But a number of hot topic bills are still awaiting her decision, including a more restrictive moratorium on data centers than the one included in an executive order she issued earlier this summer.

Then there are bills that would require retailers to round prices to avoid using pennies, give consumers rebates for buying electric landscaping equipment and ensure a right to in-person prison visits.

Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that the NYS Legislature passed more than 750 bills during its session. Of those, Governor Hochul has signed more than 175 since the end of the session in June.

After a bill passes, Hochul’s office typically calls for bills in batches to be sent to her desk for consideration.

Hochul has often waited until late in the calendar year to consider larger or more controversial bills. Last year she didn’t sign the controversial Medical Aid in Dying bill until mid-December.

"Some have to be prioritized because there's absolute deadlines that have to occur, so there's a long process," she said during an appearance in Buffalo this summer. "We pressure test, we talk to people affected and then it comes to me for review. So, we've got some time."

Here’s some of what is left on her plate:

Data centers, Prison visits, End of pennies, Kyra’s Law, Lawn equipment, Surveillance pricing, PFAS limits, Sell-by dates, and Artificial intelligence.

***

A new, 90-day shot clock for permit issuance is currently in the works for the East Hampton Town Building Department.

What the revised code for Building Department review would do, if passed by the Town Board, is give the staff of the department 90 days to make a decision on a permit once a completed application has been submitted. If a complete application has not been reviewed within 90 days, the applicant can seek intervention from either the Town Zoning Board of Appeals or the New York State Supreme Court.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that this 90-day shot clock is a revised version of a code change that first appeared in July, which called for scrapping the timeline for permit issuance altogether. Before any code change takes effect, the law would need to go through a public hearing, which appears as though it will happen in early October — but no official date has been set. The East Hampton Town Board plans to notice the hearing on Thursday, September 3, with the tentative date for the hearing being October 1.

These new codes would add to the list of changes, including what was functionally a full overhaul, in the Building Department since early this year. Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez has worked with Suffolk County Civil Service to expand the size of the department from 10 staffers to 19 – though one position is currently vacant. Among the new positions is a principal building inspector, who will slot in below the chief building inspector.

Both the change with the timeline and that regarding certificates of occupancy, should they be passed, would take effect at the beginning of next year.

***

Riverhead Town’s acquisition of the proposed Long Island Science Center site at 111 E. Main Street is moving forward, with the Town Board’s approval yesterday of a $1.95 million appraisal of the property and its authorization to pay that sum to the owner out of the town’s general fund balance.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the Riverhead Town Board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing its attorneys to transmit the $1.95 million offer to The Place for Learning, which owns the real estate and operates the science center.

Riverhead Town on Aug. 26 obtained a court vesting order in the eminent domain proceeding. Under New York State’s Eminent Domain Procedure Law, title transfers to the town once the vesting order and acquisition map are filed with the county clerk.

The owner may accept the payment or pursue additional compensation in court, but RiverheadLOCAL found no separate court challenge to the taking itself. The property borders the town square site and has been described by town officials as integral to the downtown redevelopment plan.

***

A car jumped the curb and crashed on the sidewalk outside of El Verano restaurant in Southampton Village last week, leading to road closures and questions about the safety of outdoor dining at the restaurant.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that Southampton Village Police Chief Suzanne Hurteau said the driver’s accelerator got stuck, leading him to panic and turn the wheel before the crash, which occurred right before noon on Wednesday, August 26. Neither the driver nor the passenger were injured. Nobody else was hurt from the crash into the mostly empty outdoor dining area, though there was a family with a child sitting at a table on the opposite side of the crash. The car crashed into a large brick planter built into the sidewalk, but the building itself suffered no damage. The restaurant is on the corner of Jobs Lane and Windmill Lane, a high-volume traffic area. Hurteau said that she believes it would “probably benefit the village if they put up some type of bollards” to offer more protection. “I just think it’s a very bad corner, and it should be scaled back a little bit over there,” she said. “You always want to support the businesses, obviously. But public safety always comes first, and that corner is worrisome to me.”

Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger said that he has not spoken with Hurteau yet about it but the village can look into it more. “We can go back and look at that and have our traffic engineer looking and see what can be done to prevent people not being able to make that turn,” he said.

This weekend diners crowded the El Verano curbside area right where the car crashed last Wednesday morning.

***

Lyme disease cases increased in New York last year, with a preliminary count of 25,000 in 2025, according to New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald. McDonald visited Stony Brook’s tick-disease clinic in Hampton Bays yesterday to remind people that tick season continues into the fall and discuss the growth in tick-borne diseases. He encouraged residents to focus on personal protection against ticks by using repellents, avoiding tick-infested areas, performing tick checks regularly and keeping grass around their homes short and less tick-friendly.

Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that McDonald visited Suffolk County — an epicenter for tick-borne diseases and home to a large and active tick population — to meet with doctors and scientists who collect and examine ticks, provide treatment and perform research on Long Island.

Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, said there is a "dangerous misconception" that tick risks disappear as the summer winds down.

"Autumn is a peak period for tick activity," he said. "They remain highly active and on the lookout for their next meal."

He recommended nightly head-to-toe tick checks for children.

In the fall, clusters of larval lone star ticks emerge from egg clusters and can produce a "very itchy bite," said Scott Campbell, an entomologist and chief of the Arthropod-borne Disease Lab at the Suffolk County Department of Health.

"And there's usually many of them," he said.

Most lone star ticks at that age stage don't carry any viruses or bacteria that can cause disease in humans but their saliva could still cause the alpha-gal allergy in some people.

"In October, the blacklegged adults will come out and they will be active all winter long when it's above 40 degrees," he said.

McDonald said people should not fear the outdoors, but just be prepared for it.

***

George Cork Maul is an East End composer, pianist and performance art specialist who will be giving a free talk and concert Thursday evening…that’s tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the Amagansett Free Library.

The event is free.

George Cork Maul studied music composition with Isaac Nemiroff at Stony Brook where he earned a B.A. and went on to do graduate work in electronic music with Bulent Arel and classical style with Charles Rosen.

In this concert and conversation, George Cork Maul will share some of his recent work, collaborate with the audience on a real-time composition and discuss the inner workings of a life making music.

That’s tomorrow at 5 p.m. in Amagansett Free Library.

The concert and conversation are free. Reservations are recommended.

Register online here.

***

The Suffolk County Water Authority’s new route for its proposed 7.5-mile pipeline from Flanders to Southold is reviving longstanding concerns about construction through Riverhead.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that Riverhead Town officials and residents pushed back against the plan during a hearing in Riverhead yesterday. They argued the project could create traffic, environmental, infrastructure and quality of life issues during its 12-to-18-month construction period.

The proposed transmission line would pump more water from deeper supplies in the pine barrens to Southold, where water authority officials say current demand is outpacing supply. The water authority unveiled a new route using Main Road instead of Sound Avenue...]]>New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill this year prohibiting unfair residential real estate service agreements. She approved bills that enacted a number of school speed zone camera pilot programs. And in August, she tackled a slew of bills authorizing new hotel taxes for local governments across the state.

But a number of hot topic bills are still awaiting her decision, including a more restrictive moratorium on data centers than the one included in an executive order she issued earlier this summer.

Then there are bills that would require retailers to round prices to avoid using pennies, give consumers rebates for buying electric landscaping equipment and ensure a right to in-person prison visits.

Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that the NYS Legislature passed more than 750 bills during its session. Of those, Governor Hochul has signed more than 175 since the end of the session in June.

After a bill passes, Hochul’s office typically calls for bills in batches to be sent to her desk for consideration.

Hochul has often waited until late in the calendar year to consider larger or more controversial bills. Last year she didn’t sign the controversial Medical Aid in Dying bill until mid-December.

"Some have to be prioritized because there's absolute deadlines that have to occur, so there's a long process," she said during an appearance in Buffalo this summer. "We pressure test, we talk to people affected and then it comes to me for review. So, we've got some time."

Here’s some of what is left on her plate:

Data centers, Prison visits, End of pennies, Kyra’s Law, Lawn equipment, Surveillance pricing, PFAS limits, Sell-by dates, and Artificial intelligence.

***

A new, 90-day shot clock for permit issuance is currently in the works for the East Hampton Town Building Department.

What the revised code for Building Department review would do, if passed by the Town Board, is give the staff of the department 90 days to make a decision on a permit once a completed application has been submitted. If a complete application has not been reviewed within 90 days, the applicant can seek intervention from either the Town Zoning Board of Appeals or the New York State Supreme Court.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that this 90-day shot clock is a revised version of a code change that first appeared in July, which called for scrapping the timeline for permit issuance altogether. Before any code change takes effect, the law would need to go through a public hearing, which appears as though it will happen in early October — but no official date has been set. The East Hampton Town Board plans to notice the hearing on Thursday, September 3, with the tentative date for the hearing being October 1.

These new codes would add to the list of changes, including what was functionally a full overhaul, in the Building Department since early this year. Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez has worked with Suffolk County Civil Service to expand the size of the department from 10 staffers to 19 – though one position is currently vacant. Among the new positions is a principal building inspector, who will slot in below the chief building inspector.

Both the change with the timeline and that regarding certificates of occupancy, should they be passed, would take effect at the beginning of next year.

***

Riverhead Town’s acquisition of the proposed Long Island Science Center site at 111 E. Main Street is moving forward, with the Town Board’s approval yesterday of a $1.95 million appraisal of the property and its authorization to pay that sum to the owner out of the town’s general fund balance.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the Riverhead Town Board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing its attorneys to transmit the $1.95 million offer to The Place for Learning, which owns the real estate and operates the science center.

Riverhead Town on Aug. 26 obtained a court vesting order in the eminent domain proceeding. Under New York State’s Eminent Domain Procedure Law, title transfers to the town once the vesting order and acquisition map are filed with the county clerk.

The owner may accept the payment or pursue additional compensation in court, but RiverheadLOCAL found no separate court challenge to the taking itself. The property borders the town square site and has been described by town officials as integral to the downtown redevelopment plan.

***

A car jumped the curb and crashed on the sidewalk outside of El Verano restaurant in Southampton Village last week, leading to road closures and questions about the safety of outdoor dining at the restaurant.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that Southampton Village Police Chief Suzanne Hurteau said the driver’s accelerator got stuck, leading him to panic and turn the wheel before the crash, which occurred right before noon on Wednesday, August 26. Neither the driver nor the passenger were injured. Nobody else was hurt from the crash into the mostly empty outdoor dining area, though there was a family with a child sitting at a table on the opposite side of the crash. The car crashed into a large brick planter built into the sidewalk, but the building itself suffered no damage. The restaurant is on the corner of Jobs Lane and Windmill Lane, a high-volume traffic area. Hurteau said that she believes it would “probably benefit the village if they put up some type of bollards” to offer more protection. “I just think it’s a very bad corner, and it should be scaled back a little bit over there,” she said. “You always want to support the businesses, obviously. But public safety always comes first, and that corner is worrisome to me.”

Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger said that he has not spoken with Hurteau yet about it but the village can look into it more. “We can go back and look at that and have our traffic engineer looking and see what can be done to prevent people not being able to make that turn,” he said.

This weekend diners crowded the El Verano curbside area right where the car crashed last Wednesday morning.

***

Lyme disease cases increased in New York last year, with a preliminary count of 25,000 in 2025, according to New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald. McDonald visited Stony Brook’s tick-disease clinic in Hampton Bays yesterday to remind people that tick season continues into the fall and discuss the growth in tick-borne diseases. He encouraged residents to focus on personal protection against ticks by using repellents, avoiding tick-infested areas, performing tick checks regularly and keeping grass around their homes short and less tick-friendly.

Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that McDonald visited Suffolk County — an epicenter for tick-borne diseases and home to a large and active tick population — to meet with doctors and scientists who collect and examine ticks, provide treatment and perform research on Long Island.

Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, said there is a "dangerous misconception" that tick risks disappear as the summer winds down.

"Autumn is a peak period for tick activity," he said. "They remain highly active and on the lookout for their next meal."

He recommended nightly head-to-toe tick checks for children.

In the fall, clusters of larval lone star ticks emerge from egg clusters and can produce a "very itchy bite," said Scott Campbell, an entomologist and chief of the Arthropod-borne Disease Lab at the Suffolk County Department of Health.

"And there's usually many of them," he said.

Most lone star ticks at that age stage don't carry any viruses or bacteria that can cause disease in humans but their saliva could still cause the alpha-gal allergy in some people.

"In October, the blacklegged adults will come out and they will be active all winter long when it's above 40 degrees," he said.

McDonald said people should not fear the outdoors, but just be prepared for it.

***

George Cork Maul is an East End composer, pianist and performance art specialist who will be giving a free talk and concert Thursday evening…that’s tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the Amagansett Free Library.

The event is free.

George Cork Maul studied music composition with Isaac Nemiroff at Stony Brook where he earned a B.A. and went on to do graduate work in electronic music with Bulent Arel and classical style with Charles Rosen.

In this concert and conversation, George Cork Maul will share some of his recent work, collaborate with the audience on a real-time composition and discuss the inner workings of a life making music.

That’s tomorrow at 5 p.m. in Amagansett Free Library.

The concert and conversation are free. Reservations are recommended.

Register online here.

***

The Suffolk County Water Authority’s new route for its proposed 7.5-mile pipeline from Flanders to Southold is reviving longstanding concerns about construction through Riverhead.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that Riverhead Town officials and residents pushed back against the plan during a hearing in Riverhead yesterday. They argued the project could create traffic, environmental, infrastructure and quality of life issues during its 12-to-18-month construction period.

The proposed transmission line would pump more water from deeper supplies in the pine barrens to Southold, where water authority officials say current demand is outpacing supply. The water authority unveiled a new route using Main Road instead of Sound Avenue in July after public opposition.

Though Main Road is a preferable route, Riverhead officials still have concerns about the project and want the authority to comply with local zoning and secure town approvals.

“That solution may not work for the community because they’re merely shifting the impacts from one major east-west thoroughfare to the other,” Jeff Seeman, the town’s environmental consultant, said Tuesday.

Seeman said the route passes through hamlet centers that have historic homes and buildings. Construction could also impact Aquebogue Elementary School on Main Road.

Water authority officials have said construction would be planned to avoid the busy fall season and include overnight work to reduce disruptions.

The SCWA sued Riverhead last year after the town determined the authority should not be immune from local zoning; the SCWA reached the opposite conclusion.

Riverhead held yesterday’s hearing as part of a Monroe balancing test, which is used to determine whether one government should be exempt from another’s zoning rules. The test weighs nine factors, including potential public benefits.

The water authority has said the project contains an overarching public benefit: providing clean water to Southold residents.

Brody Smith, an attorney for SCWA from the firm Bond, Schoeneck & King, said construction impacts should be mitigated, but should not hold up the project.

“The long-term benefit of providing people with safe drinking water and fire safety … is going to outweigh short-term construction oriented inconveniences,” Smith said Tuesday.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the contentious discussion during the board’s Aug. 27 work session focused on a past agreement that placed two uniformed Riverhead police officers in the district’s secondary schools. Under that agreement, the Riverhead School District paid 50% of the cost of one officer during the 2024-25 school year and 50% of the cost of both officers during the 2025-26 school year.

The agreement has expired, and the district is seeking to reduce its contribution.

Greg Gillen, an attorney with Guercio & Guercio, counsel to the school district, told the Riverhead Town Board the district budgeted $200,000 for SROs and proposed paying 50% of the base salaries for two officers, rather than 50% of the full salary-and-benefits cost. If the town would not accept that, he said, the district could afford to pay 50% of the full cost of one officer, leaving one fewer SRO in the schools.

Town officials pushed back, saying the district had previously agreed to increase its share and should have planned for the full cost in its budget.

By the end of the discussion, no agreement had been reached. Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin asked district officials to go back and reconsider their offer, while saying the town would also review the district’s proposal.

Town Attorney Erik Howard said the two sides could consider an interim agreement, but said a broader agreement addressing the full school year would be preferable.

***

A spotted lanternfly landed on a table in Riverhead on Friday, just in time to be squashed during a panel session of the Long Island Farm Bureau.

Its appearance wasn't surprising. Bill Zalakar, the bureau's executive director, said the past month has seen a dramatic rise in reports of the pest, most notably in a swath from Patchogue to Calverton and Riverhead.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County called the recent onslaught a "small infestation." The insects can cause damage by consuming more than 70 types of plants, including grape vines.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that help may be on the way, in the form of a small wasp that targets the lanternfly and could help control or eradicate it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture - developed control is due to be released and applied next year.

At the Farm Bureau panel session on Schmitt’s Farm in Riverhead with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, one of the increasingly ubiquitous lanternflies landed on a table in front of Herb Strobel, a Center Moriches hay farmer and staff scientist for Cornell University’s Long Island Horticultural Research & Education Center in Baiting Hollow. Strobel crushed it immediately.

"As far as I’m concerned, they are well established here," said Strobel, who first saw the insect in Yaphank in 2024. "This is the first season where it’s been as bad as I’ve seen it" in Suffolk. He added, "This season will tell if they do a significant amount of damage."

In addition to the tree of heaven, where they tend to congregate, the spotted lanternfly clusters on willow and birch trees, walnut and certain maple trees, grape vines and fruit orchards, experts said. They’re not harmful to pets or humans, but they can be annoying, particularly when they congregate on landscape plants and trees. The sticky sap resulting from their work can attract flies. Getting rid of them can be as easy as vacuuming them up with a shop vac.

The spotted lanternfly also has made its way into wine country on the North Fork, but one farmer said he wouldn’t yet describe it as an infestation worthy of an all-out assault.

"We’re definitely seeing them, we saw them last year also and we’re worried about an infestation, but so far I have yet to see an infestation," said Kareem Massoud, general manager of Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue.

