives to life, Barry McCallion combines fine art with written works to create a deeply immersive and at times introspective experience. Blending whimsy with absolute precision, McCallion uses a wide range of mediums and collages to deepen the emotional impact of each piece. McCallion describes how “the visual book involves you in time” to create a sense of anticipation and memory.

His creative process driven by themes of social consciousness, McCallion addresses issues such as extinction, pollution, and environmental protection.

Also on display will be McCallion’s prints and fold-out style books, both current and past works.

McCallion will be present during the exhibition to talk about his process and inspirations.

A long time Springs resident, McCallion currently resides at Peconic Landing.

To support the Springs Historical Society or learn more, visit springshistoricalsociety.org.

Once again the Opening Reception for “Barry McCallion: Artist Books” at Springs Community Library is this coming Sunday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

***

Long Island students are outperforming the average test takers throughout the state in math and English according to new data. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that over 85% of Nassau and Suffolk County’s 37,000 combined students passed the English regents last school year — 10% higher than the state’s average — while nearly 70% made it through the new algebra regents, surpassinging the state’s benchmark of 56%, new data from the NYS Education Department detailed.

Long Island students largely passed the exams at identical rates to the prior school year — but subsequently saw a 10% drop off in those reaching the highest level of achievement year-over-year on the English regents.

“It definitely is a big drop from the highest level,” Bob Vecchio, Executive Director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, told The NY POST. The share of Long Island students earning a Level 5 score on the English regents — the state’s highest distinction — fell to just over 43% in the 2024–25 school year, down from 53% the year prior. The number of Long Island school districts where at least 90% of students tested proficient also fell, dropping from 61 to 51 of the 99 districts that reported results, most of which were high-needs districts, the data detailed.

Aside from high-need schools requiring more funding and resources for their students to succeed, Vecchio said the drops in top-level proficiency follow a similar trend nationwide.

He believes the trend can be attributed to a multitude of reasons — such as the lingering developmental impacts on kids from the COVID-era, new state graduation and testing standards, and an overall shift in priorities for students.

As the state’s regents exams are becoming optional in 2027, there has been less focus on preparation for these tests and more emphasis from teachers on other areas of education, Vecchio explained.

Despite the fall off of top performing high school students, Long Island children in grades three through eight made a 7.5% jump in English proficiency from the year before, a rise that Vecchio said proves the shift in focus among older students.

On tomorrow's Behind The Headlines: Why did Gov. Hochul deny Montaukett state recognition? - Behind The Headlines

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 10:00:00 -0400

The Montaukett have been denied state recognition as a formal nation 7 times. In her recent veto memo, Gov. Hochul cites a case from 1910 in which the Montaukett were denied recognition as a formal nation. What is the reasoning behind her decision? Plus, what will the local impact be following the murder of Renee Nicole Good? The panel discusses these pressing issues plus horseshoe crab protection, Riverhead's news Town Supervisor, and a positive story about Peconic Community School.

Live on WLIW-FM Saturday at 10am, and on demand right here where you get podcasts.

East End economic development projects recieve $463 million from New York State

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0400

New York City’s $9 congestion tolling is working so well in reducing traffic and generating revenue that there may be no need to raise it in a couple years as originally planned, Gov. Kathy Hochul said yesterday as she celebrated the anniversary of the program.

Joined by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders and dozens of other plan supporters at a Manhattan rally, Hochul touted the success of the first-in-the-nation congestion tolling program, which came online January 5, 2025.

Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that one year in, Hochul said the program has already resulted in an 11% reduction in the number of vehicles in Manhattan’s congestion zone, a 22% reduction in air pollution, and significantly faster travel times at bridges and tunnels connecting to Manhattan and for buses in the city.

The tolls have also generated $550 million in revenue dedicated to MTA infrastructure projects, with about 10% committed to the Long Island Rail Road.

The MTA’s original plan would have charged vehicles $15 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan, but Hochul instead opted for a plan to start the program with a $9 toll, then gradually ramp it up, with an increase to $12 scheduled in 2028 and to the full $15 in 2031.

But, Hochul on Monday said she’d like to “keep the price point” where it is.

Hochul said while there were initially "a lot of people who really thought this was going to result in their lives being affected negatively out on Long Island," opposition to the new tolls has significantly subsided over the last 12 months.

"It’s calmed down because people like getting across the bridges faster," Hochul said. "They’re happy not to sit in traffic."

But Jack Nierenberg, vice president of Passengers United, a transportation advocacy group, said Hochul should not mistake congestion tolling opponents’ resignation for support, as some Long Islanders have given up on coming into Manhattan altogether.

"A lot of the opposition ... you just don’t hear it, but it’s still there," Nierenberg said. "It’s coming in the form of people struggling to continue to come into the city, because they don’t have any other options available to them."

***

A former Catholic church in Cutchogue is getting a fresh start as the permanent home of Peconic Community School. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the nonprofit school purchased the $2.85 million Sacred Heart church property on Dec. 16, according to Patricia Nicklaus, an associate broker at Howard Hanna Coach Real Estate in Port Jefferson, who represented the seller in the deal. The school had been in contract to buy the 10.2-acre Main Road site since 2022.

In addition to the 19th-century church, the deal includes the former Our Lady of Mercy Regional School, rectory, carriage house and five acres of vacant land.

“It’s going to keep its historic value, but now it’s going to have a new life in education,” Nicklaus said. “There’ll be children singing in it again.”

Peconic Community School cofounder and executive director Liz Casey said having a permanent home is a “game changer” for the independent school.

“We can put down the roots, we can grow from what we started and hope to be here for 100 years,” she told NEWSDAY.

The private school began renting the Cutchogue site in 2023 under a lease-to-own agreement while it secured financing and the church obtained regulatory approvals, Casey said.

Casey founded the independent school in 2012 with her sister, Kathryn Casey Quigley, and previously leased at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Aquebogue. It currently enrolls 89 students from early childhood through eighth grade, Casey said.

Our Lady of Mercy Regional School closed in 2018 as part of a decision by the Diocese of Rockville Centre to merge it with St. Isidore School in Riverhead.

Rev. Eric Fasano, a spokesman for the diocese, said proceeds from the sale will be used to build a new parish center in Mattituck “that will serve the parish community as it continues to grow.”

***

The East Hampton Healthcare Foundation will sponsor a free community Health Fair this coming Friday, January 9, offering a range of medical screenings, health resources and information for residents of all ages.

This Friday’s event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in St. Luke’s Church at 18 James Lane in East Hampton. The fair is open to the public and is intended to improve access to preventive care and community health services.

Available services will include flu shots, glucose testing, blood pressure screenings and applications for colorectal screenings. Appointments will also be offered for no-cost mammograms and pap smear tests for uninsured women age 40 and older.

Representatives from several organizations will be on hand with information and assistance.

Healthy refreshments will be served. For more information, call 631-329-2425.

***

From shoring up Bug Light in Greenport to restoring the World War I monument in Southampton’s Agawam Park to the downtown Riverhead amphitheater, septic systems for housing in East Hampton and Riverhead, preschool programs at the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreation Center, a renovation of Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island and helping the Village of Greenport update its Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, the State of New York awarded a slew of economic development grants across the East End just before Christmas. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the projects were part of $463 million in funding through the state’s 2025 Regional Economic Development Council Initiative, which included $100 million in Pro-Housing Supply Fund Awards, which “awards certified Pro-Housing Communities with financing for essential infrastructure projects, such as sewer, electrical and water system upgrades that are needed to facilitate new housing developments,” according to New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s announcement of the funding.

Among local governments getting state funding are:

The Town of Riverhead which will receive $3.511 million for sewer and water lines and road infrastructure for Georgica Green Ventures’ proposed The Vue 133-apartment unit mixed use project proposed at the corner of Sweezy Avenue and West Main Street in Riverhead (across from the Farm Country Kitchen). This project “targets the missing middle with housing for working families in a transit-oriented downtown and is positioned to serve as a catalyst for revitalization and a welcoming entry point into the community,” according to the state.

AND the Town of East Hampton will receive $3.171 million for a sanitary system and new water and sewer lines for a proposed 50-unit workforce housing complex on Route 114.

“This project will provide much-needed housing for year-round residents,” says the state, and “will reduce the volatility and increase local commerce.”

The units will be available for rent for people earning 130 percent of the Area Median Income.

***

Projects which are part of $463 million in funding through New York State’s 2025 Regional Economic Development Council Initiative were awarded across the east end right before Christmas. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that local projects receiving state funding recently include:

The Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreation Center which will receive $1.28 million to “enable the center to add new affordable child care slots to serve marginalized families that live and work on the East End. Plus, the Town of Riverhead will receive $675,000 for the riverfront amphitheater in the new Town Square, while the Village of Southampton will receive $675,000 to restore its World War I memorial, a 100-year-old iconic limestone structure designed by architect William Edward Moran, which “requires structural restoration to the roof and flooring systems, as well as surface repairs.”

Southampton Town will receive $675,000 to replace basketball, tennis and pickleball courts in its Hampton Park West in Westhampton.

And the Village of Greenport will receive $233,750 to update its 1996 Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, “focusing on its three-mile waterfront along Greenport Harbor and Stirling Basin.” Greenport Village “will address climate resiliency needs and public access,” according to the state. “Projects identified in the LWRP will boost tourism, preserve and create jobs, restore shoreline areas and increase investment in the community.”