***

The Montauk Historical Society will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Pelican tragedy during Labor Day weekend. honoring the 45 people who lost their lives in the 1951 maritime disaster.

The commemoration is scheduled for this coming Saturday, September 5, at 4 p.m. near the Pelican Memorial on the grounds of the Montauk Point Lighthouse. The event will also mark the launch of a new edition of Tom Clavin’s definitive account of the tragedy, “Dark Noon.”

At Saturday’s commemoration Clavin will read from the book and sign copies. He has donated all sales proceeds from the new edition to the Montauk Historical Society.

The Pelican tragedy claimed 45 lives and left a lasting impact on the Montauk community. The anniversary event will provide an opportunity to remember those lost and reflect on the tragedy’s enduring place in local history.

The event is free, but you are asked to respond below since capacity is limited.

To RSVP, go to montaukhistoricalsociety.org.

***

Whale populations have been on the rise in New York State waters for over a decade, continuing a dramatic rebound after many species were pushed to the brink of extinction due to centuries of hunting. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the whale will now have an added layer of protection: Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill last month at the Montauk Lighthouse aimed at preventing boat strikes against whales by expanding boater safety and education courses to include guidance on what to do when a whale is spotted.

Historically, the maritime waters off the coast of Long Island were rich in whales. The first record of colonists in Southampton organizing a hunt for whales from the shore was in March 1644. About a century later, in the early 17 hundreds, Sag Harbor emerged as one of the premier whaling ports in the country. Centuries of hunting ensued, pushing a handful of species nearly to the point of extinction. But populations of Atlantic humpback whales, known for their striking acrobatics, have been steadily returning to New York’s waters in the 21st century.

A decade ago, Gotham Whale would typically spot between 10 and 20 humpback whales per year off the coast of New York, but in the last 10 years that number has swelled to around 100 individual sightings per year. Just this August, the organization reached a milestone with the 500th individual whale spotted in local waters.

“There’s been a lot of great whale activity in that eastern end,” said Carl Lobue, The Nature Conservancy’s ocean and fisheries director. “Some of the Montauk guys, the Montauk whale watching boats, had days where they had 40 whales in a single day.”

But not all whale species can boast such a remarkable success story.

Populations of the North Atlantic right whale, which is listed as endangered, have remained stagnant. The right whale, which some say got its name because it was classed as the “right” whale for hunters to target, had been aggressively hunted in past centuries. With recent estimates clocking in at about 380 North Atlantic right whales, it seems unlikely that populations will fully rebound soon — though data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration does show a marginal hike of about 20 total whales since 2020.

Whales are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which was the death knell for the whaling industry in the United States. But threats to whales continue to exist, primarily boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear — both of which have been major threats to right whales.

***

New York will start tracking cases of alpha-gal syndrome, the potentially severe red meat allergy triggered by the bite of a lone star tick, NYS Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald told Newsday.

Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that Dr. McDonald said the state is changing public health regulations to add alpha-gal to the list of reportable diseases that currently includes influenza and West Nile virus, as well as others transmitted by ticks such as Lyme, babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.

"What we at the state Health Department want to know about is prevalence," McDonald said. The reporting change is currently in the public comment period.

Advocates, who noted more than a dozen states track alpha-gal cases, applauded the change.

Alpha-gal is the name of a sugar molecule that is found in some animals such as cows, pigs, lambs and goats as well as products from those animals like milk and gelatin. The sugar molecule is also found in the saliva of some ticks.

When some people are bitten by ticks, primarily the lone star tick, they can develop the allergy, which has symptoms ranging from rash, hives, diarrhea and vomiting to dizziness and severe anaphylaxis. Alpha-gal syndrome can be serious and life-threatening. The first documented fatal case was a 47-year-old New Jersey man who died in 2024 after consuming a hamburger and having a severe allergic reaction.

Because not every person who tests positive for alpha-gal in a blood exam actually develops the allergy, experts have debated whether a case count will accurately show a public health threat.

A 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found Suffolk County, which is an epicenter for tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, also led the nation in suspected cases of alpha-gal between 2017 and 2022 with 3,746.

Nationally, the agency said more than 110,000 suspected cases were identified between 2010 and 2022, but as many as "450,000 people may be affected."

Dr. Erin McGintee,]]>With the first day of school in Riverhead this coming Thursday, September 3rd, Riverhead Town Board members and Riverhead school district representatives clashed last week over who should pay for school resource officers {SRO} assigned to Riverhead High School and Riverhead Middle School.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the contentious discussion during the board’s Aug. 27 work session focused on a past agreement that placed two uniformed Riverhead police officers in the district’s secondary schools. Under that agreement, the Riverhead School District paid 50% of the cost of one officer during the 2024-25 school year and 50% of the cost of both officers during the 2025-26 school year.

The agreement has expired, and the district is seeking to reduce its contribution.

Greg Gillen, an attorney with Guercio & Guercio, counsel to the school district, told the Riverhead Town Board the district budgeted $200,000 for SROs and proposed paying 50% of the base salaries for two officers, rather than 50% of the full salary-and-benefits cost. If the town would not accept that, he said, the district could afford to pay 50% of the full cost of one officer, leaving one fewer SRO in the schools.

Town officials pushed back, saying the district had previously agreed to increase its share and should have planned for the full cost in its budget.

By the end of the discussion, no agreement had been reached. Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin asked district officials to go back and reconsider their offer, while saying the town would also review the district’s proposal.

Town Attorney Erik Howard said the two sides could consider an interim agreement, but said a broader agreement addressing the full school year would be preferable.

***

A spotted lanternfly landed on a table in Riverhead on Friday, just in time to be squashed during a panel session of the Long Island Farm Bureau.

Its appearance wasn't surprising. Bill Zalakar, the bureau's executive director, said the past month has seen a dramatic rise in reports of the pest, most notably in a swath from Patchogue to Calverton and Riverhead.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County called the recent onslaught a "small infestation." The insects can cause damage by consuming more than 70 types of plants, including grape vines.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that help may be on the way, in the form of a small wasp that targets the lanternfly and could help control or eradicate it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture - developed control is due to be released and applied next year.

At the Farm Bureau panel session on Schmitt’s Farm in Riverhead with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, one of the increasingly ubiquitous lanternflies landed on a table in front of Herb Strobel, a Center Moriches hay farmer and staff scientist for Cornell University’s Long Island Horticultural Research & Education Center in Baiting Hollow. Strobel crushed it immediately.

"As far as I’m concerned, they are well established here," said Strobel, who first saw the insect in Yaphank in 2024. "This is the first season where it’s been as bad as I’ve seen it" in Suffolk. He added, "This season will tell if they do a significant amount of damage."

In addition to the tree of heaven, where they tend to congregate, the spotted lanternfly clusters on willow and birch trees, walnut and certain maple trees, grape vines and fruit orchards, experts said. They’re not harmful to pets or humans, but they can be annoying, particularly when they congregate on landscape plants and trees. The sticky sap resulting from their work can attract flies. Getting rid of them can be as easy as vacuuming them up with a shop vac.

The spotted lanternfly also has made its way into wine country on the North Fork, but one farmer said he wouldn’t yet describe it as an infestation worthy of an all-out assault.

"We’re definitely seeing them, we saw them last year also and we’re worried about an infestation, but so far I have yet to see an infestation," said Kareem Massoud, general manager of Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue.

***

The Montauk Historical Society will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Pelican tragedy during Labor Day weekend. honoring the 45 people who lost their lives in the 1951 maritime disaster.

The commemoration is scheduled for this coming Saturday, September 5, at 4 p.m. near the Pelican Memorial on the grounds of the Montauk Point Lighthouse. The event will also mark the launch of a new edition of Tom Clavin’s definitive account of the tragedy, “Dark Noon.”

At Saturday’s commemoration Clavin will read from the book and sign copies. He has donated all sales proceeds from the new edition to the Montauk Historical Society.

The Pelican tragedy claimed 45 lives and left a lasting impact on the Montauk community. The anniversary event will provide an opportunity to remember those lost and reflect on the tragedy’s enduring place in local history.

The event is free, but you are asked to respond below since capacity is limited.

To RSVP, go to montaukhistoricalsociety.org.

***

Whale populations have been on the rise in New York State waters for over a decade, continuing a dramatic rebound after many species were pushed to the brink of extinction due to centuries of hunting. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the whale will now have an added layer of protection: Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill last month at the Montauk Lighthouse aimed at preventing boat strikes against whales by expanding boater safety and education courses to include guidance on what to do when a whale is spotted.

Historically, the maritime waters off the coast of Long Island were rich in whales. The first record of colonists in Southampton organizing a hunt for whales from the shore was in March 1644. About a century later, in the early 17 hundreds, Sag Harbor emerged as one of the premier whaling ports in the country. Centuries of hunting ensued, pushing a handful of species nearly to the point of extinction. But populations of Atlantic humpback whales, known for their striking acrobatics, have been steadily returning to New York’s waters in the 21st century.

A decade ago, Gotham Whale would typically spot between 10 and 20 humpback whales per year off the coast of New York, but in the last 10 years that number has swelled to around 100 individual sightings per year. Just this August, the organization reached a milestone with the 500th individual whale spotted in local waters.

“There’s been a lot of great whale activity in that eastern end,” said Carl Lobue, The Nature Conservancy’s ocean and fisheries director. “Some of the Montauk guys, the Montauk whale watching boats, had days where they had 40 whales in a single day.”

But not all whale species can boast such a remarkable success story.

Populations of the North Atlantic right whale, which is listed as endangered, have remained stagnant. The right whale, which some say got its name because it was classed as the “right” whale for hunters to target, had been aggressively hunted in past centuries. With recent estimates clocking in at about 380 North Atlantic right whales, it seems unlikely that populations will fully rebound soon — though data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration does show a marginal hike of about 20 total whales since 2020.

Whales are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which was the death knell for the whaling industry in the United States. But threats to whales continue to exist, primarily boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear — both of which have been major threats to right whales.

***

New York will start tracking cases of alpha-gal syndrome, the potentially severe red meat allergy triggered by the bite of a lone star tick, NYS Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald told Newsday.

Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that Dr. McDonald said the state is changing public health regulations to add alpha-gal to the list of reportable diseases that currently includes influenza and West Nile virus, as well as others transmitted by ticks such as Lyme, babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.

"What we at the state Health Department want to know about is prevalence," McDonald said. The reporting change is currently in the public comment period.

Advocates, who noted more than a dozen states track alpha-gal cases, applauded the change.

Alpha-gal is the name of a sugar molecule that is found in some animals such as cows, pigs, lambs and goats as well as products from those animals like milk and gelatin. The sugar molecule is also found in the saliva of some ticks.

When some people are bitten by ticks, primarily the lone star tick, they can develop the allergy, which has symptoms ranging from rash, hives, diarrhea and vomiting to dizziness and severe anaphylaxis. Alpha-gal syndrome can be serious and life-threatening. The first documented fatal case was a 47-year-old New Jersey man who died in 2024 after consuming a hamburger and having a severe allergic reaction.

Because not every person who tests positive for alpha-gal in a blood exam actually develops the allergy, experts have debated whether a case count will accurately show a public health threat.

A 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found Suffolk County, which is an epicenter for tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, also led the nation in suspected cases of alpha-gal between 2017 and 2022 with 3,746.

Nationally, the agency said more than 110,000 suspected cases were identified between 2010 and 2022, but as many as "450,000 people may be affected."

Dr. Erin McGintee, an allergist and alpha-gal expert at ENT and Allergy Associates in Southampton, said she applauds the effort in trying to track cases in an accurate way but said using information from insurance forms also can be misleading.

"There is a lot of nuance to this," she said. "There really needs to be more education for providers on how to diagnose a case. People are still being diagnosed with alpha-gal even if they just have a positive blood test."

Activists, such as the Alpha-gal Alliance Action Fund, are pushing the Food and Drug Administration to designate alpha-gal as a major food allergen.

***

The Choral Society of the Hamptons has appointed Josh O’Dell as its new administrative director as the organization celebrates its 80th anniversary.

O’Dell brings extensive experience as an arts administrator, conductor and music educator. He previously served as director of choral activities and assistant professor of music at West Virginia State University and has held leadership positions with Opera Roanoke and the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.

He has also worked as a conductor and music director for churches and performing arts organizations and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2022, conducting an ensemble of more than 100 singers.

O’Dell holds a master’s degree in choral conducting from Messiah University and has completed doctoral studies in choral conducting and pedagogy. He also holds certificates in arts leadership, vocal pedagogy and sacred music.

The Choral Society of the Hamptons announced O’Dell will help the organization build on its recent performances and strengthen its musical excellence and community participation.

An auditioned chorus with professional music director, soloists, orchestra, and accompanists, The Choral Society of the Hamptons has been presenting high-quality choral music on the East End of Long Island, New York since it was founded in 1946 by Charlotte Rogers Smith, a local church choir director. The Choral Society is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, and to further encourage choral music, the Society gives scholarships for musical training to talented singers in local schools.

***

NYU Langone Health’s $650 million expansion of its East Patchogue hospital, approved unanimously by the Brookhaven Town Board last Thursday, is the latest marker in a two-decade reshaping of hospital care across Suffolk County.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the approval clears the way for a 270,000-square-foot, seven-story inpatient pavilion at NYU Langone Hospital-Suffolk, the former Long Island Community Hospital. The project will add 52 beds to the hospital’s total licensed capacity while creating space for 144 beds in the new pavilion, allowing the hospital to convert more rooms to single-bed patient rooms and accommodate updated medical technology, VHB Engineering’s Angelo Laino told the board.

The new pavilion will be connected to the southern portion of the existing hospital, Laino said. The hospital’s main entrance will be relocated to the south side of the new pavilion, accessed at Sills Road. The existing drop-off driveway along Hospital Road will be removed, Laino said.

The project will add 142 parking spaces on the site, in addition to 399 spaces approved by the board in December, increasing the number of active parking spaces to 1,200 when the project is complete, exceeding town code requirements, he said.

Since announcing its affiliation with Long Island Community Hospital in 2021, NYU Langone has added at least 16 outpatient or ambulatory practices and locations in Suffolk County, including new sites in Riverhead, Patchogue, Commack and Westhampton Beach. Its March opening of NYU Langone Radiology-Ambulatory Care Riverhead placed a new 25,000-square-foot imaging and specialty-care facility on the North Fork’s doorstep.

It also adds another chapter to a hospital consolidation story that began in earnest after the state’s Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, better known as the Berger Commission, issued its final report in 2006 recommending hospital consolidation on Long Island.

The facility in East Patchogue opened in 1956 as Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center to serve central and south Suffolk County. In 2018 it was renamed Long Island Community Hospital (LICH) after operating as one of the region's last independent free-standing community hospitals. In March 2022 the hospital officially affiliated with NYU Langone Health as an active parent organization to improve care quality and expand advanced medical services. And in March 2025 it completed a full asset merger with NYU Langone Health and was renamed NYU Langone Hospital—Suffolk, becoming the network's seventh inpatient facility.

Hope Hamilton reports on 27east.com that the deaths come on the heels of countrywide measles outbreaks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of August 26, the U.S. has seen 2,777 cases of measles since January — the highest number of cases recorded in a year since measles was declared eliminated in 2000 — with particular hot spots in South Carolina (670), Utah (526) and Pennsylvania (371).

To put that in perspective, the United States saw 2,289 confirmed measles cases over the whole year of 2025, which resulted in three deaths. Ninety-three percent of those cases came from unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status individuals, with the majority (44 percent) occurring between the ages of 5 and 19.

Melody Butler, the director of infection prevention and control at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, warned in a recent interview with THE EXPRESS NEWS GROUP that just because the deaths happened out-of-state does not mean that this should not be of concern to Long Island residents.

“A measles death anywhere is a threat to everyone, everywhere,” Butler said. “Vaccines save lives, and we know that had these two individuals been vaccinated, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Butler said that the measles vaccine is 97 percent effective, and becomes 99 percent effective if there is “community immunity” — that is, when everyone in the community is vaccinated. The United States has seen relatively low mortality from the measles due to immunization. However, Butler said her concern comes from the fact that there are pockets on Long Island that delay vaccination to at least age 5, and people who do not vaccinate at all.

The risk for delaying vaccination is not just the measles virus, Butler said. There are many complications that can occur from measles, including subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), an inflammation of the brain due to underlying measles virus that is nearly always fatal. According to Butler, this albeit rare complication occurs mostly in preteens who had measles when they were 3 or younger, and the measles has lain dormant in their brain stem.

“The scariest part about this is you think your child has recovered,” Butler said. “Then, around ages 10 to 12 — or even in high school — you start to notice a personality shift.”

SSPE progression starts with difficulty walking, slurred speech and eventually death within a few months to a year. There is currently no cure for SSPE.

“I am so fearful that because we’ve had so many measles cases here in America, in a few years we’re going to see this upsurge of complications,” Butler said. “People need to understand that their decision not to vaccinate can possibly have lifelong consequences.”

***

The shopping center that for decades was home to the Hampton Bays UA movie theater has been sold, its longtime owner confirmed.

Walter Morris, who had owned the shopping center since 2003, said that the deal closed in late June.

Morris would not say who the new owner is and said he never actually met them and does not know what their plans are for the 2.7-acre property on the south side of 27A in Hampton Bays.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Gelmer Mendez, who owns the Melrose Deli in the shopping center, said that he has met with the new property owner, but that he did not shed any light on what the plans for the building are. Mendez said that construction crews removed the movie theater seats recently, but that no other renovation work has been taking place.

Mendez said he has seven years remaining on his current lease and hopes that he will be in his same space long after that.

“My sons, my wife and sister work here,” he said, “and I am not trying to retire.”

The Regal UA Hampton Bays 5 Movie Theatre first opened on December 19, 1997, in a converted supermarket space at 119 W. Montauk Highway and permanently closed on January 29, 2026.