***

The 2026 Southold Town Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance is Sunday, January 18 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Southold Recreation Center, 970 Peconic Lane in Peconic. The Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force’s annual King Holiday Observance is a time that they invite the public to celebrate, commemorate, and honor the life, legacy, and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Rev. Tykym Stallings of the Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion Church, the oldest continuing church in Harlem, NYC.

The Southold ABTF’s strategic theme for 2026 is “Mission Possible 2: Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way.” This theme defines the 2026 King Holiday Observance events and programming while serving as a compass for all the work the ABTF will do this upcoming calendar year and beyond.

Also, the winners of the ABTF’s Southold School’s MLK essay and poster contest will receive their awards on this day, too.

That’s Sunday, January 18 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Southold Recreation Center, 970 Peconic Lane, Peconic, NY 11958. This event is free to attend and open to the public.

***

It’s “Point Break” on Montauk Point.

That’s where homegrown Long Island thrill seekers channeling their best Patrick Swayze impersonations, hit the ferocious Atlantic in the winter months for an ultimate — and perilous — surf in nearly subzero temps.

“I mean, this can kill you,” longtime winter surfer Dr. John Kavanaugh, sporting shoulder-length hair and a goatee, told The NY Post just before catching waves in windy, 26-degree weather at Ditch Plains in Montauk Friday.

“There are days out there where there are ice blocks … some people say ‘you guys are crazy.’

“They think we’re nuts.”

Alex Mitchell reports in the NY POST that the East Hampton chiropractor isn’t the only one catching curls with snow on the sand. A band of about a dozen others were riding crisp waves off Montauk’s bluffs on a Wednesday afternoon last month.

“When the waves are good, people come. Like a really good Saturday, it will get crowded,” Kavanaugh, 60, said of the traditional summer hotspot.

“… now it will get crowded in the winter,” added the Plainview native, who’s been at it for decades.

Those gutsy enough to enter the frigid waters at Montauk Point do so for reasons beyond bravado. “It’s harder, but it’s beautiful, and we get better waves in the winter,” Kavanaugh said, claiming he can survive the water for a few hours on a good day with low wind. “The winter coldness, it’s invigorating. “You can’t get that this summer — it just wakes you up. You get in there, you’re like, ‘Whoa!’ Then later, when you warm up, you get this feeling, yeah, it’s pretty intense.”

Gov. Hochul signs legislation that encourages law enforcement to use peer support groups

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0400

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***

Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to sign legislation today aimed at encouraging law enforcement officers to use peer support groups. Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that the Lieutenant Joseph Banish Mental Health Act establishes confidentiality requirements for communications made by law enforcement during peer-to-peer counseling sessions.

Officers who respond to crises deserve services that are tailored to their unique experiences, Governor Hochul said in a statement.

"By strengthening protections for law enforcement peer support programs, we are ensuring safe settings for honest conversations to improve the mental health and well-being of our first responders," she said.

The legislation is modeled after the 2021 federal COPS Counseling Act, a federal law that established confidentiality protections for peer counseling programs in federal law enforcement agencies.

The confidentiality is limited to those officers trained and designated as peer counselors.

Proponents of the bill have argued police officers often experience trauma and grief as emergency first responders and the bill would make it easier for them to seek help privately from trained peer specialists.

Law enforcement members were 54% more likely to die of suicide than the general public, a 2020 study in the journal Policing found. In 2024, there were 13 law enforcement suicides in the state, including two Suffolk County police officers as reported by NEWSDAY.

***

A new would-be cannabis dispensary owner has proposed putting a shop on the north side of County Road 39 in a small Tuckahoe shopping mall where a Suffolk OTB once operated and currently Goldberg’s Bagels, Melrose Pizza, Birdie’s Ale House and a barber shop do business. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the company, MRM Ventures, does not yet have approval from the New York State Office of Cannabis Management for a Southampton location but has begun the application process to the Southampton Town Planning Board.

At a pre-submission hearing last week, members of the Planning Board had few initial concerns about the MRM proposal, which would pose few logistical challenges in moving into a vacant unit in the 14-unit shopping center.

But the dispensary’s biggest hurdle may be that another dispensary has aspirations of opening just across the highway from them – which would preempt MRM from making a bid for a location in their desired site under the state’s retail cannabis sales rules if the other dispensary were to open first.

An attorney for MRM Ventures, Joseph Buzzell, said the owner of MRM Ventures already had a state OCM-issued retail cannabis license that he has asked the OCM to allow him to transfer to the County Road 39 site.

However, the MRM Ventures proposed cannabis dispensary is almost directly across County Road 39 from Club Ultra where the landlord has proposed evicting Ultra and replacing it with a cannabis dispensary named Southampton Deep Blue Sea.

State cannabis regulations prohibit two dispensaries from operating within 1,000 feet of each other.

One of Deep Blue Sea’s principals, Danielle Durant, told the Planning Board that property owners had filed an eviction request with the Suffolk County Sheriff's office earlier this fall and is planning to proceed with the dispensary application this winter with hopes of opening by June of 2026.

Durant also said that Deep Blue Sea has a final approval to use the site from the OCM and has been issued “proximity protection,” guaranteeing that no other dispensary will be approved by OCM within 1,000 feet.

“The proposed location, per OCM regulation, they are not allowed to open,” Durant said to the Southampton Town Planning Board. “So we are definitely taking steps and we are planning to open by June of 2026.”

Greenport Village approves new laws allowing short-term rentals

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0400

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***

The Village of Greenport approved new laws allowing short-term rentals with no minimum stays. Residency rules are designed to deter investor-run vacation rentals. Rental properties must be owner-occupied for part of the year. Property owners are only entitled to one short-term rental permit under the new law. Critics say the rules favor part-time residents and don’t address the need for year-round housing.

So Greenport Village is going against the grain when it comes to regulating short-term rentals on the East End.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that as other municipalities clamp down, village trustees have approved new rental laws that contain no minimum lengths of stay. The law, which takes effect in January, imposes residency rules designed to discourage investor-driven real estate purchases.

The current law bans rentals for less than 14 days in single-family homes unless they are owner-occupied. The new provisions will allow entire single-family homes to be rented as long as an owner lives there part of the year.

Short-term rentals, popularized by sites like Airbnb and Vrbo, have set off debates in seasonal vacation communities over property rights, housing affordability and availability. In Greenport, tensions have flared: At one end of the debate are some residents who say short-term rentals bring too much noise, traffic and trash to their streets. But others argue that short-term rentals are crucial to the region's economy, including neighbors who say they depend on additional income, as well as businesses eager for tourist spending.

Mayor Kevin Stuessi voted against the legislation, which was approved 4-1 on Dec. 4. He said he supported a two-week rental minimum.

“All of the laws elsewhere on the East End … are much more restrictive than what we just passed,” Stuessi said in an interview.

In August, the Village of Southampton enacted a two-week minimum stay. The Town of Riverhead doesn’t allow rentals of less than a month, while Southold Town has a 14-day minimum requirement. Southampton Town is planning to lift a two-week minimum during the U.S. Open golf championship next year, Newsday reported.

***

New York State Attorney General Letitia James yesterday filed a lawsuit against UPS, alleging the company stole millions in wages from thousands of seasonal delivery workers for years. Brianne Ledda reports in NEWSDAY that an investigation opened in 2023 found the logistics company failed to accurately track hours worked, required off-the-clock labor from its workers and manipulated timekeeping systems to reduce paid hours, the attorney general’s office said.

These actions saved UPS millions while robbing seasonal workers trying to support their families, A.G. James stated at a news conference in Manhattan on Monday.

"They earned every dollar of their wages, and UPS had no right to take those dollars away," she said.

The state is seeking restitution for current and former seasonal workers and an injunction that requires UPS to adopt reforms to prevent these issues from happening again, James said.

UPS acknowledged the state's suit in an email, and said while the company takes "all accusations of wrongdoing seriously," it denies "the unfounded allegation of intentionally underpaying UPS employees."

"We offer industry-leading pay and benefits to our more than 26,000 employees in New York, and we remain committed to following all applicable laws," company spokeswoman Natasha Amadi said in an email.

The impacted workers include assistants who help full-time drivers and seasonal drivers who use their personal vehicles to make deliveries, according to a news release from the attorney general's office. UPS has three facilities on Long Island.

Joshua Pomeranz, director of operations at Teamsters Local 804, said on Monday that many of the seasonal workers had never met a union official and were unaware of their rights.

The union reported the alleged violations to the state after drivers raised the alarm, he said.

Many of the seasonal employees willing to take on the low-paying work are financially vulnerable, Pomeranz added, lacking cellphones or steady places to live.

"They are taking this job because they need to," he said. "It’s another day of trying to scrape by."

In Local 804's jurisdiction — which covers Long Island, all New York City boroughs except for Staten Island, and the area stretching from Westchester to Yorktown — UPS hires 5,000 seasonal employees each year from Oct. 15 through Jan. 15, Pomeranz told Newsday.