***

The East Hampton Historical Society cut the ribbon Thursday, August 27, on a new state-of-the-art collections center, which will house an array of nearly 70,000 artifacts in pristine environmental conditions. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that storage for the historical society’s collection had been scattered, with the artifacts spread out among the Osborn-Jackson House, Clinton Academy and the Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran Studio. So this new 5,700-square-foot storage center will offer a centralized, climate-controlled alternative.

“Our collection includes extremely rare and important items that would be treasured in any historical collection in the nation, so it’s very important to take good care of them,” said Steve Long, the historical society’s executive director. “Today, finally, we have a centrally located, climate-controlled facility worthy of housing our world-class collection.” The new collections center has been built at the site of a now-demolished barn at Mulford Farm that was constructed in 1976. The new structure is meant to resemble the barn. In 2024, the East Hampton Historical Society broke ground on the new facility, which received a boost in the form of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.

***

The surging cost of homes across Suffolk County has turned affordable housing into one of the county’s most pressing challenges.

For government leaders, the question has become how to make owning or renting a home more affordable while preserving the area’s suburban character.

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the debate has exposed a divide between two of Suffolk’s Republican leaders: County Executive Edward P. Romaine, who has publicly supported some large developments, and Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville), who has argued that government policies and subsidies are part of the problem.

Piccirillo described an “ideological battle” brewing over the county’s future direction during a May 19 capital budget working group meeting. His stance on housing — opposing high-density development and rentals while advocating for single-family homes — puts him at odds with housing advocates and other lawmakers who view those as part of the solution to what the county has labeled a “crisis.”

Romaine has cited boosting affordable housing as a priority since the start of his administration and has publicly supported developments such as the 262-unit apartment complex under construction in Patchogue called The Carriage House.

“I will continue to support housing,” Romaine told Newsday. “People need places to live that are affordable.”

In an interview, Piccirillo said: “We all want affordable housing. But it’s how do you get there and what’s affordable?”

He said the county legislature’s goal is to “break some of the government bureaucracy and the red tape” that create barriers for builders to put up the types of homes people want.

“Homeownership is the pathway to the middle class,” he said.

While housing approvals rest largely with towns and villages, the county offers several programs that can increase supply through land acquisition, incentives to developers and assistance for low-income renters.

Adding a diverse housing stock, which can include townhouses, multifamily apartments and accessory dwelling units as examples, is critical to addressing the problem and providing adequate housing for people at various stages of life, housing experts said.

Lawrence Levy, executive dean at Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, said there’s consensus among members of both parties, as well as business and environmental organizations, that Long Island lacks adequate affordable housing and doesn’t have the space to meet demand “the old-fashioned way”: single-family houses on a typical suburban plot of land.

***

A planned expansion of the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center would significantly increase seating capacity, enlarge the stage and position the theater to attract more popular acts.

The project calls for increasing seats from 425 to nearly 700, adding about 8,900 square feet of building space, and expanding the stage and backstage area to accommodate larger productions, theater executive director Julienne Penza-Boone told Newsday.

“After this happens, we will be the only venue in the Hamptons that has that kind of capacity,” she said.

The plan is to complete the expansion by July 2028, in time for the nonprofit theater’s 30th anniversary, Penza-Boone said. The project still requires Westhampton Beach Village approval.

Penza-Boone said the total cost of the project has not yet been determined. The theater set a fundraising goal of $25 million for the renovations, and $18 million has been raised so far, she said. In June, the theater was awarded $6 million from the New York State Council on the Arts' Capital Projects Fund.

The theater’s current size makes it difficult to absorb rising artist fees. The added seats will allow the theater to spread the cost across more attendees and charge lower ticket prices.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the expansion would be built on property owned by the nonprofit behind the theater. Additional planned improvements include a new terrace and bar area for hosting donors and special events.

The project requires a village permit to exceed zoning limits, but officials have expressed support.

Westhampton Beach Village...]]>Following the recent measles-related deaths of two unvaccinated individuals in Pennsylvania, the United States’ first confirmed measles-related deaths of 2026, medical officials at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital are urging the community to remember the importance of vaccination, herd immunity and the potentially life-threatening risks of the virus.

Hope Hamilton reports on 27east.com that the deaths come on the heels of countrywide measles outbreaks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of August 26, the U.S. has seen 2,777 cases of measles since January — the highest number of cases recorded in a year since measles was declared eliminated in 2000 — with particular hot spots in South Carolina (670), Utah (526) and Pennsylvania (371).

To put that in perspective, the United States saw 2,289 confirmed measles cases over the whole year of 2025, which resulted in three deaths. Ninety-three percent of those cases came from unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status individuals, with the majority (44 percent) occurring between the ages of 5 and 19.

Melody Butler, the director of infection prevention and control at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, warned in a recent interview with THE EXPRESS NEWS GROUP that just because the deaths happened out-of-state does not mean that this should not be of concern to Long Island residents.

“A measles death anywhere is a threat to everyone, everywhere,” Butler said. “Vaccines save lives, and we know that had these two individuals been vaccinated, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Butler said that the measles vaccine is 97 percent effective, and becomes 99 percent effective if there is “community immunity” — that is, when everyone in the community is vaccinated. The United States has seen relatively low mortality from the measles due to immunization. However, Butler said her concern comes from the fact that there are pockets on Long Island that delay vaccination to at least age 5, and people who do not vaccinate at all.

The risk for delaying vaccination is not just the measles virus, Butler said. There are many complications that can occur from measles, including subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), an inflammation of the brain due to underlying measles virus that is nearly always fatal. According to Butler, this albeit rare complication occurs mostly in preteens who had measles when they were 3 or younger, and the measles has lain dormant in their brain stem.

“The scariest part about this is you think your child has recovered,” Butler said. “Then, around ages 10 to 12 — or even in high school — you start to notice a personality shift.”

SSPE progression starts with difficulty walking, slurred speech and eventually death within a few months to a year. There is currently no cure for SSPE.

“I am so fearful that because we’ve had so many measles cases here in America, in a few years we’re going to see this upsurge of complications,” Butler said. “People need to understand that their decision not to vaccinate can possibly have lifelong consequences.”

***

The shopping center that for decades was home to the Hampton Bays UA movie theater has been sold, its longtime owner confirmed.

Walter Morris, who had owned the shopping center since 2003, said that the deal closed in late June.

Morris would not say who the new owner is and said he never actually met them and does not know what their plans are for the 2.7-acre property on the south side of 27A in Hampton Bays.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Gelmer Mendez, who owns the Melrose Deli in the shopping center, said that he has met with the new property owner, but that he did not shed any light on what the plans for the building are. Mendez said that construction crews removed the movie theater seats recently, but that no other renovation work has been taking place.

Mendez said he has seven years remaining on his current lease and hopes that he will be in his same space long after that.

“My sons, my wife and sister work here,” he said, “and I am not trying to retire.”

The Regal UA Hampton Bays 5 Movie Theatre first opened on December 19, 1997, in a converted supermarket space at 119 W. Montauk Highway and permanently closed on January 29, 2026.

***

The East Hampton Historical Society cut the ribbon Thursday, August 27, on a new state-of-the-art collections center, which will house an array of nearly 70,000 artifacts in pristine environmental conditions. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that storage for the historical society’s collection had been scattered, with the artifacts spread out among the Osborn-Jackson House, Clinton Academy and the Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran Studio. So this new 5,700-square-foot storage center will offer a centralized, climate-controlled alternative.

“Our collection includes extremely rare and important items that would be treasured in any historical collection in the nation, so it’s very important to take good care of them,” said Steve Long, the historical society’s executive director. “Today, finally, we have a centrally located, climate-controlled facility worthy of housing our world-class collection.” The new collections center has been built at the site of a now-demolished barn at Mulford Farm that was constructed in 1976. The new structure is meant to resemble the barn. In 2024, the East Hampton Historical Society broke ground on the new facility, which received a boost in the form of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.

***

The surging cost of homes across Suffolk County has turned affordable housing into one of the county’s most pressing challenges.

For government leaders, the question has become how to make owning or renting a home more affordable while preserving the area’s suburban character.

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the debate has exposed a divide between two of Suffolk’s Republican leaders: County Executive Edward P. Romaine, who has publicly supported some large developments, and Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville), who has argued that government policies and subsidies are part of the problem.

Piccirillo described an “ideological battle” brewing over the county’s future direction during a May 19 capital budget working group meeting. His stance on housing — opposing high-density development and rentals while advocating for single-family homes — puts him at odds with housing advocates and other lawmakers who view those as part of the solution to what the county has labeled a “crisis.”

Romaine has cited boosting affordable housing as a priority since the start of his administration and has publicly supported developments such as the 262-unit apartment complex under construction in Patchogue called The Carriage House.

“I will continue to support housing,” Romaine told Newsday. “People need places to live that are affordable.”

In an interview, Piccirillo said: “We all want affordable housing. But it’s how do you get there and what’s affordable?”

He said the county legislature’s goal is to “break some of the government bureaucracy and the red tape” that create barriers for builders to put up the types of homes people want.

“Homeownership is the pathway to the middle class,” he said.

While housing approvals rest largely with towns and villages, the county offers several programs that can increase supply through land acquisition, incentives to developers and assistance for low-income renters.

Adding a diverse housing stock, which can include townhouses, multifamily apartments and accessory dwelling units as examples, is critical to addressing the problem and providing adequate housing for people at various stages of life, housing experts said.

Lawrence Levy, executive dean at Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, said there’s consensus among members of both parties, as well as business and environmental organizations, that Long Island lacks adequate affordable housing and doesn’t have the space to meet demand “the old-fashioned way”: single-family houses on a typical suburban plot of land.

***

A planned expansion of the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center would significantly increase seating capacity, enlarge the stage and position the theater to attract more popular acts.

The project calls for increasing seats from 425 to nearly 700, adding about 8,900 square feet of building space, and expanding the stage and backstage area to accommodate larger productions, theater executive director Julienne Penza-Boone told Newsday.

“After this happens, we will be the only venue in the Hamptons that has that kind of capacity,” she said.

The plan is to complete the expansion by July 2028, in time for the nonprofit theater’s 30th anniversary, Penza-Boone said. The project still requires Westhampton Beach Village approval.

Penza-Boone said the total cost of the project has not yet been determined. The theater set a fundraising goal of $25 million for the renovations, and $18 million has been raised so far, she said. In June, the theater was awarded $6 million from the New York State Council on the Arts' Capital Projects Fund.

The theater’s current size makes it difficult to absorb rising artist fees. The added seats will allow the theater to spread the cost across more attendees and charge lower ticket prices.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the expansion would be built on property owned by the nonprofit behind the theater. Additional planned improvements include a new terrace and bar area for hosting donors and special events.

The project requires a village permit to exceed zoning limits, but officials have expressed support.

Westhampton Beach Village Mayor Ralph Urban said the theater is “an integral part of our community, and we very much look forward to this expansion and improvement of their facility.”

Still, the village must resolve infrastructure concerns before approving the project, Urban said. The village has halted approval of all site plans and building permits in the downtown area that includes the theater while it studies wastewater treatment and parking capacities.

Urban called the theater’s goal of completing renovations by July 2028 “ambitious” but said it could be achievable if those issues are resolved by winter.

***

The Southampton Town Youth Bureau is recruiting students in grades seven through 12 to join its Youth Advisory Committee for the 2026-27 school year.

The youth-led organization, guided by an elected youth board, gives students an opportunity to participate in community service projects, meet students from other schools and help shape the program.

Youth Advisory Committee meetings will be held every other Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with the first meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, at the Hampton Bays Community Center, 25 Ponquogue Avenue.

Projects include leaf raking for senior citizens, toy and blood drives, fundraisers for community organizations, and meetings with elected officials to advocate for youth issues. Participants can also earn community service credit hours.

For information or to register, go to southamptontownny.gov/youthbureau or call 631-702-2425.

***

Conservationists and birders have reported far fewer surviving osprey chicks along the Atlantic coast this summer, and they say many of these chicks have starved...including here in Southampton and the east end.

Marine scientists are attributing the starving ospreys to far smaller schools of menhaden, the ospreys’ main source of food, in the past couple of years, after quotas for industrial fishing were raised.

The body that determines the limits - Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission - will meet in late fall to reconsider the caps.

Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that populations of ospreys and other birds of prey across the globe were plummeting 60 years ago because of the widespread use of the pesticide DDT. The chemical was banned in the United States in 1972, thanks to the ecologist Rachel Carson’s book "Silent Spring," and ospreys, eagles, falcons and hawks slowly began to recover.

Long Island and the East End in particular, "with its protected shallow bays, was just ideal habitat for ospreys to forage and to breed," according to John Turner, senior conservation policy advocate at the Seatuck Environmental Association. Decades after the DDT ban, ospreys have once again become a common sight on the Island, becoming one of the most visible achievements of the environmental movement.

But today these birds of prey are once again at risk.

All through the mid-Atlantic, from the Chesapeake Bay to New Jersey to Long Island, ecologists, birders and boaters have reported significant declines in the number of osprey nestlings during the summer breeding season. They also say the loss of menhaden is a significant cause: osprey pairs are not finding enough of these calorie-dense and nutrient-rich fish for their young, and the young have been starving.

Last year the 385 osprey nests monitored by the environment organization Group for the East End averaged one chick each. That was down from 1.3 chicks per nest in 2022 and 1.7 in 2020.

Some observers have reported worse outcomes. Joanna Steidle, a photographer and videographer from Southampton who films Long Island coastal wildlife, said in the past three years she hasn’t seen surviving chicks in the four or five nests she regularly watches on the East End.

Chris Paparo, who manages the seawater lab at Stony Brook University, regularly monitors and photographs a breeding pair he calls Ral and Mary, who nest near Old Fort Pond off Shinnecock Bay. Three chicks hatched in May, but later that month Paparo reported to the ospreys' followers on his Facebook page that Ral was bringing freshwater fish to the nestlings. "Considering this nest is surrounded by saltwater, the fact that he’s turning to freshwater prey is a sign that bunker aren’t around in large numbers," he wrote.

None of the chicks survived. After the last one died in June, he spotted Mary perched on a wood piling, holding the dead chick in her talons.

"She sat there staring at it and calling loudly," he wrote. Then she flew around the pond, still holding the chick, returned to the nest, then flew to the piling again, "continuing to look at the lifeless chick while calling out repeatedly. It was a difficult thing to witness."

A copy of a letter, dated August 26, addressed to members of the Devon Yacht Club regarding federal visa issues states that, “The H2B visa approval for our cooks is still not resolved,” the Devon office wrote. “It seems that an oversight either by the agent or attorney responsible for submitting our petition or perhaps by the US Immigration Office itself has resulted in a situation where our H2B kitchen staff must leave the country immediately and return to their home countries for at least 60 days before their visas can be renewed. Needless to say, this is causing consternation not only for our Club management and its Members, but also for our hard working staff.”

Kitchen service at the Devon Yacht Club was halted starting Wednesday evening. Main food service on Wednesday was canceled, alongside all service yesterday — aside from a limited bar menu. According to the August 26 letter, the Devon office was doing what it could to rehire the necessary kitchen staff to resume limited service today.

“Our team is working hard to find satisfactory replacements and solutions to bring these services back as soon as possible,” the office wrote to the membership. “We apologize for the inconvenience we know this will cause.”

Asked if there had been any contact from federal officials on the issue, East Hampton Town Police said there were no notifications, complaints or reports regarding Devon Yacht Club.

***

Local officials and residents pressed the Suffolk County Water Authority this week to slow or reopen its environmental review of the North Fork Water Main Project, saying the impacts of the authority’s newly preferred Main Road route have not been adequately studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the DEIS, developed to study the proposed route along Sound Avenue, does not contain enough information to assess impacts on traffic, wetlands, schools and utilities of the chosen preferred alternative along Main Road, according to several speakers at Wednesday’s hearing on the DEIS in the Riverhead Library.

The hearing was the third held this month on the DEIS for the proposed water main, which is intended to move water from SCWA’s wells in Flanders to customers in Southold town. The other hearings were in Southold Town and one at the SCWA’s Westhampton office.

SCWA officials opened the hearing by describing the project as necessary to address peak summer demand, low tank levels, saltwater intrusion and emerging contaminants affecting the North Fork water supply.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin asked SCWA to wait for completion of a U.S. Geological Survey study before finalizing the review and said the authority’s proposed off-season construction schedule does not reflect Riverhead’s year-round traffic and business activity.

The Article 78 petition is currently returnable Sept. 23.

The Riverhead Town Board has scheduled a new Monroe balancing test hearing for Sept. 1. The town’s Aug. 18 resolution says Riverhead objects to SCWA treating the town as an interested agency rather than an involved agency in the environmental review and objects to SCWA relying on a Monroe determination based on the earlier Sound Avenue route for a revised project now proposed along Main Road.

Written comments on the DEIS are being accepted until Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. SCWA must respond to substantive comments in a final environmental impact statement before issuing findings under SEQRA.

***

The North Fork Civics will hold a panel discussion on the housing crisis, “Our Housing Crisis: Local Voices” with a parent, an educator, a firefighter, health care professional and a small business owner this coming Monday, Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. at CAST in Southold.

“Interested in avoiding higher taxes and traffic as bad as the South Fork, while helping our local kids and businesses thrive? If yes, come to our forum on Monday to hear directly from locals how to help!” says Katy Stokes of the Housing Working Group of the North Fork Civics, a coalition of civic associations in Southold Town.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the forum will be followed by a Q&A. All are welcome. CAST is at 53930 Main Road in Southold. Monday's event starts at 5 p.m.

“We invite you to hear from residents who struggle with housing options on the North Fork and the impact this has on families, schools, services and businesses,” says the North Fork Civics.