Elementary and middle school test scores rise for Long Island students

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0400

Millions of Americans, including Long Islanders, are contending with higher health premiums taking effect in the new year as prices rise across coverage types. Brianne Ledda reports in NEWSDAY that the surge adds another pressure point to increasingly strained household budgets. Some policy holders might even drop coverage altogether, especially younger people with fewer pressing health needs, experts said.

Higher premiums "will result in cutbacks in overall spending,” especially among middle- and low-income families relying on tax credits to cover plans through the Affordable Care Act, said Martin Melkonian, an economist at Hofstra University in Hempstead. “I think there are many folks living on the edge at this moment," Melkonian said. Without action from the federal government, enhanced premium tax credits under the ACA are set to expire at the end of 2025, further increasing out-of-pocket costs for many consumers…with some paying hundreds more per month.

Most Long Islanders have some form of health insurance — 95.3% in Suffolk County, according to census data. The 28,000 Long Islanders who use federal tax credits to help cover costs for ACA plans stand to take the largest hit, with an average 32% price increase in 2026, in addition to the loss of income-based enhanced tax subsidies.

Premiums are also rising for other plans, including Medicare and employer-sponsored insurance, fueled by hospital consolidation, an aging population and increased expenses for medical services, among other things.

***

Long Island's first snowstorm of the season dumped at least 8 inches of snow in several towns across Nassau and Suffolk, spurred lengthy flight delays at area airports and warnings to stay home and off the roads. But by late Sunday afternoon, the bulk of the storm had moved east, with just a few isolated snow showers lingering and a sunny, cold start to our Monday forecast.

Most schools across the east end have announced a two hour delayed start to classes this morning.

As reported in NEWSDAY, a hazardous weather outlook posted late yesterday warned motorists to use caution and be on the lookout through this morning for black ice when driving and walking.

The snow began across Long Island at about 10 p.m. Saturday and was the result of a quick-moving low-pressure system crossing the region from west to east, forecasters said.

In Suffolk County, Commack reported 8.5 inches by Sunday afternoon, with Dix Hills next at 8.3 inches and reports of 8.2 inches in Center Moriches and East Northport. The highest East End total reported was 8 inches in Remsenburg-Speonk, followed by 5.8 inches in Sag Harbor, 5.1 inches in East Quogue, 4.8 inches in Riverhead and Jamesport, 4 inches in Orient and 3.3 inches in Mattituck.

Roads across Long Island were wet and slippery, and authorities warned that travel could be hazardous.

Snow and freezing fog was reported at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale and Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip.

Meanwhile, the Long Island Rail Road reported most its service was on or close to schedule Sunday. The Nassau and Suffolk police departments had no reports of weather-related crashes on roadways by Sunday afternoon.

***

Peconic Bay Medical Center’s radiologic technology school has again turned out a class of graduates with a perfect record on their board exams – and on landing jobs. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that all 27 members of the Class of 2025 passed the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists certification exam in radiography, and all have already secured full-time, part-time or per-diem jobs, most of them within the Northwell Health system, according to PBMC and Northwell’s Center for Learning and Innovation.

The program, based at the Riverhead hospital and sponsored by Peconic Bay Medical Center, is Suffolk County’s only JRCERT-accredited, hospital-based radiologic technology program. It has maintained a 100-percent pass rate on the national certification exam since 2017 and a 100-percent job placement rate for six consecutive years, even through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The continued success of our graduates is a testament to the excellence and dedication of our faculty, clinical partners and the entire PBMC community,” hospital president Amy Loeb said in a prepared statement. “These results demonstrate how PBMC is helping shape the next generation of healthcare professionals who will deliver exceptional care throughout Eastern Suffolk County and beyond.”

***

English language arts and math scores for Long Island students in grades three to eight rose in the 2024-25 school year — and those improvements were evident even in more academically challenged districts. Lorena Mongelli and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that the most significant increase was in English language arts, or ELA, with 55.5% of students meeting or exceeding proficiency standards, a 7.4 percentage point jump from the prior year. In math, 60.1% of students earned proficiency or better compared with 57.7% for the 2023-24 year.

The region overall continued to outperform the state, which also had better outcomes this year. Results in New York varied by county. On Long Island, for example — Nassau reported 64.2% of students exceeded or met proficiency standards in English, while Suffolk reported 46.3%. About 70% of Nassau students scored proficient or above in math; less than half — 49.3% — of Suffolk students did.

The reasons for the improvements varied among districts, with some crediting their reading and math curricula and the use of data to identify how students could be best supported during small group-based teaching.

Others noted the implementation of the “Science of Reading” program that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in early 2024 to boost literacy due to concerns, she said, that children were not meeting "basic reading proficiency levels."

For kindergarten through grade three, this plan includes linking letters to sounds, reading out loud and writing lessons. Some districts also credited a return to phonics instruction as a factor in elevating ELA scores.

Jaclyn O’Hagan, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and accountability for the South Country Central School District of East Patchogue, told NEWSDAY that the district launched a phonics program this school year. She noted that more still needs to be done, however.

"While phonics instruction contributed to the increase in ELA scores, we recognize the need for a more comprehensive approach," O'Hagan said.

***

More than half — 55.5% — of Long Island students in grades three to eight met or exceeded proficiency standards on the 2024-25 English language arts test, a 7.4 percentage point jump from the prior year. In math, 60.1% of students earned proficiency or better compared with 57.7% the year before…although the improvements in Nassau significantly exceeded those in Suffolk County. Lorena Mongelli and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said the region is seeing improvements after learning loss experienced during the pandemic, when schools were closed and instruction was remote.

He singled out increased instruction in ELA as one measure that has helped bring up scores.

“I do know the intervention strategies and the engagement strategies that both the school districts have taken on and what the new state Education Department put out for curriculum supports, professional development, for teachers over the last couple of years is starting to see some results in a very positive manner," Vecchio said.

Many of the districts that reported lower proficiency rates tended to be socioeconomically challenged.

Vecchio said these schools serve more diverse populations with more complex needs, including lower-income students, English language learners and special education students, and their populations face higher rates of transiency and homelessness.

“Unfortunately, we often see that districts that have a high proportion of students from multiple backgrounds have lower scores. But it doesn't have to be that way," said Jeff Smink, deputy director at The Education Trust-New York, an education policy and advocacy group based in Manhattan. "The research is clear that most students can do well when they get the right support. … I think in Long Island, it's really doubling down and figuring out how to support multi-language learners, Latinx students."

***

The final building demolition in Riverhead’s town square project got underway Friday to the soundtrack of the Andy Williams Christmas classic, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that a Caterpillar demolition excavator began shredding the rear facade of the two-story brick building at 127 East Main Street at 12:39 p.m., drawing cheers and applause from the crowd of assembled officials and stakeholders.

The building will be fully razed within a couple of weeks, developer and builder Joe Petrocelli said following Friday’s noon ceremony he attended as an onlooker.

“We have to do some soil testing. The piles will be 70 feet deep,” Petrocelli said, pointing to a giant drill rig parked on the site. “In three or four months we’ll be ready to start construction, which will take about a year,” he said.

“We’re so excited we got the Hilton,” Petrocelli said of the five-story boutique hotel and condominium project planned for the east side of the town square. The Peconic River Hotel will join Hilton’s Tapestry Collection and is expected to open in spring/summer 2027, Petrocelli’s organization said in a press release issued prior to this past Friday’s ceremony.

***

Across America including snowy New York, rabbis awoke on Sunday morning and reached for their phones, only to learn of an attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, that left at least 15 people dead. And with the first evening of the holiday still approaching in the United States, they were left to determine how to respond, both spiritually and practically, to violence that several said was shocking — but not particularly surprising. By noon yesterday, many of the rabbis contacted by The New York Times had communicated with congregants, sending messages of sadness and hope, and drawing connections between the attack and Hanukkah, a holiday that celebrates the Jewish people’s resilience in the face of adversity.

Rabbi Rafi Spitzer, 35, of Schenectady, New York was up late on Saturday when he learned the news. “It’s hard to ignore the feeling of being under siege,” Rabbi Spizter said. His Conservative synagogue, Congregation Agudat Achim, is already in touch with local law enforcement officials and the F.B.I. about its scheduled holiday events. “We already had a security plan that was more extensive than anything we’d done before,” he said, “because it already was the case that that felt necessary.”

Jonah E. Bromwich reports in THE NY TIMES that N.Y.P.D. commissioner, Jessica Tisch, said at a news conference yesterday that there would be increased security for Hanukkah-related gatherings in the city.

“This is not an isolated incident,” she said of the Australia attack. “It is part of a wider assault on Jewish life. Jewish communities are being forced to confront a threat that is persistent, adaptive and, as evidenced yet again today, global in scope.”

Sag Harbor adopts proposal requiring construction protocol on historic houses

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0400

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***

Particle pollution in New York City decreased significantly since congestion pricing tolls went into effect in January and had a "spillover" benefit to Long Island, researchers at Cornell University found — a result that proponents cited as a significant success for the program. The effects were found not just within the congestion zone below 60th Street in Manhattan, but in all five boroughs and, to a lesser extent, the surrounding metropolitan region. Timothy Fraser, the lead author of the study, told Newsday that particle pollution on Long Island declined by nearly 10% as drivers changed their routes or took public transportation. That improvement in air quality was almost exactly the same as in the outer boroughs.

Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that New York City was the first in the United States to introduce tolls to reduce gridlock and air pollution and raise funds for its public transportation agency, a strategy that has been implemented in London, Milan, Stockholm and Singapore. The rules went into effect in January after decades of study and in spite of vigorous opposition from officials in suburban New Jersey and Long Island. Opponents have argued that the toll — $9 for most vehicles driving in the zone during peak hours — would add an additional expense for a region struggling with its high cost of living. Contrary to expectations, the tolls have not diverted car and truck traffic, and their emissions, to the outer boroughs.

Congestion pricing has faced opposition from the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation which rescinded federal approval for it earlier this year. But a federal judge in June imposed a preliminary injunction keeping the program alive.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a press event yesterday that the program has been "wildly successful." Since the program began, 20 million fewer cars have entered the zone, Hochul said. For those who do drive, she added, "coming from Long Island and the Hudson Valley, your ride is faster."

***

A New York State Supreme Court Justice has sided with a Greenport hotel that had been denied an application for a 14-room expansion by the Southold Town Zoning Board of Appeals. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that North Road Hotel LLC, the owners of the property doing business as the Hotel Moraine on Route 48 in Greenport, filed an Article 78 proceeding on May 20, 2025 against the Town of Southold’s Zoning Board of Appeals, stating the April 2025 denial of their application for a lot area variance and special exception permit for the additional rooms was “illegal, arbitrary and capricious.” The hotel had been planning to build a new building, which would contain ten of the units, and expand an existing building by four units. This project was exempt from a townwide moratorium on new hotel development in effect through June of 2026. In his Nov. 17 decision, Justice James F. Matthews agreed that the ZBA’s determinations “were arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion due to the lack of evidentiary basis to support its findings, which are internally inconsistent in numerous respects.” The town appealed the decision on Nov. 19, and on Dec. 2, the Southold Town Board approved the hiring of the firm Devitt, Spellman, Barrett, LLP to act as Special Counsel in its appeal.

***

The North Fork Community Theatre Holiday Concerts are this weekend on Saturday at 6:30 pm and Sunday at 2:30 pm with free admission to these performances. The North Fork Community Theatre is on Old Sound Avenue in Mattituck.

The public is welcome to join NFCT for a free holiday concert and open house tomorrow and Sunday.

Following the open house and family activities, Dina Mondello will lead a talented group of musicians to bring you seasonal and holiday favorites. Tickets are free and available at the door, with open seating.

Each date includes family activities preceding the concert.

Saturday:

5 p.m.: Pictures with Santa and Open House
Ugly Sweater Parade
6:30 p.m.: Holiday Concert and Snowball Fight
7:15 p.m.: Voting/Intermission
7:30 p.m.: Contest Results, Concert continues

Sunday:

1 p.m.: Pictures with Santa and Open House
Ugly Sweater Parade
2:30 p.m.: Holiday Concert and Snowball Fight
3:15 p.m.: Voting/Intermission
3:30 p.m.: Contest Results, Concert continues

Performances are set for: Saturday, December 13, at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 14, 2:30 p.m. in The North Fork Community Theatre on Old Sound Avenue in Mattituck.

***

The stories are almost commonplace: People seeing dumpsters full of old windows, doors and trim outside historic houses in Sag Harbor that are being renovated. Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that this past Tuesday, the Sag Harbor Village Board adopted a proposal that it hopes will help put an end to that practice. It will require the owner of a historic house to complete a construction protocol and preservation plan before undertaking any major renovation. That document could be a few sentences or several pages long, depending on the type of work being considered. The amendment requires that the plan outlines “with specificity the detailed preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and/or reconstruction plan.” The amendment directs homeowners to outline how the work complies with the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for the treatment of historic properties. The plan requires “the identification, retention, and preservation of historic building materials and features of the historic building.” The new requirement would apply to the 698 buildings that are listed as “contributing structures” to the village historic district. “I personally feel this law is needed to put some teeth into the ARB and the Building Department,” said Sag Harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella.

The board also introduced a new law that will require the owners of vacant storefronts be required to maintain window displays and not paper their windows over or otherwise block them. The board is taking the action as more seasonal shops take over spaces in the village and close them in the off-season, often covering the windows with brown paper. A hearing on the law will be held on January 13 in Sag Harbor.

***

An alleged theft crew has been accused of stealing $2.2 million worth of merchandise from 128 Home Depot stores, including 14 on Long Island, working as a team to hit the stores daily for several months, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.

Maureen Mullarkey reports in NEWSDAY that as part of a 780-count indictment, 11 of the 13 defendants were arraigned on Wednesday and charged with fourth-degree conspiracy and variously charged with first-degree grand larceny, first-degree criminal possession of stolen property and other crimes, a statement said.

One defendant remained at large, and another will be arraigned at a later date.

"Working with our partners at the New York State Police, we brought this brazen operation to a halt," Katz said in a statement. Katz said the crew conducted 319 thefts at 128 separate Home Depot stores in New York and eight other states and even "took breaks for lunch and dinner" from their operation and "sometimes hit the same Home Depot up to four times in one day." Between Aug. 14, 2024, and Sept. 11, 2025, the theft crew, led by Armando Diaz, 52, of Flushing, met almost daily at 5:30 a.m. in a parking lot at 57th Avenue and Hoffman Drive in East Elmhurst to prepare for the day's "hits," according to the investigation.

The ring systematically stole merchandise throughout the day, with a Long Island woman allegedly serving as the lookout in parking lots, the prosecutor said.

The locations of Home Depots to be targeted were determined by a review of merchandise in each store as shown on the retailer’s website and app. The crew then drove to those stores in Diaz’s van and a lookout vehicle, the indictment said.

Three Long Island locations targeted were among the top eight stores in terms of the worth of goods stolen, prosecutors said, including Westbury, $60,704.87; Farmingdale, $69,353.56; and Bay Shore, $81,635.49.

Once the theft crew had the day’s haul, items were sold to five fences, or black market retailers, and exchanged in a Bronx parking lot, authorities said.

The stolen items were then resold to consumers through a Brooklyn storefront or on Facebook Marketplace, Katz said.

***

Three years ago, singer, songwriter, performer Nancy Atlas started passing around a bucket at her shows, looking for donations that could help her enrich the lives of young and aspiring musicians at local schools. Just last week, Atlas formalized her charitable efforts, launching an official nonprofit called Atlas for the Arts that will support young musicians on the East End. “The East End has always been a mecca for the arts, throughout generations and generations, and I think it’s incredibly important to have the conversation about nurturing our younger children so that they can continue to carry the torch,” she said. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the idea began at the Surf Lodge, where Atlas does a weekly show on Wednesdays in the summer. She and other parents began raising money for school programs, and Atlas would pass a bucket around at her shows. When she made Atlas for the Arts official last week, the nonprofit quickly raised $55,000 in just three days. “There aren’t a ton of opportunities for our younger kids to get excited about, so we’re going to be creating them,” Atlas said. Ultimately, the goal is to have a mentorship program that would boost the vibrant artistic community in the area, but for the moment Atlas plans to continue her fundraising efforts. Atlas described the past three years as a grassroots effort that has since blossomed into a full nonprofit. “It’s been a very organic, natural progression of three years of grassroots funding, and it was time to grow up and become a proper nonprofit,” she said. For the past two years, the efforts of Atlas and other parents helped raise money for students in the jazz band to join their peers in the Kiwanis Club and go to Hershey Park — something music teachers had long wanted to see happen. “That might seem like a very little thing, but if you can get kids excited about anything other than their phones right now, that is a complete win,” she said.

***

A Zoning Board hearing on two routine variance requests last night turned into a marathon scrutiny of every aspect of a proposed cannabis cultivation operation on Calverton farmland. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that residents opposed to the plan packed the Riverhead Town Hall meeting room where the hearing went on for more than two hours before the board closed it and reserved its decision to its next meeting on Jan 8.

As residents filled the room and lined up to speak, the discussion repeatedly shifted to questions that typically arise during Planning Board site plan review — and to a threshold question raised by residents about whether the proposal should even be treated as a “greenhouse” use in the APZ district.

The “Brother Bear Canna” proposal is under review by the Planning Board because site plan approval is required for permanent greenhouses in the Agricultural Protection Zone (APZ) district. Planning Department staff have described the site as a residential parcel improved with a two-story single-family residence and barn structures, in a surrounding area that includes single-family homes and two large 55-and-over communities, Windcrest East and Foxwood Village, as well as a 41-acre Riverhead Town-owned open space parcel.

Zoning Board of Appeals member John Porchia peppered the applicant’s representative, Tony Kieffer of Arch Solar, its engineer Jerry D’Amaro and its attorney John Anzalone with questions about the need for an eight-foot deer fence and potential odors associated with the cultivation process.

Residents urged Zoning Board members to make use interpretation, arguing that the proposal is 'vertical farming,' which is not an allowed use in the Agricultural Protection Zone.

After extended testimony and board questioning, the ZBA voted to close the hearing and reserved its decision to its next meeting, which is scheduled for Jan. 8.

The Planning Board’s review of the site plan is ongoing, and Riverhead Town staff have noted other approvals will be required, including from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services Office of Wastewater Management and several town departments.