***

New York commercial fishermen landed 727,372 pounds of menhaden, also known as bunker fish, last year, down from a high of 4 million pounds harvested in 2020. Some blame the decline on overfishing; others say it is cyclical. Whatever the reason, the decline not only impacts commercial fishermen, but also other species that depend on the fish as a food source, such as whales, sharks, striped bass, bluefish and osprey. Had bunker been abundant, fishermen could have worked toward a state quota of 3.2 million pounds last year, but only 22% of the quota was harvested. Four of the past five years have seen marked declines in the state harvest.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Will Caldwell, a commercial fisherman from Hampton Bays, spent the past decade riding the ups and downs of the menhaden fishery before hitting another wall this spring for what he said is the last time.

"There’s none around," he said of the small silver baitfish with a prominent black dot, known as bunker. "There’s zero."

As a result, he said, he plans to give up a packing plant he's kept in Aquebogue, near where he’s fished along the Peconic River, and sell off equipment, which includes boats, hoists and a forklift.

"It’s almost three years now" Caldwell said since he’s seen bunker schools in numbers where he could harvest his catch limit of 20,000 pounds a day.

Conservation groups and some sport fishermen say the problem is one state — Virginia — gets 75% of the quota for menhaden, and that one fishing company, Ocean Harvesters, is landing all those fish for one company, Omega Protein, a subsidiary of Canada-based seafood giant Cooke Inc.

Those companies, in response, noted that official assessments say bunker are not overfished.

"The evidence shows that a sustainable commercial fishery can coexist with a healthy menhaden stock, adequate forage for predators and successful recreational fisheries," spokesman Robert Vanasse wrote in response to Newsday questions.

Mike Jacobs, a longtime recreational fisherman who also has a state commercial food-fish license, said he believes the drop in bunker populations has been pronounced in recent years, after decades of abundance. He and other sports fishermen express little doubt about where the fish have gone.

"I would go out the [Jones] inlet and see pods of adult bunker by the millions," he said. "You don’t see that today like you did. They are being slaughtered. They’re on the surface so they’re easy to spot" by spotter planes used by the protein boats. "They’re wiping them out. It’s out of balance."

***

Peconic Bay Medical Center is advancing plans for its new women and infants center as a major piece of its long-term expansion of specialized care in Riverhead. The Town Board reviewed site and facade improvements tied to the project during its work session yesterday and is poised to take up a resolution granting administrative approval to the hospital’s site plan.

Denise Civiletti reports on RIVERHEADlocal.com that the application before the Riverhead Town Board focuses on exterior work at the hospital’s main campus at 1 Heroes Way: relocating maternity services to the first floor of the three-story wing near the Route 58 traffic circle, reworking the maternity entrance, improving pedestrian and vehicle circulation, adding drainage and landscaping, and modernizing the facade of part of the building.

PBMC’s planned Emilie Roy Corey Center for Women and Infants is part of a $92 million hospital expansion plan first announced in 2023. PBMC has said the center is intended to expand comprehensive women’s health services in eastern Suffolk County, including private rooms, breast health, urogynecology, tele-neonatology and a goal of developing a Level II neonatal intensive care unit on site.

PBMC began planning the center after closing its skilled nursing facility in December 2022, freeing space for other growing clinical needs, including women’s healthcare.

The center is part of a broader effort to bring more specialized care to the East End and reduce the need for patients to travel farther west for services, she said.

Because the project involves minor widening of the existing curb cut on County Road 58, Suffolk County Department of Public Works reviewed the application. The county said a highway work permit will be required for the proposed access and any improvements required along the county right-of-way. The county also asked for pavement details, a stop sign and stop bar at the access, and replacement of broken curb and sidewalk along the CR 58 frontage.

The Riverhead Town Planning Department staff report describes the application as a site plan for widening the entrance road, adding new...]]>Staff members at the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett have been forced to leave the country for a two-month period to resolve an issue with visa renewal, halting kitchen service at the club for a handful of days at the tail end of the summer. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that Devon Yacht Club is a private facility tucked away on Napeague Bay, which has been in the spotlight for the past year or so due to a controversial plan to redevelop the facility and the subsequent expulsion of a handful of members who spoke out against the plan.

A copy of a letter, dated August 26, addressed to members of the Devon Yacht Club regarding federal visa issues states that, “The H2B visa approval for our cooks is still not resolved,” the Devon office wrote. “It seems that an oversight either by the agent or attorney responsible for submitting our petition or perhaps by the US Immigration Office itself has resulted in a situation where our H2B kitchen staff must leave the country immediately and return to their home countries for at least 60 days before their visas can be renewed. Needless to say, this is causing consternation not only for our Club management and its Members, but also for our hard working staff.”

Kitchen service at the Devon Yacht Club was halted starting Wednesday evening. Main food service on Wednesday was canceled, alongside all service yesterday — aside from a limited bar menu. According to the August 26 letter, the Devon office was doing what it could to rehire the necessary kitchen staff to resume limited service today.

“Our team is working hard to find satisfactory replacements and solutions to bring these services back as soon as possible,” the office wrote to the membership. “We apologize for the inconvenience we know this will cause.”

Asked if there had been any contact from federal officials on the issue, East Hampton Town Police said there were no notifications, complaints or reports regarding Devon Yacht Club.

***

Local officials and residents pressed the Suffolk County Water Authority this week to slow or reopen its environmental review of the North Fork Water Main Project, saying the impacts of the authority’s newly preferred Main Road route have not been adequately studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the DEIS, developed to study the proposed route along Sound Avenue, does not contain enough information to assess impacts on traffic, wetlands, schools and utilities of the chosen preferred alternative along Main Road, according to several speakers at Wednesday’s hearing on the DEIS in the Riverhead Library.

The hearing was the third held this month on the DEIS for the proposed water main, which is intended to move water from SCWA’s wells in Flanders to customers in Southold town. The other hearings were in Southold Town and one at the SCWA’s Westhampton office.

SCWA officials opened the hearing by describing the project as necessary to address peak summer demand, low tank levels, saltwater intrusion and emerging contaminants affecting the North Fork water supply.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin asked SCWA to wait for completion of a U.S. Geological Survey study before finalizing the review and said the authority’s proposed off-season construction schedule does not reflect Riverhead’s year-round traffic and business activity.

The Article 78 petition is currently returnable Sept. 23.

The Riverhead Town Board has scheduled a new Monroe balancing test hearing for Sept. 1. The town’s Aug. 18 resolution says Riverhead objects to SCWA treating the town as an interested agency rather than an involved agency in the environmental review and objects to SCWA relying on a Monroe determination based on the earlier Sound Avenue route for a revised project now proposed along Main Road.

Written comments on the DEIS are being accepted until Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. SCWA must respond to substantive comments in a final environmental impact statement before issuing findings under SEQRA.

***

The North Fork Civics will hold a panel discussion on the housing crisis, “Our Housing Crisis: Local Voices” with a parent, an educator, a firefighter, health care professional and a small business owner this coming Monday, Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. at CAST in Southold.

“Interested in avoiding higher taxes and traffic as bad as the South Fork, while helping our local kids and businesses thrive? If yes, come to our forum on Monday to hear directly from locals how to help!” says Katy Stokes of the Housing Working Group of the North Fork Civics, a coalition of civic associations in Southold Town.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the forum will be followed by a Q&A. All are welcome. CAST is at 53930 Main Road in Southold. Monday's event starts at 5 p.m.

“We invite you to hear from residents who struggle with housing options on the North Fork and the impact this has on families, schools, services and businesses,” says the North Fork Civics.

***

New York commercial fishermen landed 727,372 pounds of menhaden, also known as bunker fish, last year, down from a high of 4 million pounds harvested in 2020. Some blame the decline on overfishing; others say it is cyclical. Whatever the reason, the decline not only impacts commercial fishermen, but also other species that depend on the fish as a food source, such as whales, sharks, striped bass, bluefish and osprey. Had bunker been abundant, fishermen could have worked toward a state quota of 3.2 million pounds last year, but only 22% of the quota was harvested. Four of the past five years have seen marked declines in the state harvest.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Will Caldwell, a commercial fisherman from Hampton Bays, spent the past decade riding the ups and downs of the menhaden fishery before hitting another wall this spring for what he said is the last time.

"There’s none around," he said of the small silver baitfish with a prominent black dot, known as bunker. "There’s zero."

As a result, he said, he plans to give up a packing plant he's kept in Aquebogue, near where he’s fished along the Peconic River, and sell off equipment, which includes boats, hoists and a forklift.

"It’s almost three years now" Caldwell said since he’s seen bunker schools in numbers where he could harvest his catch limit of 20,000 pounds a day.

Conservation groups and some sport fishermen say the problem is one state — Virginia — gets 75% of the quota for menhaden, and that one fishing company, Ocean Harvesters, is landing all those fish for one company, Omega Protein, a subsidiary of Canada-based seafood giant Cooke Inc.

Those companies, in response, noted that official assessments say bunker are not overfished.

"The evidence shows that a sustainable commercial fishery can coexist with a healthy menhaden stock, adequate forage for predators and successful recreational fisheries," spokesman Robert Vanasse wrote in response to Newsday questions.

Mike Jacobs, a longtime recreational fisherman who also has a state commercial food-fish license, said he believes the drop in bunker populations has been pronounced in recent years, after decades of abundance. He and other sports fishermen express little doubt about where the fish have gone.

"I would go out the [Jones] inlet and see pods of adult bunker by the millions," he said. "You don’t see that today like you did. They are being slaughtered. They’re on the surface so they’re easy to spot" by spotter planes used by the protein boats. "They’re wiping them out. It’s out of balance."

***

Peconic Bay Medical Center is advancing plans for its new women and infants center as a major piece of its long-term expansion of specialized care in Riverhead. The Town Board reviewed site and facade improvements tied to the project during its work session yesterday and is poised to take up a resolution granting administrative approval to the hospital’s site plan.

Denise Civiletti reports on RIVERHEADlocal.com that the application before the Riverhead Town Board focuses on exterior work at the hospital’s main campus at 1 Heroes Way: relocating maternity services to the first floor of the three-story wing near the Route 58 traffic circle, reworking the maternity entrance, improving pedestrian and vehicle circulation, adding drainage and landscaping, and modernizing the facade of part of the building.

PBMC’s planned Emilie Roy Corey Center for Women and Infants is part of a $92 million hospital expansion plan first announced in 2023. PBMC has said the center is intended to expand comprehensive women’s health services in eastern Suffolk County, including private rooms, breast health, urogynecology, tele-neonatology and a goal of developing a Level II neonatal intensive care unit on site.

PBMC began planning the center after closing its skilled nursing facility in December 2022, freeing space for other growing clinical needs, including women’s healthcare.

The center is part of a broader effort to bring more specialized care to the East End and reduce the need for patients to travel farther west for services, she said.

Because the project involves minor widening of the existing curb cut on County Road 58, Suffolk County Department of Public Works reviewed the application. The county said a highway work permit will be required for the proposed access and any improvements required along the county right-of-way. The county also asked for pavement details, a stop sign and stop bar at the access, and replacement of broken curb and sidewalk along the CR 58 frontage.

The Riverhead Town Planning Department staff report describes the application as a site plan for widening the entrance road, adding new pedestrian access, curbing, a drop-off area, concrete walks, a sitting area, asphalt pavement, drainage, landscaping, pavement markings and facade improvements to part of the PBMC building.

***

This coming Monday, Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m., the Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association will hear about how to handle code enforcement concerns with Southold Town Attorney Ben Johnson and Code Enforcement Officer Lester Baylinson at Veterans Memorial Park on Peconic Bay Boulevard in Mattituck.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that topics up for discussion include how the Southold Town attorney collaborates with code enforcement, whether dark skies and signage regulations are enforced, the penalties for violations and how repeat offenders are handled.

The event is free.

That’s this coming Monday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. when Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association presents “Code Enforcement Concerns” at Veterans Beach, 11020 Peconic Bay Boulevard Mattituck, NY 11952

***

Sag Harbor has long traded on its reputation as a hub of independent business on the South Fork — a place where a five-and-dime, an art-house cinema and a family-owned hardware store thrive within a compact, historic, walkable village.

It's a place with a “unique collection” of American architectural styles that coexist, according to Bob Weinstein, co-president of the civic group Save Sag Harbor. On and around Main Street, shingled whalers’ cottages and stately Greek Revival homes sit steps from small boutiques and restaurants, reflecting a mix of styles that traces back to the village’s 18th century settlement.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that now, Sag Harbor’s quaint identity is being tested as more chain, or “formula,” retailers arrive, fueling concerns that the former whaling village…once known as the “Un-Hampton”…could follow other Hamptons destinations toward a concentration of luxury brands that push out year-round mom-and-pop shops.

As the village has become a destination itself, some worry that it's also become a victim of its own success, and in the process is losing what makes it special.

“Sag Harbor has become so popular that we risk losing the very individualized retail feeling that has developed over many, many years,” said Weinstein, whose group is leading a campaign to encourage village officials to regulate so-called formula stores.

Village officials are exploring legislative changes to keep Sag Harbor's unique character intact without hurting local business. But that's a delicate balance: Business leaders note that national branded stores can draw new people to the village and boost foot traffic.

The goal is to avoid what Sag Harbor Village Trustee Ed Haye described as a “luxury monoculture” of high-end retail that dominates Southampton and East Hampton villages.

Earlier this year, Save Sag Harbor launched an online petition urging residents to “help stop Main Street from becoming Chain Street!” The petition, which has more than 1,400 signatures, calls on the village board of trustees to study legal tools available to define and limit formula retail in the historic business district, hold a public forum and consider new legislation.

The Sag Harbor Village board has hired Southampton-based planning firm Inter-Science Research Associates to inventory businesses and study the impacts that new regulations could bring.

“The goal isn’t just anti-formula; it’s more about pro-diversity,” Haye said. The village, he added, is looking for a mix of businesses that can function year-round for residents, “rather than just a tourist-only district.

A crash at the gate of Jay-Z and Beyonce’s house.

A theft at a high-end retail store in East Hampton Village.

A hit-and-run that killed a 22-year-old biker in Hampton Bays.

A robbery at a Spanish deli in Flanders.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that local police say they were able to solve these incidents and make arrests through the assistance of Flock cameras, which are cloud-based automatic license plate readers that can track distinguishing features on vehicles and that are dotted throughout the South Fork’s towns and villages, designed as a means of boosting public safety.

But there has been rising opposition to these license plate reading cameras across the country, due to what critics say is the invasive nature of the surveillance and concerns over what happens with the data that gets captured, which is not stored locally and could be used to piece together movements across jurisdictions.

How prevalent are Flock cameras on southeastern Long Island? Going straight down Route 27 from Eastport to Montauk would take a driver past 10 Flock cameras, according to DeFlock — an open-source third-party platform that maps the locations of the cameras.

East Hampton Village, which is not an anomaly, currently has 13 Flock cameras posted throughout the village, according to DeFlock, which uses crowdsourced information to compile interactive online maps.

The East Hampton Village Board this week purchased another camera for $12,000, which will be placed at the YMCA, across the street from John Marshall Elementary School. The costs of this will be covered via a donation in the same amount from the East Hampton Village Foundation.

Also, this week, the East Hampton Village Board formed a Flock Advisory Task Force, which will be made up of Mayor and former Police Chief Jerry Larsen, current Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson, Village Board member Sandra Melendez, and Arthur Dunham. This committee will be used as a way of managing the collected data.

***

In multiple meetings this summer, residents of Lee Avenue and other streets located south of Hill Street in Southampton Village have voiced their frustrations with the slow moving, seemingly endless traffic that has flowed through their streets during the evening rush hour and have implored the Village Board to take action.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that in response to these concerns, the Village of Southampton is undertaking a pilot program that will restrict left-hand turns from Lee Avenue, Captains Neck Lane and Halsey Neck Lane. A channelizing island will be installed at Lee Avenue to prevent these turns 24/7, while cones and barrels will be set up each day at Captains Neck Lane and Halsey Neck Lane from 3 to 7 p.m. to mimic the physical island. The pilot program will begin on Monday, September 14, and continue until Friday, October 30.

The Southampton Village Board voted to approve the pilot program at its meeting this past Tuesday in a 4-1 vote. The vote came after project manager Ryan Winter of VHB Engineers explained that the pilot program, which will be done in conjunction with the Southampton Village Police Department and Department of Public Works, would essentially mimic the current right-hand turn restrictions that are in place from 3 to 7 p.m. at Bishops Lane, Corrigan Street and Somerset Avenue to the north of Hill Street.

“Ultimately, the goal is — if these restrictions are to stay permanent — would be to not need anything physical at these intersections to better accommodate emergency services and reduce impact to the streets with construction,” Winter said. “That would be consistent with the north side of the street where there are no physical barriers to vehicles making turns but the compliance on those restrictions has improved over time*, and that would be the hope that it would be a similar scenario here.”

*Late yesterday afternoon and early evening traffic crawling bumper to bumper for hours on Somerset Avenue belied Mr. Winter’s “improved over time” assessment of that road north of Hill Street.

At Tuesday evening’s meeting, Trustee Rob Coburn asked Winter if he believes that the program would result in more motorists turning to use County Road 39 as their main roadway, a route that has been key in traffic discussions.

“The vehicles are still coming from east of the village. They need to get out some way. Hill Street is still going to be a conduit to do that from the downtown area and heading west,” Winter said. “And those additional vehicles that would have turned onto Hill Street are going to have to either maneuver through the northern neighborhood adjacent to Lee or, like you alluded to, go toward North Sea Road.”

Coburn was the lone “no” vote on the pilot program, citing the uncertain cost to run it and that he is still waiting to see certain data about how much traffic is flowing in and out of the village. Mayor Bill Manger noted that the board could amend the resolution at its next meeting on September 10 once they find out more information.

***

Last week, the Larry Rivers Foundation announced the gift of Rivers’s personal library to the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center.