Proposed legislation would close loophole for drivers under influence of drugs

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0400

Three years ago, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended New York join most of the rest of the country by closing a gap in state law that advocates say permits drugged drivers to walk free. At a Manhattan symposium yesterday, prosecutors and state lawmakers said 2026 could be the year.

Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that New York is one of just four states — the others are Alaska, Florida and Massachusetts — to require law enforcement to name the drug and for it to be on a statutorily established list of controlled substances before they can charge someone with driving under the influence.

While alcohol remains the leading cause of impaired driving, drugged driving is a growing threat, according to the NTSB. State data showed about a quarter of Long Island’s fatal crashes had a “drug-involved driver” in 2023. Authorities in Nassau and Suffolk and across New York have called the state’s current approach unwieldy as law enforcement officers encounter drivers under the influence of synthetic drugs like bromazolam, xylazine and propofol, along with hundreds of more obscure varieties that are created every year.

“We now have synthetic drugs, created in labs, continually being changed and peddled on our streets,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told those gathered for Wednesday’s symposium including families of people killed in crashes with drugged drivers. A bill now in the NYS Legislature, introduced last March but amended this week, would expand the legal basis of intoxication from alcohol to other drugs, including those not on the state list or those not able to be identified.

Hundreds of new drugs are created every year, Tierney said. “There is no list that could hope to keep up.”

The proposed legislation would update state law on field testing for drugged driving to include the use of tests that screen for multiple types of drugs and make refusal to take a test a traffic infraction.

Earlier versions of the bill failed to pass in the 2021-22 and 2023-24 legislative sessions.

Tierney said the current version, sponsored by state Sen. Christopher Ryan, a Democrat, who represents a district outside Syracuse, includes “safeguards” that could ease passage this time. They include an exception to the bill for drivers having a medical emergency or allergic reaction and a provision requiring collection of data on the number of stops, arrests and convictions made under the bill, along with demographic data, which Tierney said would be analyzed to determine whether minority motorists are subject to an inordinate number of traffic stops.

The bill also includes a five-year sunset clause, which Tierney said would give lawmakers an opportunity to review its effectiveness.

***

The Pierson High School doors were opened to parents and residents on Tuesday night for a community forum meant to inform them about an upcoming vote on a bond referendum, scheduled for January 22, 2026, that would fund a large-scale $40 million facilities improvement project. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that if approved, the bond will allow the district to greatly enhance multiple learning environments at the school and create new ones for students, while also presenting new opportunities for the community at large.

The projected average monthly cost to Sag Harbor homeowners is $7.37 over the life of the 30-year bond. The project would allow for the building of a new high school gymnasium, to replace the current gym, which has not been upgraded since it was built in 1967; a new and improved space for the school’s Robotics Club, which is currently housed in a windowless basement room that was formerly a closet; a brand new marine science lab, a facility that has been present for years at nearby schools like Southampton and Westhampton Beach; additional classroom space for musical instruction, which is currently lacking; an upgraded technology and woodshop room; upgraded HVAC units in the gymnasium and other areas of need; a new recording and streaming studio; and a new fitness and weight room that would be open for use by the community as well.

Sag Harbor Superintendent of Schools Jeff Nichols said that the proposed bond and price tag of $40 million is a one-shot deal; there won’t be another ask for a second round of funding…adding that the architect chosen for the project was chosen specifically because of a reputation for bringing projects in at or under budget. If approved, the project would begin in summer 2027, with expected completion in the spring of 2029.

For more information about the project, including taxpayer impact, more details on the proposed plans, and voter registration information, visit sagharborschools.org.

***

The Cutchogue Fire Department along with the CFD Ladies Auxiliary and the North Fork Chamber of Commerce announce that Santa Claus will be arriving at the Cutchogue Firehouse by helicopter this coming Saturday morning, December 13th as part of the Annual Christmas in Cutchogue celebration. Festivities will begin at 9:30 am at the firehouse with a children’s magic show and refreshments served by the CFD Ladies Auxiliary. At 10:30 am Saturday Santa will arrive at the firehouse as he whirly birds in on a special Christmas helicopter. From the firehouse, he will be escorted by firetruck through the village to the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library where he will spend the morning visiting with the children. The community is invited. Saturday morning’s event is free.

This annual tradition was put on pause for the past 2 years due to the Cutchogue Fire Department’s new firehouse construction.

***

New York and the other member states of the Northeast Public Health Collaborative continue to recommend hepatitis B vaccines for infants and children, despite the recent votes of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

“The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) votes do not change vaccination practices within our member jurisdictions,” the collaborative said in a press release yesterday.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the vaccine advisory committee last week voted to recommend hepatitis B at birth only for infants born to women who test positive for the virus, or whose status is unknown. Women whose hepatitis B status is negative should talk with their doctors about vaccination, the recommendation says.

If the committee’s recommendation is approved by CDC Acting Director Jim O’Neill, it will reverse a universal recommendation to start hepatitis B immunization at birth that’s been in place for more than 30 years. The standard immunization practice is credited with dramatically reducing liver diseases caused by hepatitis B.

“Many health care providers—including doctors, medical societies, city and state health departments, and regional health alliances—are rejecting unscientific vaccine recommendations from an influential federal advisory panel, and instead will continue following guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics,” the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy said in a statement.

The Northeast Public Health Collaborative continues to recommend that all newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine birth dose within 24 hours of delivery. Newborns born to birth parents who test positive for hepatitis B infection or have an unknown status should still be vaccinated within 12 hours of birth, the collaborative said.

Additionally, all children should still complete the full vaccination series within 18 months. The Collaborative does not recommend use of a serology test to determine whether the full vaccine series should be given.

These recommendations align with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule and reflect a previously released scientific consensus statement from the Northeast Public Health Collaborative.

The Northeast Public Health Collaborative is a voluntary coalition of public health agencies working together to share expertise, improve coordination, enhance capacity, strengthen regional readiness, and protect evidence-based public health in various member jurisdictions.

The collaborative includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and New York City.

***

The Southampton Town Board is considering creating a new “floating zone” overlay district that could allow new small hotels to be built in highway business zones around the town, at the sole discretion of the board. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that current town code has effectively barred the construction of new hotels and motels by limiting development to a maximum of four units per acre of land. Southampton Town Attorney James Burke called it “completely unfeasible” to even consider building a hotel or motel under existing rules. Accordingly, the number of hotels and motels, and affordable short-term lodging options for visitors, has dwindled in recent decades, as many motels were converted to permanent low-income housing — often with problematic overcrowding, squalor and quality-of-life issues for surrounding neighborhoods. The owners of two Riverhead hotels came to the Town Board earlier this year asking that the town “tweak” the zoning regulations for the highway business zone to allow a hotel to be built on a Hampton Bays property that for decades has been home to the famous summer party spot the Boardy Barn. The proposal was generally well received, both among community members and town officials. But planners said they worried that making the changes to the code that the developers’ attorneys had suggested may risk sparking a flourish of new hotel projects. Southampton Town’s planning administrator, Janice Scherer, said that the zoning overlay would allow the town to accept or reject a proposal at any stage and would give them the power to limit development as seen fit to suit a neighborhood or hamlet. Whereas the town’s Planning Board only has the power to review a proposal and decide whether it fits pre-determined criteria for being acceptable, the Town Board would be able to be more subjective in their consideration and discretion about what should or shouldn’t be allowed.

***

Riverhead Town’s 2026 shotgun-hunting lottery will take place this coming Monday, Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in Riverhead Town Hall.

The lottery is open to Town of Riverhead residents and real property owners only. All participants must show proper identification and a current New York State hunting license at the lottery. Hunters must be in attendance in order to secure a hunting date and location.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the special firearms deer season on Long Island, authorized by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, begins on Sunday, Jan. 4 and continues through Jan. 31, 2026.

The Riverhead Town Board authorized both the lottery and shotgun hunting for deer on certain town-owned properties at its Dec. 2 meeting.

Town property where shotgun hunting will be allowed, by lottery, comprises certain designated lands within the Calverton Enterprise Park and at 1751 Sound Avenue in Calverton. The lands, dates and time slots for hunters will be determined by the Dec. 15th lottery.

Hunters must have in their possession while hunting a valid state hunting license, a big game tag and the landowner endorsement from the town demonstrating authorization to hunt on town property.

EPCAL, including the recreation path, but excluding that portion of land improved as the Peconic Hockey facility together with a 120-foot buffer from surrounding the hockey facility, will be closed to the public for the month of January. The property at 1751 Sound Avenue will also be closed to the public.

***

As recently as last year, New York was considered a trailblazer in tackling climate change. With aggressive laws on the books, the state had planned to nearly eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.

But New York’s environmental agenda, as embodied in its landmark 2019 climate law, has stalled under the watch of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has said that political and economic conditions have shifted and the state has had to adapt.

Hilary Howard reports in THE NY TIMES that the governor, a Democrat, is now dealing with a president who is hostile to renewable energy and has called climate change a “con job.” She is among the many governors around the country grappling with an affordability crisis, with fast-rising utility bills a main complaint. And she faces soaring energy demands, with electricity experts warning of a possible shortfall in New York City as soon as next summer.