Hope Hamilton reports on 27east.com that the Pollock-Krasner House, located in Springs, is a National Historic Landmark and the former home and studio of artists Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, which they moved into in 1945. The Study Center, located inside Stony Brook Southampton’s library, houses more than 10,000 archived items, documents and books on the topics of Pollock, Krasner and abstract expressionism and are available to researchers. The addition of Rivers’s personal library will bring books, catalogs, magazines and pieces of ephemera to the collection, including many items that relate directly to the artist’s background research for his own work. Rivers’s personal library will not be alone at the Pollock-Krasner Study Center. It will sit alongside material from the estates of artists Alfonso Ossorio and Elaine de Kooning, and the Parrish Art Museum library.

And, of course, alongside the works of Jackson Pollock.

***

On Tuesday night, developer Adam Potter and his attorney, Tiffany Scarlato spoke at Sag Harbor Village Hall — for yet another Planning Board meeting related to Potter’s site plan and special exception permit application for mixed-use development of his properties at 7 and 11 Bridge Street, a project that has been before various village land use boards for several years.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that this most recent trip to the municipal building on Main Street was for a work session related to the project, focused specifically on discussion points related to the project presented by John Ellsworth of Nelson Pope Voorhis, the Village of Sag Harbor’s environmental consultant for the project. Appearing over Zoom, Ellsworth outlined the major points of an 18-page memo on the application based on his firm’s review of Potter’s resubmission of the environmental impact statement that was received by the village last month.

Potter and his attorney had requested that the board continue to go through the process of assessing the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) even though they and the board are aware that the FEIS cannot be considered complete and ready for a vote on approval until the State Department of Environmental Conservation approves the remedial action work plan (RAWP) that the applicant has submitted to address the soil contamination that exists underneath the properties.

A public hearing on that plan is scheduled for Thursday, August 27, at Village Hall at 6 p.m.

On Tuesday night, the board voted 3-0, with Grainne Coen absent and Susan Hewitt abstaining, to adopt a resolution that declared that the FEIS remains incomplete, while adopting the memo from Nelson Pope Voorhis that outlines several actions that Potter and Scarlato need to take to provide additional information and bring the FEIS closer to completion.

The DEC is scheduled to rule on the draft RAWP two weeks after the public meeting on August 27.

***

In preparation for the 2026-27 school year, Newsday invited Long Island’s school superintendents to comment on the following: “What are your thoughts on AI and its role in education — particularly in how teachers are using it to teach, and how much AI students should be taught while still placing an emphasis on decreasing screen use?”

Below is a sampling of the response from Dr. Fatima Morrell, Superintendent of the Southampton Union Free School District.

“As we prepare students to become global citizens and critical thinkers of the 21st century, it is critically important that they are prepared with the necessary technological skills and mindsets that are required to meet the needs of the workforce of the future.

While there is much hesitation by teachers and parents regarding appropriate, ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we must contend with the fact that many students are already using AI and this use needs structure, effective education and standards that center AI as a supportive tool while maintaining intellectual and educational integrity.

In Southampton schools, we are in the process of developing a district AI plan that ensures student, teacher, parent, staff and community voice. This is a phased in approach that will ensure effective professional development for teachers, administrators and parents that underscores the responsible and strategic implementation of AI while protecting students from misguided use and the harms of superfluous access to digital screens. Teachers are being provided with learning opportunities in our 2026 Summer...]]>

A crash at the gate of Jay-Z and Beyonce’s house.

A theft at a high-end retail store in East Hampton Village.

A hit-and-run that killed a 22-year-old biker in Hampton Bays.

A robbery at a Spanish deli in Flanders.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that local police say they were able to solve these incidents and make arrests through the assistance of Flock cameras, which are cloud-based automatic license plate readers that can track distinguishing features on vehicles and that are dotted throughout the South Fork’s towns and villages, designed as a means of boosting public safety.

But there has been rising opposition to these license plate reading cameras across the country, due to what critics say is the invasive nature of the surveillance and concerns over what happens with the data that gets captured, which is not stored locally and could be used to piece together movements across jurisdictions.

How prevalent are Flock cameras on southeastern Long Island? Going straight down Route 27 from Eastport to Montauk would take a driver past 10 Flock cameras, according to DeFlock — an open-source third-party platform that maps the locations of the cameras.

East Hampton Village, which is not an anomaly, currently has 13 Flock cameras posted throughout the village, according to DeFlock, which uses crowdsourced information to compile interactive online maps.

The East Hampton Village Board this week purchased another camera for $12,000, which will be placed at the YMCA, across the street from John Marshall Elementary School. The costs of this will be covered via a donation in the same amount from the East Hampton Village Foundation.

Also, this week, the East Hampton Village Board formed a Flock Advisory Task Force, which will be made up of Mayor and former Police Chief Jerry Larsen, current Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson, Village Board member Sandra Melendez, and Arthur Dunham. This committee will be used as a way of managing the collected data.

***

In multiple meetings this summer, residents of Lee Avenue and other streets located south of Hill Street in Southampton Village have voiced their frustrations with the slow moving, seemingly endless traffic that has flowed through their streets during the evening rush hour and have implored the Village Board to take action.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that in response to these concerns, the Village of Southampton is undertaking a pilot program that will restrict left-hand turns from Lee Avenue, Captains Neck Lane and Halsey Neck Lane. A channelizing island will be installed at Lee Avenue to prevent these turns 24/7, while cones and barrels will be set up each day at Captains Neck Lane and Halsey Neck Lane from 3 to 7 p.m. to mimic the physical island. The pilot program will begin on Monday, September 14, and continue until Friday, October 30.

The Southampton Village Board voted to approve the pilot program at its meeting this past Tuesday in a 4-1 vote. The vote came after project manager Ryan Winter of VHB Engineers explained that the pilot program, which will be done in conjunction with the Southampton Village Police Department and Department of Public Works, would essentially mimic the current right-hand turn restrictions that are in place from 3 to 7 p.m. at Bishops Lane, Corrigan Street and Somerset Avenue to the north of Hill Street.

“Ultimately, the goal is — if these restrictions are to stay permanent — would be to not need anything physical at these intersections to better accommodate emergency services and reduce impact to the streets with construction,” Winter said. “That would be consistent with the north side of the street where there are no physical barriers to vehicles making turns but the compliance on those restrictions has improved over time*, and that would be the hope that it would be a similar scenario here.”

*Late yesterday afternoon and early evening traffic crawling bumper to bumper for hours on Somerset Avenue belied Mr. Winter’s “improved over time” assessment of that road north of Hill Street.

At Tuesday evening’s meeting, Trustee Rob Coburn asked Winter if he believes that the program would result in more motorists turning to use County Road 39 as their main roadway, a route that has been key in traffic discussions.

“The vehicles are still coming from east of the village. They need to get out some way. Hill Street is still going to be a conduit to do that from the downtown area and heading west,” Winter said. “And those additional vehicles that would have turned onto Hill Street are going to have to either maneuver through the northern neighborhood adjacent to Lee or, like you alluded to, go toward North Sea Road.”

Coburn was the lone “no” vote on the pilot program, citing the uncertain cost to run it and that he is still waiting to see certain data about how much traffic is flowing in and out of the village. Mayor Bill Manger noted that the board could amend the resolution at its next meeting on September 10 once they find out more information.

***

Last week, the Larry Rivers Foundation announced the gift of Rivers’s personal library to the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center.

Hope Hamilton reports on 27east.com that the Pollock-Krasner House, located in Springs, is a National Historic Landmark and the former home and studio of artists Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, which they moved into in 1945. The Study Center, located inside Stony Brook Southampton’s library, houses more than 10,000 archived items, documents and books on the topics of Pollock, Krasner and abstract expressionism and are available to researchers. The addition of Rivers’s personal library will bring books, catalogs, magazines and pieces of ephemera to the collection, including many items that relate directly to the artist’s background research for his own work. Rivers’s personal library will not be alone at the Pollock-Krasner Study Center. It will sit alongside material from the estates of artists Alfonso Ossorio and Elaine de Kooning, and the Parrish Art Museum library.

And, of course, alongside the works of Jackson Pollock.

***

On Tuesday night, developer Adam Potter and his attorney, Tiffany Scarlato spoke at Sag Harbor Village Hall — for yet another Planning Board meeting related to Potter’s site plan and special exception permit application for mixed-use development of his properties at 7 and 11 Bridge Street, a project that has been before various village land use boards for several years.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that this most recent trip to the municipal building on Main Street was for a work session related to the project, focused specifically on discussion points related to the project presented by John Ellsworth of Nelson Pope Voorhis, the Village of Sag Harbor’s environmental consultant for the project. Appearing over Zoom, Ellsworth outlined the major points of an 18-page memo on the application based on his firm’s review of Potter’s resubmission of the environmental impact statement that was received by the village last month.

Potter and his attorney had requested that the board continue to go through the process of assessing the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) even though they and the board are aware that the FEIS cannot be considered complete and ready for a vote on approval until the State Department of Environmental Conservation approves the remedial action work plan (RAWP) that the applicant has submitted to address the soil contamination that exists underneath the properties.

A public hearing on that plan is scheduled for Thursday, August 27, at Village Hall at 6 p.m.

On Tuesday night, the board voted 3-0, with Grainne Coen absent and Susan Hewitt abstaining, to adopt a resolution that declared that the FEIS remains incomplete, while adopting the memo from Nelson Pope Voorhis that outlines several actions that Potter and Scarlato need to take to provide additional information and bring the FEIS closer to completion.

The DEC is scheduled to rule on the draft RAWP two weeks after the public meeting on August 27.

***

In preparation for the 2026-27 school year, Newsday invited Long Island’s school superintendents to comment on the following: “What are your thoughts on AI and its role in education — particularly in how teachers are using it to teach, and how much AI students should be taught while still placing an emphasis on decreasing screen use?”

Below is a sampling of the response from Dr. Fatima Morrell, Superintendent of the Southampton Union Free School District.

“As we prepare students to become global citizens and critical thinkers of the 21st century, it is critically important that they are prepared with the necessary technological skills and mindsets that are required to meet the needs of the workforce of the future.

While there is much hesitation by teachers and parents regarding appropriate, ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we must contend with the fact that many students are already using AI and this use needs structure, effective education and standards that center AI as a supportive tool while maintaining intellectual and educational integrity.

In Southampton schools, we are in the process of developing a district AI plan that ensures student, teacher, parent, staff and community voice. This is a phased in approach that will ensure effective professional development for teachers, administrators and parents that underscores the responsible and strategic implementation of AI while protecting students from misguided use and the harms of superfluous access to digital screens. Teachers are being provided with learning opportunities in our 2026 Summer Institute in order to integrate AI into their lessons, while addressing NY State Digital Fluency and Computer Science standards. These approaches support in developing our students as responsible digital citizens.”

Dr. Fatima Morrell, Superintendent of the Southampton Union Free School District, addressing the use of A.I. in childhood education as quoted in NEWSDAY.

***

Hampton Bays residents turned out in huge numbers on Tuesday night and gave the Hampton Bays Fire District permission to sell land it owns on Montauk Highway in the hamlet’s downtown.

The referendum put to voters was approved by 374 “yes” votes to 244 “no” votes, according to Hampton Bays Fire District Commissioner Rob King.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the vote, the second one held this summer on the sale of the same property, will allow the Fire District to list the approximately 0.75-acre property for sale. But King said the district has said it is unsure of how it will proceed, and raised the possibility the district will discuss the matter with Southampton Town officials first.

Hampton Bays Fire District commissioners have said that if given permission by voters they will list the property for sale on the open market and sell it to whoever the highest bidder is. The referendum stated that the minimum price of the sale would be $1 million — but the district could take higher bids, the commissioners have said.

The land that voters approved selling now is the remainder of a property that the district owns directly across from the Hampton Bays Fire Department firehouse on Montauk Highway.

***

The average U.S. shopper is expected to spend more than $800 for back-to-school supplies, according to a recent report. Long Island parents interviewed by Newsday said they felt a mix of excitement for the new school year and stress over the logistics and cost of back-to-school preparations. One nonprofit organizer said demand for back-to-school supplies has risen dramatically.

When Samantha Morales started Branches Long Island, a nonprofit supporting families experiencing financial hardships, in her Coram home in 2019, the organization helped 35 families a week. The figure has risen to 700 a week, she said. The group started holding a backpack giveaway in 2020, initially serving around 100 kids. At its most recent event, held earlier this month with the Suffolk County Police Department, more than 900 children came with their families.

On Monday, Morales said her phone was ringing off the hook, with more parents and grandparents asking whether there were supplies left.

“It’s really hard to survive right now,” she said.

The 39 year old mother of four, with children ages 8 through 14, estimated she would spend $500 per child this season. She said she began shopping in June, often buying in bulk.

"We are pretty middle-class," she said. "We have to bargain shop all year long. We have a mortgage. We have to buy in waves. ... You have to be creative."

Dandan Zou reports in NEWSDAY that Gina Mojica, 35, of Riverhead, hoped to keep the cost of her childrens' school supplies to a minimum this year. She planned to attend giveaways to gather most of the items on their lists, including the recent Branches event at Longwood Junior High School in Middle Island.

“It’s hard when you have three kids,” said Mojica, who works for a Suffolk County government agency.

Mojica said she had not started buying new clothes for her children but figured that would cost a few hundred dollars. The mother of three said she goes over her budget every month and is saving to buy a laptop for her daughter, who will begin 10th grade soon.

A recent Good Morning America/Ipsos poll showed parents on average expect to spend $885 per child in grades K-12 and most expect prices to be more expensive than last year. Another estimate by the National Retail Federation found the average U.S. shopper plans to pay about $864 this back-to-school shopping season.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the Southold Town board voted 6-0 yesterday to adopt a detailed response plan that includes dispatching police officers to the scene of reported ICE activity to verify operations and de-escalate potential confrontations.

Southold Town Police Chief Steven Grattan developed the policy, which also spells out a communication chain for local officials to notify schools and other potentially affected institutions, amid six months of debate over what role, if any, the town should have during ICE arrests.

Three longtime residents, undocumented immigrants who did not have violent criminal records, were arrested in February in Greenport.

Residents described a chaotic scene of agents’ vehicles speeding on quiet village streets and a near "ghost town" in the aftermath as many were afraid to leave their homes.

Chief Grattan said the policy is focused on peacekeeping efforts.

"We understand federal law enforcement officers have a job to do," he told NEWSDAY on Tuesday. "We’re certainly not going to obstruct them, but we also don’t get involved in civil immigration, so really we’re there to keep the peace."

Southold Town officials said having a clear local response will enhance public safety, foster trust with the police department and increase transparency.

Southold officers may be dispatched to verify outside law enforcement activity, according to the policy. Officers would remain at the scene with their body cameras on and "neither obstruct nor assist the operation, absent a judicial warrant," according to the town resolution.

Information would be relayed from the police department to the town supervisor, who would then notify other elected officials and the administrators of potentially impacted schools and hospitals for "situational awareness and preparedness," according to the policy adopted yesterday.

The policy emphasizes that the department will continue to hold de-escalation training for its members and states that the chief would issue a "timely public statement containing non-sensitive details" about verified operations.

***

The Long Island Rail Road will extend a second set of tracks alongside the existing main track in Amagansett and upgrade signals along the Montauk Branch to allow eastbound and westbound trains to pass each other without stopping — an upgrade that will improve schedule reliability and open the possibility of adding more trains to the Montauk Line, the LIRR’s president said yesterday at a press conference in Hampton Bays.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the new sidings, as they are called, and the signal upgrades will cost some $32 million, and the construction work is expected to begin in early 2028, according to LIRR President Rob Free, who announced several planned infrastructure upgrades around eastern Suffolk County. The new siding, which will extend an existing siding in Amagansett by the length of 14 railroad cars, will reduce the stretch of track where two trains cannot pass each other from 27 miles down to 16 miles. The single track that runs from Speonk to Montauk has greatly limited the LIRR’s ability to add more trains to the line because there are only a couple of places where two trains can pass each other, and one of the trains must stop and wait for the other to pass.

Free said that the LIRR has also been hampered in its bid to expand service by limited “rolling stock” — railroad lingo for the actual train locomotives and coach cars — that it expects to begin expanding this coming year.

New York State flooded the MTA with $68 billion in new funding in its 2025-2029 capital plan, $6 billion of which is earmarked for Long Island services, Free said, calling Governor Kathy Hochul “one of the most pro-transit governors in the history of New York.”

The LIRR will use its portion of that funding to purchase new diesel locomotives and expects to begin purchasing more coaches in phase two of its capital program.

Also in phase two, he said, will be making the “temporary” second platform that was built in Hampton Bays this past summer ahead of the surge in ridership anticipated — correctly — for the U.S. Open a permanent structure and expanding the main platform at the station.

East Hampton Town Councilwoman Kate Rogers, who was at Tuesday’s press conference in Hampton Bays, applauded the LIRR’s look to the east.

“The infrastructure is critical for our employees who have to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to get to work by 9 a.m. and for our town,” she said. “It’s so overdue. You think about how many people are coming to the East End, and so few trains, it’s something we’ve been asking for, for a long time.”

***

The Southampton Town Youth Bureau is recruiting students in grades seven through 12 to join its Youth Advisory Committee for the 2026-27 school year.

The youth-led organization, guided by an elected youth board, gives students an opportunity to participate in community service projects, meet students from other schools and help shape the program.

Projects include leaf raking for senior citizens, toy and blood drives, fundraisers for community organizations, and meetings with elected officials to advocate for youth issues. Participants can also earn community service credit hours.

Youth Advisory Committee meetings will be held every other Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with the first meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, at the Hampton Bays Community Center, 25 Ponquogue Avenue.

For information or to register, visit Southampton Town Youth Bureau registration, southamptontown.recdesk.com, or call 631-702-2425.