The governor has said that “we need to govern in reality.” Her priority now is “to keep the lights and heat on and rates down for New Yorkers,” said Ken Lovett, Ms. Hochul’s senior communications adviser on energy and environment.

Some critics of the governor, however, say that such reasoning is shortsighted in the face of the existential threat of climate change. Environmental activists and some officials in her own party have accused Ms. Hochul of abandoning the state’s climate law for politically expedient reasons; the governor faces a re-election bid next year.

“We’re in a moment where it’s incredibly important for New York State to lead on energy affordability and climate,” said Liz Moran, a New York policy advocate for Earthjustice, an environmental nonprofit. “Unfortunately over the past year, we’ve seen the governor run toward the opposite direction.”

While some business leaders support the governor’s push to use more natural gas and nuclear energy to supply the state’s grid, critics say that her focus on affordability has shaped several policy decisions that have undermined the state’s climate goals.

In a poll this year, most New Yorkers surveyed said they believed that keeping energy costs low was more important than decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Details on "toxic working environment" at Bridgehampton School come out

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0400

In a second try vote yesterday Montauk School District residents voted to approve renovations to Montauk School by passing a pair of referendums – one for a $34.8 million bond, the other for a $2.9 million savings expenditure. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the former passed in a vote of 508-262, and voters approved the latter in a vote of 546-160, both of which mean turnout was about 100 voters higher than in the spring, when the community sunk a $38 million bond in a vote of 361-318 and the same $2.9 million savings expenditure in a vote of 342-334. When that measure failed earlier this year, school district officials regrouped and ironed out the more modest $34.8 million plan, which they said was a better overall plan, even outside the cost reduction. Now passed, district officials have the green light to pursue a string of renovations, which will entail a new gymnasium, HVAC upgrades and the removal of a set of portable classrooms – essentially double-wide trailers – that date back to the 1970s and are at least 20 years past their expected lifespan. Next will be the planning phases, and Montauk School District Superintendent Josh Odom said the community will continue to be involved in that conversation, which will see officials work out the nuts and bolts of the renovations before they send plans up to the state for approval. Then the project will go to bid, and during a series of workshops in the weeks leading up to the vote, Odom said he hopes to see construction begin in advance of the school’s 100th anniversary in 2027, with completion ideally coming in 2028.

***

Heavy tree-clearing equipment rolled onto the roughly 4.13-acre lot on Marsden Street in Sag Harbor last week to prepare the site for the construction of four houses proposed by developer Matthew Pantofel and approved by the Sag Harbor Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review earlier this year.

Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that Pantofel bought the property right across the street from Pierson High School, which had already been subdivided into four lots, from its owner, Pat Trunzo, after voters turned down a proposal to purchase the land for the Sag Harbor School District in May 2023. He and his representatives appeared before the board several times over several months, tweaking the designs of the four large houses he wanted to build on the site. In the end, despite the objection of several neighbors, the board approved all four houses, as well as a landscaping plan for the entire site that allowed Pantofel to remove virtually every tree on the property in exchange for replanting with trees and shrubs. Sag harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella said he “was horrified about what happened” when he drove past the site last week. He added that his daughter had seen a large number of squirrels running around the property “in a panic” after numerous trees were knocked down. But he added that the development of the property was largely a done deal after Southampton Town backed away from a plan to spend $6 million from the Community Preservation Fund to purchase the property with the school district, and voters rejected a referendum that the school district put up on its own. “What was the alternative?” he asked. “What did they think was going to happen?”

***

The Peconic Baykeeper and the Peconic Estuary Partnership host their monthly Watershed Walk at the Seal Haul Out Trail at Montauk Point this coming Friday at 10 a.m. You’re invited to join Peconic Baykeeper and Peconic Estuary Partnership for their fourth year of the Winter Watershed Walk Series! Friday’s walk features four new and different locations around the Peconic Estuary. This is a great chance to learn more about the coastal habitats in the watershed. Walks are open to all ages, please register ahead of time so we may contact you in the event of a cancellation or rescheduling. This event is Free. The next Winter Watershed Walk is this coming Friday, December 12th 10:00am- 11:00am at Montauk Point Trail – Seal Haul Out Trail. Driving instructions and parking details will be sent out prior to the walk.

Questions contact: alexa@peconicbaykeeper.org or valerie.virgona@stonybrook.edu

***

Bridgehampton School Teachers Association co-leaders Joseph Pluta and Caitlin Hansen in late November described a “toxic working environment” at the K through 12 school. This week, they came forward with specifics — laying the blame directly at the feet of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mary T. Kelly, in the midst of negotiations over a new contract after the previous one expired at the end of the last school term. The teachers have been working without a new contract, carrying on under the terms of the old contract, since June. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that Bridgehampton teachers showed up en masse at the School Board meeting in November, in matching union shirts, and have been outspoken recently about what they say are their struggles. “The main reason why we’re unifying and wearing the shirts and making more of a presence at the meetings is more so about the hostile work environment,” Pluta said earlier this week. That has been the “bigger concern,” he said, than the inability to ink a new contract. Pluta gave Superintendent Kelly credit for work she’s done in the Bridgehampton School District to increase services and add new programs for students. But he said that, as time went on, he and Hansen had started to hear from teachers about “concerning behavior” from her, particularly in meetings. “She has said she has an open-door policy, and that’s absolutely true. But we’ve heard reports of staff going in, and they say something she doesn’t like, and they’ve been berated,” he said. “Some of them have come out in tears.” On Tuesday morning, Kelly responded to the allegations. “With respect to the allegation of a ‘hostile work environment,’ it is important to recognize that this is a legal term with a very specific definition under federal and state law,” she said. “No complaints or incidents rising to the level of a legally defined hostile work environment have occurred. “I am very disappointed by the way in which the union leadership has thrown around such language, and I strongly refute such unsubstantiated allegations.” She accused the union leadership of “adopting a markedly adversarial posture” and “promoting a negative tone, creating unnecessary alarm, and engaging in conduct that has strained relationships. “A further concern has been the union leaders’ pattern of filing grievances that lack merit and are ultimately withdrawn,” she added.

***

An undercover hidden camera investigation by an animal welfare organization documented disturbing conditions at Sportsman’s Kennels, a Manorville dog breeder. Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society, sent an investigator to work at the breeding facility for about five weeks in September and October. The investigation found sick and matted puppies with congenital health issues that were reportedly kept in "decrepit" roach- and feces-filled conditions. Several puppies were diagnosed by a veterinarian with kennel cough while others had ears filled with brownish or blackish debris or had eye and nasal discharge, the report found. "This is the exact opposite of what we expect for companion animals, and that's why it's important for organizations such as Humane World to shine a light on this," said Brian Shapiro, the group's New York State director. "This definitely falls under the category of puppy mill cruelty."

In a statement, Sportsman’s Kennels said it "strongly disputes" the allegations and said the facility employs eight full-time employees responsible for daily care, cleaning, feeding and monitoring of all animals while a licensed veterinarian visits the location on a weekly basis. Hanna Birkhead, a NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets department spokeswoman, said yesterday they're aware of the Humane World report "and take the concerns raised very seriously. We sent an unannounced inspector to the facility again today to conduct an inspection following up on the claims made." The results of that inspection were not immediately available. Sportsman’s Kennels said inspectors found no issues related to the care of the animals but that officials did raise concerns about incomplete or missing sales paperwork. Sportsman’s Kennels, which is owned by Helen Camlikades, has been listed five times on Humane World's annual Horrible Hundred report of problematic puppy breeding or puppy brokering facilities.

Late last year, a statewide law halting the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet shops statewide went into effect.

Sportsman’s Kennels, which previously operated as both a pet store and a breeding kennel, is permitted to continue selling animals directly to the public because its puppies are bred on the premises, as opposed to being brought in from out-of-state.

***

As a federal judge in Massachusetts struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order freezing all new wind-energy permits, two Long Island-centered projects continued to make advances. The judge found Trump’s January executive order freezing new wind-energy permits and leases "arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law" and vacated the order.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that last week, work to install a 106-mile cable between Long Island and the site of an offshore wind array off New England began off Smith Point in Shirley, as the developers of Sunrise Wind work toward a goal of providing power to the grid by mid-2027. All the project’s estimated 924 megawatts of energy, enough developer Orsted says to power about 600,000 homes, will come to Long Island’s grid.

Access to Smith Point beach and marina will be maintained through cable-pulling operations, though a large section of the Smith Point County Park parking lot is fenced off for the work.

***

With an urgent need to replace the crumbling Southampton Town Justice Court buildings, engineering consultants have begun drafting a long-term master plan for upgrading other town facilities on Jackson Avenue in Hampton Bays and, eventually, moving most town offices there.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the Town of Southampton has talked for decades about moving the bulk of its administration to Hampton Bays, but has never advanced the ball because of the daunting costs and logistics of decamping from the current Town Hall building in Southampton Village. But as it plans how to relocate the court — which has been housed for more than 15 years in what were supposed to be temporary trailer buildings — and the headquarters for the Southampton Town Police Department, the town has the opportunity to reimagine the Jackson Avenue complex in a way that would allow it to use the new court building and police station as the jumping-off point to start consolidating town departments there and lay the groundwork for a gradual shift of facilities to Hampton Bays. “There’s a lot of property there, it does not seem to be well laid out, and we all know the justice court needs to be replaced, the police department needs to be replaced, so why not take a look at the whole property and see what we can do?” Supervisor Maria Moore said. Southampton Town engineers and the design consultants the town has hired to draft the master plan, Arcadis, said that envisioning everything the town may someday want to do at the property is an important first step before deciding where and how to refresh the court and police headquarters. Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara said the board resolving to move all of the town’s offices to the west would seem to be “abandoning” the eastern half of town. But Councilman Bill Pell said he saw it more likely the town would keep a presence in the Southampton Village area. “I don’t think we’d abandon the eastern half. We have sub-offices now in Hampton Bays … so we’d just switch that. Maybe we’d sell this building and get something small on this side of town.”

Tariffs on imports increase costs of holiday decorations

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0400

U.S. tariffs on imports of artificial Christmas trees have led to higher retail prices and more consumers reusing the artificial trees they already have at home or buying real trees, which generally are cheaper than artificial trees, retailers said. The retail costs of artificial trees and other holiday décor have increased by 10% to 15% this year, according to Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association. There is a 30% tariff on imports of artificial Christmas trees from China, which accounts for 87% of the artificial trees sold in the United States, she said.

The price of a small, basic artificial tree will range from about $60 to $100 this year, while a standard artificial tree, at 6½ or 7 feet tall, will be $150 to $250.

A pre-lit artificial tree with realistic foliage, fullness or extra features will run from $250 to $500, Warner said.

Tory N. Parrish reports in NEWSDAY that most of the Christmas trees Americans purchase — 83% — are artificial.

Most real Christmas trees sold in the United States are grown here, with Oregon being the top-producing state, said Marsha Gray, executive director of the Real Christmas Tree Board, a Michigan-based promotional group funded by Christmas tree growers in North America.

It’s too soon to know whether there will be a huge surge in sales of real trees due to the tariffs on artificial trees, she said.

"I think a lot of my industry is hopeful that they see that ... but until the numbers are really crunched, it’s hard to know. But I think our industry is prepared for a strong season," she said.

But wholesale tree growers have indicated that they don’t intend to raise prices this year.

A survey of 43 wholesale growers, representing at least half the U.S. real Christmas tree market, found that 84% do not plan to raise wholesale prices for the upcoming season, according to the Real Christmas Tree Board's annual survey released in September.

***

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is set to announce his bid for New York governor today — facing off against Rep. Elise Stefanik for the GOP nomination. Craig McCarthy and Vaughn Golden report in THE NY POST that Blakeman is expected to formally declare his candidacy this morning, following weeks of speculation over whether the Long Island pol, a longtime friend of President Trump, would take the fight to Stefanik, a prominent White House ally.

“Bruce will focus on making Empire State more affordable and safer while putting New York first,” a source told THE POST.

Speculation has been swirling over whether Trump will weigh in on the race and endorse a Republican nominee in next year’s primary to face off against Democrat incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Asked if he’d support either one of his allies, Stefanik or Blakeman, yesterday, Trump stayed neutral.

“She’s great. He’s also great,” he said.

“Well, I’ll think about it,” Trump added when asked whether he would endorse either gubernatorial hopeful.

“He’s great and she’s great. They’re both great people. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party,” Trump said. Congresswoman Stefanik has been scrambling to consolidate support amongst party bigwigs since Blakeman first publicly revealed he was seriously considering throwing his hat in the ring after he handily won reelection as Nassau County executive last month.

Early polling shows that Stefanik is a clear early favorite over Blakeman in a GOP primary. Stefanik’s team immediately went on the offensive last night, accusing the Nassau exec of working with Democrats and running to stroke his ego. “Bruce has no shot and is putting his raging ego first and New Yorkers last as he blows up the best opportunity in a generation to Save New York,” Stefanik campaign spokesperson Bernadette Breslin wrote in a statement.

***

Students, civic groups, environmentalists and representatives from the Town of Southampton got together on Saturday to plant beach grass at Long Beach in Sag Harbor, in the hopes the plantings will help to catch and build up sand on the beach and prevent it from blowing into the parking lot. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Southampton Town Parks and Recreation Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program, the Noyac Civic Council, and members of the Pierson High School Environmental Club partnered on this project, which also involved distributing “SEAd bombs,” a mix of clay, soil, and native seeds, into upland areas, where they will bloom into a mix of annual and perennial pollinators, and establish strong root systems to help prevent erosion at Long Beach in Sag Harbor, New York.

***

Low-oxygen areas in Long Island Sound dropped last summer to the smallest footprint recorded in nearly 40 years, according to data from Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that the Connecticut agency monitors dissolved oxygen levels at 48 stations in the Sound through the summer months, including in Long Island bays and along North Shore beaches. Hypoxic zones in Long Island Sound extended to 18.34 square miles, the largest area for the year, for three days in July, per Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

That was the smallest hypoxic area recorded since 1987, when the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and other participants in the Long Island Sound Study, now the Long Island Sound Partnership, started collecting data.

"This is great news," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale. "This is what happens when you have reliable funding, meaningful collaboration, strong public support, and good science — all working together."

Low-oxygen zones, also known as "dead zones," develop in warm, nutrient-rich waters, which encourage the runaway growth of algae. When that biomass dies, it sinks to the ocean floor and decomposes, consuming oxygen. Low levels of dissolved oxygen inhibits the growth of clams, oysters and scallops, Chris Gobler, a professor of coastal ecology at Stony Brook University, found. If oxygen levels fall very low, fish, crustaceans and shellfish can't live in those water and may suffocate and die in large numbers.

Researchers at the University of Connecticut note that continued progress will be necessary to keep up with a warming planet. Even if the amount of nitrogen in the Sound stays at present levels, warming oceans will encourage more algal growth, and deplete oxygen levels, since warm water can't hold as much dissolved gases as cold.

Clean water projects in the Sound have benefited over the years from federal funding to the Long Island Sound Partnership, which increased from $1 million in 1985 to $40 million last year. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said he is "very concerned" that this funding could be in jeopardy, considering large cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency.

***

Southampton Town Police have arrested an elderly Riverside man who they say was running a “walk-up” drug distribution business out of his house on Old Riverhead Road. As reported on 27east.com, John Woods, 83, was arrested by officers of the East End Drug Task Force this past Friday, December 5, and charged with two felony drug possession charges. He was arraigned in Southampton Town Justice Court, but the charges will be referred to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office to seek a felony indictment in county criminal court. Police say they had been getting numerous complaints from residents of his neighborhood about drug use on the street that seemed to be emanating from the property at 110 Old Riverhead Road. After an investigation by the drug task force, which combines the expertise of county investigators and several local police departments, the Southampton Town Police got a search warrant for the property. The town’s emergency services unit, a specialized detail of officers, raided the home Friday morning and arrested Woods. The raid turned up 17 knotted plastic baggies of crack cocaine, slightly more than $3,000 cash and four cell phones. He is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree with the intent to sell, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, both felonies. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

***

In Riverhead through the next few months, pedestrians, workers and shoppers walking from the Peconic River parking lot to Main Street through a 100-foot-long alleyway will experience a unique public art installation. Deborah Wetzel reports on Riverheadlocal.com that illuminated in flowing shades of blue and white neon, a 42-foot-long steel and aluminum LED replica of a North Atlantic Right Whale and a swimmer will be suspended on two arches on the two dark red brick walls, a work of art that officials hope will create a pedestrian friendly environment while expanding Riverhead Town’s goal of emphasizing local talent. The grant money for the project of $40,000 came together last year with a Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Grant for $16,730 coupled with a town match of $10,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding and $13,262 from the Business Improvement District Management Association. The funding allowed neon artist Clayton Orehek of Riverhead to begin designing last summer, creating art seeking to give the walkway a new look and feel. Riverhead Town Grants Analyst Frank Messina believes the project “also will enhance safety.” Several of Orehek’s other colorful illuminated sculptures have made their home in Grangebel Park in Riverhead.

***

Montauk residents are being asked today to vote on a nearly $35 million bond proposal that would pay for the renovation and expansion of the district’s K-8 school building and the construction of a home for future superintendents. Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that the project, which would give rise to a two-story annex housing a new gymnasium and space for science classes, as well as reconfigure the existing building’s layout, is the largest the district has seen in 25 years, according to principal and superintendent Joshua Odom. The nearly century-old main building lacks the space to run athletics and performing arts programming simultaneously, and some infrastructure installed decades ago have stretched beyond its expiration date, Odom told NEWSDAY.

The Montauk community narrowly voted down a similar bond measure on May 20, but the district has since altered the renovation plans and reduced the price by around 10% to $34.87 million, Odom said. The cost to the average taxpayer, with a home worth just over $1.5 million, for the 20-year bond will be approximately $30 a month.

In addition to the bond referendum, Montauk School District residents are being asked to approve a $2.9 million capital savings project. These improvements — which will not raise taxes, according to a legal notice — will address "HVAC, electrical, carbon monoxide and security system upgrades, replace interior doors and construct ADA improvements."