***

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine took the opportunity during a press conference held by the Long Island Rail Road yesterday in Hampton Bays…which included a representative from Governor Kathy Hochul’s office…to call on the New York State Department of Transportation to take over the management and planning of County Road 39 in Southampton so that the roadway can be appropriately upgraded to match the traffic volumes it is beset with daily. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the Suffolk County executive said that the county would be willing to swap maintenance responsibilities for Montauk Highway in Southampton in exchange for the state taking over the five miles of roadway that runs from the eastern terminus of Sunrise Highway, which is a state road, to the intersection with Montauk Highway in Water Mill, which is also a state-managed roadway.

Romaine said that the level of resources and “political clout” that the State Department of Transportation can muster is better suited to dealing with the problems of the “Southampton Bypass” than the county is.

The Suffolk County Department of Public Works is nearing completion of a two-year study of the County Road 39 corridor, and Romaine said his engineers’ findings will inform the discussion of who should be handling the effort to fix decades of chronic congestion caused by the fact that Sunrise Highway feeds onto a commercial roadway that can only handle barely more than half as many cars per hour as the highway can.

But without the kind of resources the State Department of Transportation can marshal, the overloaded roadway is never going to get the sort of upgrades that are needed to make the massive and disruptive updates that will be needed, according to Romaine.

Romaine nodded to the experiment over the past year with new traffic patterns and traffic signal changes that were made along County Road 39 at the behest of the town and village, which are now to be abandoned after Labor Day. He said the county had advised the changes would not have the traffic benefits that local officials had thought but that it had been willing to go along — and pay the $75,000 it cost to restripe the roads in the fall of 2025 — because it understands the desperation of the situation.

“We gave it a shot because we’re looking at pretty much anything,” Romaine said. “But what you need out here is a major investment. You can’t do this on the cheap. Transportation is never something you can do on the cheap. You’ve got to spend money.”

***

The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists that the Exit 63N ramp from westbound Sunrise Highway (Route 27) to northbound Old Riverhead Road (County Road 31) in Westhampton, will be closed beginning at 10 p.m. this evening until 5 a.m. tomorrow morning for pavement work.

In other news, Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that in Riverhead this afternoon, a final public hearing on the North Fork Pipeline by the Suffolk County Water Authority is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Riverhead Free Library. Written comments will also be accepted through at least Sept. 11 — an extension of that deadline is likely, says SCWA CEO Jeff Szabo.

And as the Southold Town Board unanimously adopted a resolution last night outlining how town police will respond to outside law enforcement agencies acting within the town’s boundaries, Vaughn Golden, Brandon Cruz and Matt Troutman report in THE NY POST that Governor Kathy Hochul earlier yesterday held a press conference in Albany to tout the start of the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” — arguing it’ll keep New York police agencies focused on criminal cases, rather than helping the federal government’s work of civil immigration enforcement.

“Any police department or sheriff’s office that disobeys this law, that maintains any agreement with ICE, will face]]>The Town of Southold now has a plan officials hope will mitigate fear and chaos if U. S. Immigrations & Customs Enforcement agents ever come back to town.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the Southold Town board voted 6-0 yesterday to adopt a detailed response plan that includes dispatching police officers to the scene of reported ICE activity to verify operations and de-escalate potential confrontations.

Southold Town Police Chief Steven Grattan developed the policy, which also spells out a communication chain for local officials to notify schools and other potentially affected institutions, amid six months of debate over what role, if any, the town should have during ICE arrests.

Three longtime residents, undocumented immigrants who did not have violent criminal records, were arrested in February in Greenport.

Residents described a chaotic scene of agents’ vehicles speeding on quiet village streets and a near "ghost town" in the aftermath as many were afraid to leave their homes.

Chief Grattan said the policy is focused on peacekeeping efforts.

"We understand federal law enforcement officers have a job to do," he told NEWSDAY on Tuesday. "We’re certainly not going to obstruct them, but we also don’t get involved in civil immigration, so really we’re there to keep the peace."

Southold Town officials said having a clear local response will enhance public safety, foster trust with the police department and increase transparency.

Southold officers may be dispatched to verify outside law enforcement activity, according to the policy. Officers would remain at the scene with their body cameras on and "neither obstruct nor assist the operation, absent a judicial warrant," according to the town resolution.

Information would be relayed from the police department to the town supervisor, who would then notify other elected officials and the administrators of potentially impacted schools and hospitals for "situational awareness and preparedness," according to the policy adopted yesterday.

The policy emphasizes that the department will continue to hold de-escalation training for its members and states that the chief would issue a "timely public statement containing non-sensitive details" about verified operations.

***

The Long Island Rail Road will extend a second set of tracks alongside the existing main track in Amagansett and upgrade signals along the Montauk Branch to allow eastbound and westbound trains to pass each other without stopping — an upgrade that will improve schedule reliability and open the possibility of adding more trains to the Montauk Line, the LIRR’s president said yesterday at a press conference in Hampton Bays.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the new sidings, as they are called, and the signal upgrades will cost some $32 million, and the construction work is expected to begin in early 2028, according to LIRR President Rob Free, who announced several planned infrastructure upgrades around eastern Suffolk County. The new siding, which will extend an existing siding in Amagansett by the length of 14 railroad cars, will reduce the stretch of track where two trains cannot pass each other from 27 miles down to 16 miles. The single track that runs from Speonk to Montauk has greatly limited the LIRR’s ability to add more trains to the line because there are only a couple of places where two trains can pass each other, and one of the trains must stop and wait for the other to pass.

Free said that the LIRR has also been hampered in its bid to expand service by limited “rolling stock” — railroad lingo for the actual train locomotives and coach cars — that it expects to begin expanding this coming year.

New York State flooded the MTA with $68 billion in new funding in its 2025-2029 capital plan, $6 billion of which is earmarked for Long Island services, Free said, calling Governor Kathy Hochul “one of the most pro-transit governors in the history of New York.”

The LIRR will use its portion of that funding to purchase new diesel locomotives and expects to begin purchasing more coaches in phase two of its capital program.

Also in phase two, he said, will be making the “temporary” second platform that was built in Hampton Bays this past summer ahead of the surge in ridership anticipated — correctly — for the U.S. Open a permanent structure and expanding the main platform at the station.

East Hampton Town Councilwoman Kate Rogers, who was at Tuesday’s press conference in Hampton Bays, applauded the LIRR’s look to the east.

“The infrastructure is critical for our employees who have to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to get to work by 9 a.m. and for our town,” she said. “It’s so overdue. You think about how many people are coming to the East End, and so few trains, it’s something we’ve been asking for, for a long time.”

***

The Southampton Town Youth Bureau is recruiting students in grades seven through 12 to join its Youth Advisory Committee for the 2026-27 school year.

The youth-led organization, guided by an elected youth board, gives students an opportunity to participate in community service projects, meet students from other schools and help shape the program.

Projects include leaf raking for senior citizens, toy and blood drives, fundraisers for community organizations, and meetings with elected officials to advocate for youth issues. Participants can also earn community service credit hours.

Youth Advisory Committee meetings will be held every other Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with the first meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, at the Hampton Bays Community Center, 25 Ponquogue Avenue.

For information or to register, visit Southampton Town Youth Bureau registration, southamptontown.recdesk.com, or call 631-702-2425.

***

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine took the opportunity during a press conference held by the Long Island Rail Road yesterday in Hampton Bays…which included a representative from Governor Kathy Hochul’s office…to call on the New York State Department of Transportation to take over the management and planning of County Road 39 in Southampton so that the roadway can be appropriately upgraded to match the traffic volumes it is beset with daily. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the Suffolk County executive said that the county would be willing to swap maintenance responsibilities for Montauk Highway in Southampton in exchange for the state taking over the five miles of roadway that runs from the eastern terminus of Sunrise Highway, which is a state road, to the intersection with Montauk Highway in Water Mill, which is also a state-managed roadway.

Romaine said that the level of resources and “political clout” that the State Department of Transportation can muster is better suited to dealing with the problems of the “Southampton Bypass” than the county is.

The Suffolk County Department of Public Works is nearing completion of a two-year study of the County Road 39 corridor, and Romaine said his engineers’ findings will inform the discussion of who should be handling the effort to fix decades of chronic congestion caused by the fact that Sunrise Highway feeds onto a commercial roadway that can only handle barely more than half as many cars per hour as the highway can.

But without the kind of resources the State Department of Transportation can marshal, the overloaded roadway is never going to get the sort of upgrades that are needed to make the massive and disruptive updates that will be needed, according to Romaine.

Romaine nodded to the experiment over the past year with new traffic patterns and traffic signal changes that were made along County Road 39 at the behest of the town and village, which are now to be abandoned after Labor Day. He said the county had advised the changes would not have the traffic benefits that local officials had thought but that it had been willing to go along — and pay the $75,000 it cost to restripe the roads in the fall of 2025 — because it understands the desperation of the situation.

“We gave it a shot because we’re looking at pretty much anything,” Romaine said. “But what you need out here is a major investment. You can’t do this on the cheap. Transportation is never something you can do on the cheap. You’ve got to spend money.”

***

The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists that the Exit 63N ramp from westbound Sunrise Highway (Route 27) to northbound Old Riverhead Road (County Road 31) in Westhampton, will be closed beginning at 10 p.m. this evening until 5 a.m. tomorrow morning for pavement work.

In other news, Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that in Riverhead this afternoon, a final public hearing on the North Fork Pipeline by the Suffolk County Water Authority is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Riverhead Free Library. Written comments will also be accepted through at least Sept. 11 — an extension of that deadline is likely, says SCWA CEO Jeff Szabo.

And as the Southold Town Board unanimously adopted a resolution last night outlining how town police will respond to outside law enforcement agencies acting within the town’s boundaries, Vaughn Golden, Brandon Cruz and Matt Troutman report in THE NY POST that Governor Kathy Hochul earlier yesterday held a press conference in Albany to tout the start of the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” — arguing it’ll keep New York police agencies focused on criminal cases, rather than helping the federal government’s work of civil immigration enforcement.

“Any police department or sheriff’s office that disobeys this law, that maintains any agreement with ICE, will face legal action,” Hochul declared from a podium in her ceremonial office in the state capitol. “And to those suing us, those trying to block the implementation of this law who’ve tried before and failed, our law has already been upheld by the courts, but if you try me again, I say, ‘Bring it on.'”

A US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson argued that nearly 7,000 immigrants with criminal records were released in New York because of the state’s failure to honor ICE detainers “Governor Hochul must stop putting politics above public safety,” the spokesperson said. “This type of insanity leads to more crimes and more innocent victims.”

***

Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Andrew Handel has been appointed to the Suffolk County Tick Control Advisory Committee following a resolution introduced by Suffolk County Legislator Ann E. Welker.

The appointment, formalized on June 23, brings the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital specialist onto the advisory panel to help strengthen local public health strategies. Dr. Handel provides inpatient and outpatient care for children with acute and chronic infectious diseases while conducting specialized evaluations at the Stony Brook Southampton Regional Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center — the first dedicated tick clinic in the Northeast. On a national level, he serves as Associate Editor for Supplements for the “Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society” and acts as a liaison to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases.

"Suffolk County has been an epicenter of tickborne diseases for decades, impacting residents of all ages, from newborns to older adults," Dr. Handel said. "I am honored to serve on the Tick Control Advisory Committee and look forward to working with my fellow committee members to address this growing problem in Suffolk County".

The Suffolk County Tick Control Advisory Committee — a group composed of legislators, health service providers, researchers, and environmental conservationists — encourages members of the public to attend its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, September 15 in Smithtown.

***

The Shinnecock Indian Nation has received a $2 million grant that will allow its Housing Department to make badly needed upgrades to 25 low-income homes on the Southampton reservation. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, a federally regulated private institution, is the largest received to date for the nation’s Housing Department, which oversees home repairs and upgrades for the Shinnecock Nation’s 230 on-reservation homes. The Affordable Housing Program grant is aimed chiefly at lower-income dwellings on the nation’s nearly 1,000-acre federally recognized land adjacent west to Southampton Village.

The grant will allow the tribe to allocate from $60,000 to $80,000 per home for work that can include mold remediation, electrical panel and green-energy upgrades, roofing repairs, window replacements and other improvements to homes that are most in need, a Shinnecock official said.

"This is big for us," said Linee Matthews, project manager of the nation’s housing authority, which has a typical annual budget for home repairs of just over $30,000, excluding administrative costs. "Making sure our homes are healthy and safe is what we’ll use this grant for."

Program co-sponsor Dime Bank worked with the tribe to secure the grant.

Many Shinnecock homes are occupied by elders who badly need accessibility upgrades, conversions to lower-floor living spaces and bathrooms with safeguards for elder use. Many are on fixed incomes or otherwise financially challenged, and existing tribal programs weren't able to cover the bigger expenses the new program can, Matthews said.

A state grant and other programs have helped remediate up to 48 homes to help with flood mitigation and flood-damage prevention, but up to 200 have yet to be addressed for mold problems, Matthews said.

Planned electrical upgrades could ultimately lower costs, she added.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York earmarks 10% of its private earnings each year to support the creation and preservation of low-income housing. The group reached out to the Shinnecock Nation and helped managers through the application process, Matthews said.

She credited another group with helping the nation with desperately needed home repairs and upgrades through the years. The Hamptons Community Outreach, a Bridgehampton-based nonprofit, funded and led the construction of 10 homes on the reservation, Matthews said, while helping pay for emergency home repairs, summer classes for children, hot meals and fresh vegetables, even helping fix or provide cars for tribe members.

"There’s never been a time they denied us when we asked, ‘Can you help?’ ” Matthews said of the group and its executive director, Marit Molin.

But some literacy advocates on Long Island say this strategy does not go far enough. While they agreed that the freedom to choose is important, they argued that the lack of structure harms students, especially those who are already struggling with reading.

Lorena Mongelli reports in NEWSDAY that Hampton Bays launched a student choice initiative this summer after seeing participation in their required summer reading decline. This season, for the elementary grade level, the district opted to partner with the local library to incentivize children to read what they like by offering vouchers and other prizes donated by local businesses and the school PTA. “We met this spring with a number of our staff, and we talked about certain challenges that exist, and just in general the participation level of students. Then we brainstormed some ideas, and ultimately decided to do this [partner with the library],” said Michael Carlson, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

East Hampton schools superintendent Adam Fine said middle school students in his district are required to read three poems that connect to the school's theme of "Believe in Yourself." In an email to NEWSDAY, Fine laid out the merits of this mandatory assignment. "Building these habits will assist students in tackling work in the fall which requires a heavy concentration on close reading of the text. We continue to see this type of reading required in NYS examinations and in our locally developed curriculum," Fine said.

Even if students are reading comic books or excerpts, experts and school officials agreed, all reading has value. While reading novels builds stamina, any reading is better than none, they said.

***

Shelter Island is about to trade its late-summer quiet for a burst of Hollywood energy.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that a new Netflix film starring Whoopi Goldberg — and backed by former first lady Michelle Obama — plans to shoot in the East End community next month, bringing a dose of star power to the small town during its shoulder season.

Netflix has applied with the Town of Shelter Island to film the original comedy “Women Like Us,” starring Goldberg, Jenifer Lewis, Vanessa Williams and Vivica Fox. The film will bring roughly 150 cast and crew members to Shelter Island between Sept. 21 and Oct. 1, officials said.

“We are going to play Shelter Island for itself, as a location in the movie where these women go and have this kind of reunion, where they get to spend time with each other and go through rededicating their friendships,” Ryan Ferguson, the film’s location manager, told the town board during a presentation last Tuesday.

Filming is expected to take place primarily at the Pridwin Hotel and Cottages, a waterfront resort and restaurant, Ferguson said. Producers are also seeking permission to close part of Crescent Beach for one or two days to shoot a scene there.

Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams estimates the Town of Shelter Island will collect at least $30,000 in fees, calculated from a mix of per-day filming charges, parking fees and traffic control costs. The final total is expected to be determined next week.

The influx of cast and crew could also provide a welcome boost to local businesses, particularly restaurants that typically scale back operations after Labor Day, Brach-Williams said.

Ferguson said cast and crew will be housed in hotels both on Shelter Island and in nearby communities.

***

Summer Concerts in the Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Southampton continue this evening featuring 5 time Grammy and Emmy award winning artist - John Easterlin – performing SOLID GOLD: A return to Broadway’s Golden Era.

Admission is free.

This evening’s concert starts at 6:30 p.m. and after the show stay for a reception with John Easterlin and the basilica director of music Dr. Kalina Mrmevska.

That’s tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, 168 Hill Street, Southampton, N.Y. 11968

***

Is this a be careful what you wish for scenario?

Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that angry East Hampton residents and likely a business rival successfully killed a California hotelier’s revamped plan for a casual Italian eatery in the heart of Montauk — but now face a replacement that’s twice the capacity.

Marley Dominguez, who owns the luxury Offshore Montauk hotel, had been willing to scale down his original embattled next-door plans for a restaurant bar and instead create a laid-back omasake-style joint, or one in which there is no menu and customers instead leave their food up to the chef.

He already had approval for his larger-capacity original version from the East Hampton Town Planning Board. But he said he would cut it back after residents accused him of being “deceptive” and pulling a “trojan horse,” fearing the venue will end up being a rowdy day and nightclub.

Then the planning board shot down his revised smaller proposal last week.

So Dominguez told The Post he is now going back to his original plan for his upcoming Italian restaurant and bar, Este.

“We listened carefully to the concerns raised by the town, and in response, proposed a modification that would reduce the size and occupancy of the space,” Dominguez said.

“The Planning Board ultimately decided not to move forward with that option, and we respect their decision. As a result, we will return to the plan originally proposed and approved by the board,” he said through a statement from his company, Enduring Hospitality.

A rep for the East Hampton Town Planning Board told The Post that the first plan was approved based on factors such as promising a small staff, no direct bar service and operations consistent with the town’s legal definition of a restaurant.