Residents can cast their votes today from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Montauk Public School's gymnasium, 50 S. Dorset Drive, Montauk, N.Y. 11954

For further info regarding the Montauk School Renovation Project / Bond Referendum visit the district’s website at montaukschool.org

Southampton plans zoning overlay for affordable housing projects

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0400

During his daily commute to Ronkonkoma over the years, Melville resident Jeff Redelman has seen a steady rise of drivers speeding, following too closely and weaving between lanes. But he said he hasn't seen enough drivers pulled over. "There's never any enforcement," he said, adding he notices far more police whenever he travels upstate to visit his daughter in Binghamton. Peter Gill reports in NEWSDAY that experts generally agree police enforcement is an essential part of ensuring traffic safety, along with better infrastructure, road design and education. A Newsday analysis found for years, police in Suffolk County have issued significantly fewer dangerous-driving tickets than other parts of New York when adjusted for traffic, though their numbers have been rising. Commissioner Kevin Catalina of the Suffolk County police — the largest police department in the county, whose roughly 2,500 officers patrol the five western towns — said he has made traffic enforcement a priority since taking the lead of the department earlier this year. He's expanded the highway patrol 30% and told all officers that traffic enforcement is important for career advancement, he said. Suffolk regularly leads the state in total traffic fatalities, and although deaths have been falling after surging during the pandemic, total crashes have remained roughly steady and serious injuries have increased, both in Suffolk and statewide. Catalina said he doesn’t believe Newsday’s comparison of ticketing in Suffolk to other areas is appropriate because every place has a unique roadway system and a different balance between traffic safety and broader public safety needs. “I think what we need to do is compare Suffolk County to Suffolk County,” he said, adding that his department's year-to-date ticketing numbers in 2025 are up more than one-third above the same period in 2024 for speeding and aggressive driving. "I think we're certainly going in the right direction."

***

The Suffolk County Water Authority has deemed itself exempt from local review of its proposed North Fork Pipeline, as Southold Town officials announced Tuesday that the town plans to hold its own “Monroe Balancing Test” on whether the easternmost portion of the project should be subject to local review. A Monroe Balancing Test is a nine-point test to determine whether a large project should be exempt from review by local land use boards. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Town of Riverhead has already conducted its own Monroe Balancing Test on Phase 1 of the project, an 8.5-mile stretch of pipeline under roads that are primarily in Riverhead Town, and found in October that the project was not exempt from local review, setting the town in direct conflict with the Water Authority’s position. The Suffolk County Water Authority found in favor of itself in its own Monroe Balancing Test on Nov. 20, issuing a resolution that “SCWA is immune from zoning and land use regulations, including, but not limited to the towns of Southampton, Riverhead and Southold in connection with the project,” according to a resolution posted on its North Fork Pipeline webpage. “The Suffolk County Water Authority has adopted a Monroe determination confirming that the North Fork Water Main Project is not subject to local zoning,” according to a statement provided to The Beacon by the Water Authority yesterday. “Public authorities are specifically designed to carry out critical infrastructure work efficiently and without municipal obstruction and imposing local zoning requirements can delay a project that directly affects public health and water reliability. SCWA, in performing its essential governmental function, has clear statutory authority to construct and operate water supply facilities, and longstanding case law supports this position. We are moving forward to ensure the delivery of reliable, high quality drinking water to our customers on the North Fork.” The project has proved highly controversial throughout the North Fork. A Water Authority spokesperson said yesterday that the DEIS is now expected to be complete by “mid to late January, 2026,” after which the Water Authority will hold public hearings and then make a final determination on the project’s environmental impact. The agency has not provided a public comment period on the final scoping document.

***

First Baptist Church of Riverhead is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and on Tuesday, the Riverhead Town Board recognized this milestone with a proclamation presented to church leaders at the start of the board’s regular meeting…calling the congregation “a community pillar where faith and community come together and all are welcome with open hearts and doors.” Supervisor Tim Hubbard praised the church’s decades of outreach, saying its work has been “phenomenal” and thanking Senior Pastor Charles Coverdale for his 44 years of service. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the proclamation stated, “The church has been devoted to supporting and improving the Riverhead community through outreach programs for the youth and families of our community. The First Baptist Church has also been active in the missions field, in support of projects locally, domestically and abroad, all in their endeavor to spread hope through the Christian principles of faith.” Today the church worships at its Northville Turnpike campus, where, under Coverdale’s more than four decades of leadership, First Baptist has expanded both its footprint and its mission. The church has hosted the long-running Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, provides prison ministry and counseling for inmates at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, operates the Open Arms Care Center food pantry and continues to advance its vision for the Family Community Life Center and Northville Commons, a community hub with housing, recreation and services for families. The church family and supporters celebrated its centennial in June with a gala banquet at Majestic Gardens in Rocky Point.

***

The Town of Southampton plans to create a new zoning overlay district specifically for affordable housing projects that it plans to subsidize with Community Housing Fund grants. The hope is that it will expedite the process for mobilizing such projects and add to the town’s supply of housing for middle-income workers and seniors. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Four housing projects that the Southampton Town Board has already pledged to fund with six- and seven-figure CHF grants are still stuck in planning and zoning limbo, and facing months or years of review and red tape to navigate zoning variances or rezoning applications before construction could begin. Housing advocates and town officials say that after the exhaustive review and community discussions that the projects have already been through to win the grant support, putting those projects — and the many more like them that will be needed in the coming years — through a second bureaucratic wringer is redundant and foolish amid an ever-deepening affordable housing crisis in the region. Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara said the bill means to create a “community housing overlay district” specifically for projects that are seeking town housing grants. “This is for projects that the town is already invested in financially,” McNamara said. “We don’t fund these projects unless they are supported by the community.” The Southampton Town Board held a public hearing on the proposal last week and will hold a second hearing session on December 9.

***

A winning second-prize ticket was sold in Mattituck for the Nov. 11 drawing of Mega Millions, the New York Lottery announced yesterday. John Valenti reports in NEWSDAY that no grand prize-winning tickets were sold in the $900 million drawing, whose winning numbers were 10, 13, 40, 42, 46 and the Mega ball 1.

The second-place consolation prize in Mega Millions is $1 million — and is affected by a built-in multiplier that makes the ticket worth $2 million, $3 million, $4 million, $5 million or $10 million. The ticket sold at NoFo Beer and Smoke at 55 Middle Rd. in Mattituck carried a 3x multiplier, making it worth $3 million.

Second-place winning tickets match all five field numbers drawn from the field of 70 white draw balls, but fail to match the yellow Mega ball drawn from a separate field of 24. Odds of matching the five numbers — but, not the Mega ball — are 1 in 12,629,232, according to the New York Lottery.

To date no one has come forward to claim the prize tied to the ticket sold in Mattituck.

NoFo manager Nil Patel told Newsday the store, which is family-owned and operated, learned of the $3 million winner the morning after the drawing — but when asked if any of his customers had come in to share news they'd won, he said: "Not yet."

"There's still someone out there with 3 million in their pocket," he said. Then, laughing, added: "Or, 1 million-something after taxes."

Patel said the store had previously sold winning tickets in various lottery drawings, but said the largest Mega winning prize ticket they'd sold was a third-prize ticket — matching four field numbers and the Mega number — worth $10,000.

"We had winners before with Mega," he said. "But never like this."

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The East Hampton Library in partnership with The Hamptons Festival of Music presents a screening of “Robert Shaw - Man of Many Voices” – followed by Q/A w/ Maestro Michael Palmer moderated by David Brandenburg.

“Narrated by David Hyde Pierce, Robert Shaw – Man of Many Voices traces the journey of one of America’s greatest choral music conductors of the 20th century.

Maestro Michael Palmer offers unique insight into Robert Shaw, who inspired generations of musicians with the power of music but was also a brilliant and complicated man.

That’s next Thursday afternoon, December 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the East Hampton Library Baldwin Room.

The event is free, donations to the Springs food pantry are greatly appreciated.

For further info and reservations visit easthamptonlibrary.org.

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The Town of Southampton plans to purchase two waterfront properties in North Sea — on West Shore Drive and on Shore Road — that could be used for public water and beach access. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Southampton Town has agreed to purchase the lots at 11 West Shore Drive and 87 Shore Road; both have small homes on them that would be razed, and the land allowed to revert to a mostly natural state — though town officials said last week that they are considering accommodating public access to the shoreline via both parcels. The agreement with the owner of 11 West Shore Drive is for the town to pay $2.2 million from the Community Preservation Fund for the half-acre parcel. The property is owned by a limited liability corporation that does not indicate who the owner of the land actually is. The property has 100 feet of shoreline on Little Peconic Bay. West Shore Drive is a private road, but town Community Preservation Fund Director Jacqueline Fenlon told the Town Board last week that once the town purchases the property, all town residents would have the right to access the lot. The Town of Southampton will also pay $1,325,000 for the shy half-acre at 87 Shore Road, which is currently owned by James Loesch. The property sits on the shore of the creek at the head of North Sea Harbor. Fenlon said the purchase is being tagged on the CPF rolls as intended for parks and open space preservation so that public access across the property will be allowed. “This is not just for preservation — we’re going to, hopefully, use it at some point,” Councilman Rick Martel said. The town heard no objections to any of the proposed purchases at its November 25 meeting and could approve the deals as soon as the Southampton Town Board meeting on December 9.