But paperwork for the revised proposal suggested different uses were planned for the venue, the representative said.

The original now-back-on proposal, approved by the planning board in December, involves a three-story, 8,250-square-foot building that can hold more than double the occupancy of the scaled-back version shot down Wednesday, according to filings.

***

Tiered pricing, the depleted Moore’s Lane storage tank, and getting rid of lawns were the highlights of comments from Southold and Greenport residents on the environmental review of the proposed North Fork Pipeline last week. A final public hearing by the Suffolk County Water Authority will be held this coming Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. at the Riverhead Free Library.

Elected officials and environmentalists in Southold shared a wide range of concerns over the Suffolk County Water Authority’s proposed North Fork Pipeline at a public hearing on the environmental review of the project this past Thursday evening.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the pipeline, which the Water Authority says is necessary to meet existing peak demand for public water on the North Fork and prevent its existing wells here from succumbing to saltwater intrusion, would run about 7.5 miles from an interconnection site in Flanders, up Route 105 to the Main Road and then east to the Southold town line.

S.C.W.A. CEO Jeff Szabo said at the hearing that the project could commence as soon as 2027, and would take between 12 and 18 months to complete, avoiding work during the busy summer and fall tourist seasons.

Suffolk County Water Authority Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Operations Joe Pokorny said after the Aug. 20 hearing that the Water Authority had been surprised by the resistance to the Sound Avenue route, and while doing engineering work on the project since an initial round of public scoping sessions last year, had found that the Main Road route was easier from an engineering standpoint — it is both shorter and will only require one pumping station instead of two.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin and Environmental Analyst Jeffrey Seeman attended the hearing but did not speak, and both declined to comment after the hearing.

Both said they plan to speak at the third and final public hearing at the Riverhead Free Library on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 4:30 p.m. Mr. Seeman said he also expects to submit at least 16 pages of comments at that time.

The Water Authority is currently planning to take written comments through Sept. 11 at 5 p.m., though Mr. Szabo said they will likely extend that comment period, perhaps for about a week, after pressure from Southold Town.

***

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is hosting a public meeting to discuss the proposed contamination cleanup plan for 7 and 11 Bridge Streets in Sag Harbor, the proposed site of a large mixed-use development project including affordable housing, this coming Thursday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the NYS DEC is accepting public comments about the proposal through September 5, 2026.

A successful cleanup to restricted residential use levels was previously conducted by National Grid on a portion of the site located at 11 Bridge Street as part of DEC’s Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) program. The commercial structure on the parcel and...]]>Some school districts on Long Island have moved toward summer reading that allows students to pick the books they want to read as opposed to required reading lists. Educators who have embraced choice-based summer reading models say they did so after finding students failed to complete mandated summer work or were not reading regularly. Allowing students to pick the books they like, they believe, spurs a deeper interest in reading and helps combat the so-called "summer slide."

But some literacy advocates on Long Island say this strategy does not go far enough. While they agreed that the freedom to choose is important, they argued that the lack of structure harms students, especially those who are already struggling with reading.

Lorena Mongelli reports in NEWSDAY that Hampton Bays launched a student choice initiative this summer after seeing participation in their required summer reading decline. This season, for the elementary grade level, the district opted to partner with the local library to incentivize children to read what they like by offering vouchers and other prizes donated by local businesses and the school PTA. “We met this spring with a number of our staff, and we talked about certain challenges that exist, and just in general the participation level of students. Then we brainstormed some ideas, and ultimately decided to do this [partner with the library],” said Michael Carlson, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

East Hampton schools superintendent Adam Fine said middle school students in his district are required to read three poems that connect to the school's theme of "Believe in Yourself." In an email to NEWSDAY, Fine laid out the merits of this mandatory assignment. "Building these habits will assist students in tackling work in the fall which requires a heavy concentration on close reading of the text. We continue to see this type of reading required in NYS examinations and in our locally developed curriculum," Fine said.

Even if students are reading comic books or excerpts, experts and school officials agreed, all reading has value. While reading novels builds stamina, any reading is better than none, they said.

***

Shelter Island is about to trade its late-summer quiet for a burst of Hollywood energy.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that a new Netflix film starring Whoopi Goldberg — and backed by former first lady Michelle Obama — plans to shoot in the East End community next month, bringing a dose of star power to the small town during its shoulder season.

Netflix has applied with the Town of Shelter Island to film the original comedy “Women Like Us,” starring Goldberg, Jenifer Lewis, Vanessa Williams and Vivica Fox. The film will bring roughly 150 cast and crew members to Shelter Island between Sept. 21 and Oct. 1, officials said.

“We are going to play Shelter Island for itself, as a location in the movie where these women go and have this kind of reunion, where they get to spend time with each other and go through rededicating their friendships,” Ryan Ferguson, the film’s location manager, told the town board during a presentation last Tuesday.

Filming is expected to take place primarily at the Pridwin Hotel and Cottages, a waterfront resort and restaurant, Ferguson said. Producers are also seeking permission to close part of Crescent Beach for one or two days to shoot a scene there.

Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams estimates the Town of Shelter Island will collect at least $30,000 in fees, calculated from a mix of per-day filming charges, parking fees and traffic control costs. The final total is expected to be determined next week.

The influx of cast and crew could also provide a welcome boost to local businesses, particularly restaurants that typically scale back operations after Labor Day, Brach-Williams said.

Ferguson said cast and crew will be housed in hotels both on Shelter Island and in nearby communities.

***

Summer Concerts in the Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Southampton continue this evening featuring 5 time Grammy and Emmy award winning artist - John Easterlin – performing SOLID GOLD: A return to Broadway’s Golden Era.

Admission is free.

This evening’s concert starts at 6:30 p.m. and after the show stay for a reception with John Easterlin and the basilica director of music Dr. Kalina Mrmevska.

That’s tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, 168 Hill Street, Southampton, N.Y. 11968

***

Is this a be careful what you wish for scenario?

Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that angry East Hampton residents and likely a business rival successfully killed a California hotelier’s revamped plan for a casual Italian eatery in the heart of Montauk — but now face a replacement that’s twice the capacity.

Marley Dominguez, who owns the luxury Offshore Montauk hotel, had been willing to scale down his original embattled next-door plans for a restaurant bar and instead create a laid-back omasake-style joint, or one in which there is no menu and customers instead leave their food up to the chef.

He already had approval for his larger-capacity original version from the East Hampton Town Planning Board. But he said he would cut it back after residents accused him of being “deceptive” and pulling a “trojan horse,” fearing the venue will end up being a rowdy day and nightclub.

Then the planning board shot down his revised smaller proposal last week.

So Dominguez told The Post he is now going back to his original plan for his upcoming Italian restaurant and bar, Este.

“We listened carefully to the concerns raised by the town, and in response, proposed a modification that would reduce the size and occupancy of the space,” Dominguez said.

“The Planning Board ultimately decided not to move forward with that option, and we respect their decision. As a result, we will return to the plan originally proposed and approved by the board,” he said through a statement from his company, Enduring Hospitality.

A rep for the East Hampton Town Planning Board told The Post that the first plan was approved based on factors such as promising a small staff, no direct bar service and operations consistent with the town’s legal definition of a restaurant.

But paperwork for the revised proposal suggested different uses were planned for the venue, the representative said.

The original now-back-on proposal, approved by the planning board in December, involves a three-story, 8,250-square-foot building that can hold more than double the occupancy of the scaled-back version shot down Wednesday, according to filings.

***

Tiered pricing, the depleted Moore’s Lane storage tank, and getting rid of lawns were the highlights of comments from Southold and Greenport residents on the environmental review of the proposed North Fork Pipeline last week. A final public hearing by the Suffolk County Water Authority will be held this coming Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. at the Riverhead Free Library.

Elected officials and environmentalists in Southold shared a wide range of concerns over the Suffolk County Water Authority’s proposed North Fork Pipeline at a public hearing on the environmental review of the project this past Thursday evening.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the pipeline, which the Water Authority says is necessary to meet existing peak demand for public water on the North Fork and prevent its existing wells here from succumbing to saltwater intrusion, would run about 7.5 miles from an interconnection site in Flanders, up Route 105 to the Main Road and then east to the Southold town line.

S.C.W.A. CEO Jeff Szabo said at the hearing that the project could commence as soon as 2027, and would take between 12 and 18 months to complete, avoiding work during the busy summer and fall tourist seasons.

Suffolk County Water Authority Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Operations Joe Pokorny said after the Aug. 20 hearing that the Water Authority had been surprised by the resistance to the Sound Avenue route, and while doing engineering work on the project since an initial round of public scoping sessions last year, had found that the Main Road route was easier from an engineering standpoint — it is both shorter and will only require one pumping station instead of two.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin and Environmental Analyst Jeffrey Seeman attended the hearing but did not speak, and both declined to comment after the hearing.

Both said they plan to speak at the third and final public hearing at the Riverhead Free Library on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 4:30 p.m. Mr. Seeman said he also expects to submit at least 16 pages of comments at that time.

The Water Authority is currently planning to take written comments through Sept. 11 at 5 p.m., though Mr. Szabo said they will likely extend that comment period, perhaps for about a week, after pressure from Southold Town.

***

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is hosting a public meeting to discuss the proposed contamination cleanup plan for 7 and 11 Bridge Streets in Sag Harbor, the proposed site of a large mixed-use development project including affordable housing, this coming Thursday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the NYS DEC is accepting public comments about the proposal through September 5, 2026.

A successful cleanup to restricted residential use levels was previously conducted by National Grid on a portion of the site located at 11 Bridge Street as part of DEC’s Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) program. The commercial structure on the parcel and controls in place, including an environmental easement which runs with the land and a Site Management Plan, prevented any public exposure to subsurface contamination and fully protected public health and the environment. The site was later purchased by 11 Bridge Street, LLC, the BCP applicant, with plans to demolish and redevelop the building, which would alter the controls in place. The applicant will clean up remaining contamination to meet the more stringent residential use standards to develop the site for a multi-unit residential building that includes commercial space. How to Comment DEC is accepting written comments about the proposed plan, called a “Draft Remedial Action Work Plan (RAWP),” which includes a cleanup alternatives analysis (AA), for 45 days, from July 22 through September 5, 2026.

So, NYS DEC has scheduled a public meeting for this coming Thursday at 6:00 PM at the Village Hall, 55 Main Street, Sag Harbor, New York 11963 to discuss the proposed cleanup and accept public comments.

More information available here.

***

Long Island breweries, wineries and bars are responding to declining alcohol consumption by hosting more fee-based events and adding more non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks. Experts and business owners pointed to several factors that may be contributing to the decline, including younger people drinking less, increased marijuana use, growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and economic pressures. Nationwide, the share of household budgets spent on alcohol is near a 40-year low, according to a Bank of America Institute report published in February. Tory N. Parrish reports in NEWSDAY that Long Island breweries, wineries and bars are hosting more fee-based events, including sip-and-paints, trivia nights, bouquet-making classes and live music.

They’re also adding more non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks and marketing their spaces for private events such as bridal showers, rehearsal dinners and retirement parties.

Some owners are cutting labor costs, putting more money into their businesses, bringing in partners and expanding food offerings to keep customers coming, said Scott Wexler, executive director of the Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association, an Albany-based trade group.

But food is less profitable than alcohol, he said.

"You’ve got to sell five times as many food items to make the profit of one alcohol item ... because of the cost of preparation and cost of product," Wexler said.

Nationwide, sales of alcohol at stores have declined more than at bars, which could be an indication that bars are having more success with offering mocktails, non-alcoholic beer and other alternatives, according to the Bank of America Institute report.

After COVID pandemic quarantines were lifted, business boomed in 2021 at Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., which has a tasting room in Greenport and a tasting room and restaurant in Peconic, co-owner Rich Vandenburgh said.

Business has been up and down since then, with sales falling about 15% last year compared to 2024, he said.

In response to the sales decline, Greenport Harbor Brewing expanded its live music series last summer by carving out a bigger space for performances in its brewing facility, where it added a stage. The business is also marketing its space for community events, such as makers markets selling wares by local craftspeople, and private events, such as weddings, rehearsal dinners and retirement parties.

Also, the brewery is charging fees for customers to see live bands’ outdoor performances on its 1-acre lawn, where it sells beer at a trailer, Vandenburgh said.

The changes are paying off, he said.

"It’s definitely helped us. ... It’s an industrial space that just has a very cool vibe to it," which is helping to drive business, he said.

Vice President JD Vance hosted a Wednesday evening fundraiser in Southampton Village for young Republican donors that raised more than $5 million. Alex Isenstadt reports on AXIOS.com that the fundraiser, which drew about 35 people, was held at the Meadow Lane home of 1789 Capital President Omeed Malik. After a reception, there was a more intimate dinner with about 20 people. Reception-goers donated $100,000 to the Republican National Committee. Those at the dinner gave $250,000.

Vance is the RNC's finance chair, a position that has given him entree to the party's top donors. The V.P. is expected to reach a decision about his 2028 presidential plans sometime after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Back to the local traffic impact of Vance’s visit here.

A temporary flight restriction for VIP movement around Gabreski Airport in Westhampton and over Southampton airspace was put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration from 4 p.m. on Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday. Another TFR for VIP movement was issued in Southampton for yesterday from 7:21 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.

It is speculated that Vance arrived at Gabreski Airport some time after 4 p.m. Wednesday and departed Thursday morning from the same location.

With the vice-president now in Ohio, south fork traffic continues to be slowed by splice vault installation and underground conduit work as part of the Southampton-to-Deerfield utility project, resulting in ongoing road closures on North Sea Mecox Road in Southampton and intermittent closures and detours which affect the segment between North Main Street and David Whites Lane.

***

A Kings Park developer is seeking a zone change for a 47-acre vacant parcel off Harrison Avenue and Middle Road in Riverhead to build a retirement community with assisted-living and independent-living units for seniors.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Harrison Avenue LLC filed an application with the Riverhead town clerk Dec. 30 seeking to rezone the property from Hamlet Residence to Retirement Community.

The application describes the project as the “Harrison Avenue Retirement Community.” It calls for an 81-unit assisted-living residence with memory care on a 10-acre northern portion of the property, and 60 attached and detached independent-living units for residents 55 and older on a 36.83-acre southern portion.

The development would help fill Riverhead’s dire need for assisted-living facilities, Keith Archer, attorney for the developer told Riverheadlocal last week.

The Town of Riverhead’s Comprehensive Plan Update, adopted by the Town Board in September 2024, identifies senior housing and assisted-living facilities as a community need, citing the town’s aging population and the lack of housing options that would allow older residents to age in place. The plan recommends allowing residential health-care facilities, including assisted living and continuum-of-care facilities, in appropriate locations, with particular attention to areas served by sewer infrastructure and near medical services.

The update suggests establishing an assisted-living overlay district near Route 58 and Peconic Bay Medical Center, with the transfer of development rights providing the additional density needed to support development of an assisted-living facility.

***

Target will open its new store in the Bridgehampton Commons in October.

As reported on 27east.com, construction has been underway at the property since last winter and the company began advertising for employment positions in the spring.

The familiar Target bullseye sign went up this week on the facade of the building that over the last 50 years has been home to Woolco, Caldor and, most recently, Kmart.

At 90,000-square-feet, the Bridgehampton store will be smaller than a typical Target store on Long Island but is still due to have a Starbucks and CVS Pharmacy within it.

A grand opening is set for Oct. 11.

Tory N. Parrish reports in NEWSDAY that Target’s new Bridgehampton store will look somewhat different from the retailer’s other outlets, given the Town of Southampton’s strict zoning and building code requirements and the aesthetic expectations of Hamptons residents and officials, Target officials said.

“The Hamptons has to have a certain feel and really respecting that and working with [Southampton] and sitting down with them to understand signage was a big thing. … So, it feels very inviting, and feels like you’re kind of coming home,” said Genevieve McJilton, senior project manager of construction for Target.

Yesterday, Plainview-based general contractor EW Howell Construction Group “turned over the store” to about 30 Target employees who will be among the crew stocking shelves with merchandise, assembling fixtures and taking on other tasks to prepare the store for its opening, she said.

A peek inside and outside the store showed that its look will vary in some ways from the majority of Target’s stores.

Instead of the retailer’s signature shade of red for its store names and bullseye logo, the Bridgehampton store's sign and logo are white on a gray background.

“The Planning Board requested with the pre-submission process that the Target sign be white and the applicant was amenable as their site in Medford has a white sign,” Clare P. Shea, Southampton's assistant town planning director, said in an email Thursday.

Lit signs are not permitted in the shopping center, so Target’s will be lit from overhead, said Ken McQuade, a principal architect for store design at Target.

The large, red cylindrical bollards typically in front of Target stores are gray in Bridgehampton.

“We agreed to make those gray because the town didn’t want it to feel like there was too much branding, using too much red on the outside. So, we changed those to gray, which is something we don’t normally do, which is kind of fun,” McQuade said.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has more than 2,000 stores, including 20 open on Long Island.

The new store, which will be Target's farthest east on Long Island, will open at 2044 Montauk Hwy. in Bridgehampton Commons, a shopping center owned by Kimco Realty Corp., a real estate investment trust in Jericho.

The store will eventually employ about 140 to 150 workers, McQuade said.

Target signed a lease for the Bridgehampton space in 2021, McJilton said.

But the Hamptons has been a desired market for Target “for years, if not decades,” said Brandt Uthus, regional real estate director for Target.

“I think what makes the Hamptons, South Fork challenging, is really the real estate availability. … So, this Kmart really was the only box that was available that would be big enough for us, and so it required a lot of patience on our end to wait it out and understand and recognize what was going on with Kmart,” he said.

***

Members of the Bridgehampton School community welcomed a very special visitor to their gym on Thursday morning.

New York Knicks forward Josh Hart, fresh off helping his team win its first NBA Championship since 1973 just two months ago, spent almost an hour with students, parents, faculty and other members of the Bridgehampton School community after finishing an hourlong workout at the gym.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that Ron White is a Bridgehampton resident, 1999 graduate of Bridgehampton High School, former longtime school board president and current head coach of the Stony Brook School boys basketball team. White helped organize the meet-and-greet event with Hart for the Bridgehampton School community.

Hart is not the only NBA player who visits the East End during the summer. His teammate, Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, was at East Hampton High School several weeks ago, and over the years, other players have been in the area, making use of high school gyms for occasional workouts.

Coach White called Hart’s visit a “blessed occasion for the Bridgehampton community.”

“Josh was excited to show some love to his supporters throughout the years and to the Bridgehampton students and family,” he said yesterday. “We love our Knicks and he was more than willing to say a few words and take a few pictures and give back to the community.”

White said it’s not hard to see why these players spend time in the area during the offseason, and spoke about the mutual affection that seems to have developed between Hart and the surrounding Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor community.

“He has found his niche here and his family feels comfortable here,” he said. “I think he likes it here.”

Hart spoke yesterday about some of his “go-to” spots he likes to visit when he’s on the East End during the summer. He’s been photographed on several occasions at Sagtown Coffee and said he also enjoys Bostwick’s, La Bilboquet, Lulu’s in Sag Harbor, the Sagaponack General Store, and also Bon Bon, the Swedish candy shop in Sag Harbor.

Hart’s fun-loving personality, in addition to his hard-nosed playing style and his reputation as an unselfish team player are just a few of the reasons why he’s a fan favorite. While he was soft-spoken and considerate with his time and his words yesterday, he also showed that playful side and sense of humor as well.

Hart reminded the group of parents and students sitting in the bleachers, hanging on his every word, that he hasn’t forgotten who he is and where he came from, despite all the attention he’s received as an NBA champion.

“To come out here and see you all, it’s cool,” Hart said. “I always think of myself as a little kid from Silver Spring, Maryland, and I just]]>For those who feel traffic between Water Mill and Westhampton this week has been even worse than its summertime norm, here’s one secret service reason why.

Vice President JD Vance hosted a Wednesday evening fundraiser in Southampton Village for young Republican donors that raised more than $5 million. Alex Isenstadt reports on AXIOS.com that the fundraiser, which drew about 35 people, was held at the Meadow Lane home of 1789 Capital President Omeed Malik. After a reception, there was a more intimate dinner with about 20 people. Reception-goers donated $100,000 to the Republican National Committee. Those at the dinner gave $250,000.

Vance is the RNC's finance chair, a position that has given him entree to the party's top donors. The V.P. is expected to reach a decision about his 2028 presidential plans sometime after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Back to the local traffic impact of Vance’s visit here.

A temporary flight restriction for VIP movement around Gabreski Airport in Westhampton and over Southampton airspace was put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration from 4 p.m. on Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday. Another TFR for VIP movement was issued in Southampton for yesterday from 7:21 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.

It is speculated that Vance arrived at Gabreski Airport some time after 4 p.m. Wednesday and departed Thursday morning from the same location.

With the vice-president now in Ohio, south fork traffic continues to be slowed by splice vault installation and underground conduit work as part of the Southampton-to-Deerfield utility project, resulting in ongoing road closures on North Sea Mecox Road in Southampton and intermittent closures and detours which affect the segment between North Main Street and David Whites Lane.

***

A Kings Park developer is seeking a zone change for a 47-acre vacant parcel off Harrison Avenue and Middle Road in Riverhead to build a retirement community with assisted-living and independent-living units for seniors.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Harrison Avenue LLC filed an application with the Riverhead town clerk Dec. 30 seeking to rezone the property from Hamlet Residence to Retirement Community.

The application describes the project as the “Harrison Avenue Retirement Community.” It calls for an 81-unit assisted-living residence with memory care on a 10-acre northern portion of the property, and 60 attached and detached independent-living units for residents 55 and older on a 36.83-acre southern portion.

The development would help fill Riverhead’s dire need for assisted-living facilities, Keith Archer, attorney for the developer told Riverheadlocal last week.

The Town of Riverhead’s Comprehensive Plan Update, adopted by the Town Board in September 2024, identifies senior housing and assisted-living facilities as a community need, citing the town’s aging population and the lack of housing options that would allow older residents to age in place. The plan recommends allowing residential health-care facilities, including assisted living and continuum-of-care facilities, in appropriate locations, with particular attention to areas served by sewer infrastructure and near medical services.

The update suggests establishing an assisted-living overlay district near Route 58 and Peconic Bay Medical Center, with the transfer of development rights providing the additional density needed to support development of an assisted-living facility.

***

Target will open its new store in the Bridgehampton Commons in October.

As reported on 27east.com, construction has been underway at the property since last winter and the company began advertising for employment positions in the spring.

The familiar Target bullseye sign went up this week on the facade of the building that over the last 50 years has been home to Woolco, Caldor and, most recently, Kmart.

At 90,000-square-feet, the Bridgehampton store will be smaller than a typical Target store on Long Island but is still due to have a Starbucks and CVS Pharmacy within it.

A grand opening is set for Oct. 11.

Tory N. Parrish reports in NEWSDAY that Target’s new Bridgehampton store will look somewhat different from the retailer’s other outlets, given the Town of Southampton’s strict zoning and building code requirements and the aesthetic expectations of Hamptons residents and officials, Target officials said.

“The Hamptons has to have a certain feel and really respecting that and working with [Southampton] and sitting down with them to understand signage was a big thing. … So, it feels very inviting, and feels like you’re kind of coming home,” said Genevieve McJilton, senior project manager of construction for Target.

Yesterday, Plainview-based general contractor EW Howell Construction Group “turned over the store” to about 30 Target employees who will be among the crew stocking shelves with merchandise, assembling fixtures and taking on other tasks to prepare the store for its opening, she said.

A peek inside and outside the store showed that its look will vary in some ways from the majority of Target’s stores.

Instead of the retailer’s signature shade of red for its store names and bullseye logo, the Bridgehampton store's sign and logo are white on a gray background.

“The Planning Board requested with the pre-submission process that the Target sign be white and the applicant was amenable as their site in Medford has a white sign,” Clare P. Shea, Southampton's assistant town planning director, said in an email Thursday.

Lit signs are not permitted in the shopping center, so Target’s will be lit from overhead, said Ken McQuade, a principal architect for store design at Target.

The large, red cylindrical bollards typically in front of Target stores are gray in Bridgehampton.

“We agreed to make those gray because the town didn’t want it to feel like there was too much branding, using too much red on the outside. So, we changed those to gray, which is something we don’t normally do, which is kind of fun,” McQuade said.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has more than 2,000 stores, including 20 open on Long Island.

The new store, which will be Target's farthest east on Long Island, will open at 2044 Montauk Hwy. in Bridgehampton Commons, a shopping center owned by Kimco Realty Corp., a real estate investment trust in Jericho.

The store will eventually employ about 140 to 150 workers, McQuade said.

Target signed a lease for the Bridgehampton space in 2021, McJilton said.

But the Hamptons has been a desired market for Target “for years, if not decades,” said Brandt Uthus, regional real estate director for Target.

“I think what makes the Hamptons, South Fork challenging, is really the real estate availability. … So, this Kmart really was the only box that was available that would be big enough for us, and so it required a lot of patience on our end to wait it out and understand and recognize what was going on with Kmart,” he said.

***

Members of the Bridgehampton School community welcomed a very special visitor to their gym on Thursday morning.

New York Knicks forward Josh Hart, fresh off helping his team win its first NBA Championship since 1973 just two months ago, spent almost an hour with students, parents, faculty and other members of the Bridgehampton School community after finishing an hourlong workout at the gym.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that Ron White is a Bridgehampton resident, 1999 graduate of Bridgehampton High School, former longtime school board president and current head coach of the Stony Brook School boys basketball team. White helped organize the meet-and-greet event with Hart for the Bridgehampton School community.

Hart is not the only NBA player who visits the East End during the summer. His teammate, Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, was at East Hampton High School several weeks ago, and over the years, other players have been in the area, making use of high school gyms for occasional workouts.

Coach White called Hart’s visit a “blessed occasion for the Bridgehampton community.”

“Josh was excited to show some love to his supporters throughout the years and to the Bridgehampton students and family,” he said yesterday. “We love our Knicks and he was more than willing to say a few words and take a few pictures and give back to the community.”

White said it’s not hard to see why these players spend time in the area during the offseason, and spoke about the mutual affection that seems to have developed between Hart and the surrounding Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor community.

“He has found his niche here and his family feels comfortable here,” he said. “I think he likes it here.”

Hart spoke yesterday about some of his “go-to” spots he likes to visit when he’s on the East End during the summer. He’s been photographed on several occasions at Sagtown Coffee and said he also enjoys Bostwick’s, La Bilboquet, Lulu’s in Sag Harbor, the Sagaponack General Store, and also Bon Bon, the Swedish candy shop in Sag Harbor.

Hart’s fun-loving personality, in addition to his hard-nosed playing style and his reputation as an unselfish team player are just a few of the reasons why he’s a fan favorite. While he was soft-spoken and considerate with his time and his words yesterday, he also showed that playful side and sense of humor as well.

Hart reminded the group of parents and students sitting in the bleachers, hanging on his every word, that he hasn’t forgotten who he is and where he came from, despite all the attention he’s received as an NBA champion.

“To come out here and see you all, it’s cool,” Hart said. “I always think of myself as a little kid from Silver Spring, Maryland, and I just happen to play basketball. What I always say to people about people in my position, is that we’re just people; we have dos and don’ts and likes and dislikes, like you guys. Me being able to come out here and show you guys some love is super cool because I never thought I’d be in this situation. I appreciate you guys and your love and support for me and the Knicks.”

***

Developer Adam Potter’s controversial proposal for a three-story, 81,000-square-foot mixed-use building with commercial and residential units at 7 and 11 Bridge Street was on the Sag Harbor Village Zoning Board agenda again this past Tuesday night. The meeting brought out a group of residents who expressed vehement opposition to the project, which has been before land use boards — and would require a large number of significant variances for approval — for years.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that further discussion and deliberation on the merits of those variance requests was ultimately adjourned to the September 15 meeting. Before the adjournment, however, Potter gave a lengthy presentation to the board. Utilizing maps and diagrams dotted with multicolored Post-it notes, he argued the merits of his proposed development and pointed to past precedent that he said paves the way for approval. He also noted that the proposal, which originally included 12 large variance requests, now has just six. At one point during the presentation, Potter described his proposal as “relatively modest” compared to other village projects that have required variances related to parking, building height, floor count, density, and more. To support his point, he cited the Sag Harbor Cinema, the Watchcase Factory building, and the existing three-story Harbor Court condominiums across from his properties on Bridge Street.

When it comes to the main issue raised by opponents — that the development is not in keeping with the character of the village — Potter disagreed. “The existing surroundings provide a very clear picture of this particular part of Sag Harbor,” he said, asserting that looking at properties in every direction reveals a neighborhood already characterized by the type of project he is proposing. He added that a three-story building is “already part of the built environment surrounding 11 Bridge Street.”

His arguments did not seem to sway the individuals who came to speak, despite the decrease in the number of variances he is seeking.

The project has been unpopular in Sag Harbor for years. While Zoning Board Chairman Val Florio assured Potter and his attorney, Tiffany Scarlato, that the board would follow the letter of the law and exercise due diligence in reviewing the application in detail, members of the public were eager to share their concerns about the project.

***

The Orient Association hosts a public forum on “Ticks & Tick-Borne Diseases” this Sunday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. at Poquatuck Hall in Orient. Dr. Scott Campbell, Chief of Arthropod-Borne Disease Labs at the Suffolk County Department of Health Services and Southold Town Environmental Analyst Craig Jobes, who runs the town’s Deer Management Program, will speak.

Learn about:

• Alpha-Gal Syndrome
• Ticks & Tick-Borne Diseases
• How to Prevent Tick Bites
• How to Reduce Ticks in Your Yard
• Deer Population

Sunday’s “Ticks & Tick-Borne Diseases” forum is free and open to all. No registration required.

That’s this Sunday at 4 p.m. at Poquatuck Hall in Orient, N.Y.

***

The lot at 350 Pantigo Rd. is pretty much just that, paved over with cracked asphalt and creeping greenery. A Stern’s department store stood there decades ago; the property has been vacant for years. But when Kirby Marcantonio looks at the site, he sees condos — and what he believes could be a step toward a radical new solution to a growing labor crisis on the East End.

Brianne Ledda reports in NEWSDAY that the longtime magazine publisher and East Hampton High School grad has proposed 47 condos on Pantigo Road in East Hampton that would be sold to local businesses, which could then rent the apartments to employees. More than 70 Hamptons employers have reached out to inquire about purchasing a condo, which may cost more than $800,000 each, Marcantonio said.

“Local population evaporating? We can do something about that,” he said. “If we don’t, there won’t be anybody here to teach your kids. There won’t be anyone here to plow your roads in the winter. There won't be anybody here to bind your wounds or serve your cocktail at [restaurant] Nick & Toni’s.”

Marcantonio said the project represents a $25 million investment. Once approvals are secured, he estimates construction would take less than a year.

While proponents say the development could house workers who otherwise couldn’t afford to live in the area, critics argue that putting housing in the hands of employers creates a power imbalance that could have a chilling effect on workers’ ability to advocate against unfair labor conditions.

“It’s a dangerous position to put an employee in,” said Samuel Kramer, a local attorney and former chair of the East Hampton Town Planning Board who has criticized the proposal at public hearings.

The town needs affordable housing, he acknowledged, but he doesn’t see the potential development at 350 Pantigo Rd. as a solution. Among his primary concerns is that connecting employment with housing could make it more difficult for people to report inequities or poor conditions in the workplace.

“They’re vulnerable to start with and this only makes them more vulnerable. I don’t think the town should be facilitating that vulnerability,” he said.

The concern is not entirely theoretical. A New York Times investigation last year reported allegations of mistreatment involving J-1 visa workers at a Long Island nursery who paid $200 per month to live in company trailers that were infested with mice and cockroaches, sometimes sleeping two to a bed.

Marcantonio has described his backer as a South Fork businessman with deep roots in the community, someone who has experience in business and management, but said the investor wants to maintain his privacy as he navigates a devastating illness.

The development remains in limbo as the East Hampton Town Board considers legislation that would permit the private sector to build employer-sponsored housing with certain restrictions amid debate over worker protections, traffic, environmental impacts and oversight.

Such calls may soon slip into silence or become fewer as ECLI-VIBES — an Islandia-based nonprofit that staffs the hotline and serves victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual assault — is one of several such organizations in New York due to see a reduction in state funding.

Jennifer Hernandez, executive director of ECLI-VIBES, said the potential loss of funding amounts to a broken trust for clients who are often confronting a porous social safety net. Ms. Hernandez told NEWSDAY, “The worst thing that you can do is promise something that you can't deliver on, and we've learned that because trust is broken so much with our community, and it's like, you know, ‘Yeah, you're another person who says you're going to help me and can't?’”

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the state Office of Victims Services, which doles out the money, said it received more requests for funding than it had earmarked for its two-year budget cycle that starts this year, resulting in a loss of funding for some organizations. The office also said fluctuations in federal funding from the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) contributed to the cuts. For instance, the state received about $70 million from VOCA in 2025 and $43.9 million in 2024, the agency said.

At ECLI-VIBES, the loss would be seismic. The organization has received $1.3 million annually from the Office of Victims Services. But in a July letter, the nonprofit found its funding would drop to about $637,000, a 50% cut.

The cut, which the Office of the State Comptroller must still review, will hit the nonprofit’s direct services, including the hotline, as well as its licensed social workers and mental health counselors. The organization may have to cut seven employees if it doesn’t secure additional funding through fundraising and other avenues.

Each year, the organization ends up following up on about 6,000 domestic violence reports filed with the Suffolk County police. After that, the nonprofit's client care clinicians, licensed mental health counselors or social workers do safety planning and work with shelters, hospitals and other providers. The nonprofit also manages the county’s sexual assault forensic examiner program, which sends a healthcare provider to collect scientific evidence of assaults at hospitals. Some of those areas could be affected by the financial pinch, raising concerns among Suffolk officials including Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney Suffolk Sheriff Errol D Toulon, Jr. urged the state and federal government to factor in the impact of ECLI-VIBES’ critical services and restore funding.

The NYS Office of Victims Services told NEWSDAY that it never received so many applications seeking so much funding.

***

The Suffolk County Water Authority pumped a record amount of water to its customers in June, as 400,000 homes and businesses and thousands of acres of residential lawns, thirsty after a prolonged period of drought, sucked up more than 11 billion gallons of water that month. During that time, the water authority also came close to eclipsing its record for the most water it’s ever pumped at one given moment, which is about 550,000 gallons per minute.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that a wetter July and early August has eased the stress on the supply infrastructure, the SCWA says, thanks largely to homeowners who have installed smart systems that use weather forecasting or soil moisture and rainfall sensors to bypass automated watering schedules when watering is not needed.

“It’s been a tale of two summers for us this year,” Daniel Dubois, the SCWA’s director of communications and external affairs, said this week. “In the early season we had a widespread drought across Suffolk County and water usage was really through the roof, particularly on the East End but across our service territory, also. In June, we set a record, 11.15 billion gallons. But since then we’ve had quite a bit of rain, so we’re in a much better position now.”

To keep up with the soaring demand and the stresses on its supply systems, the water authority is pouring millions of dollars into infrastructure to prop up its supply network, while still wrestling with whether to introduce a new, third tier of its pricing schedule to help shift some of the burden of its costs on those who use the most water.

Among the infrastructure improvements underway is a new water storage tank currently being constructed by the SCWA in Tuckahoe, which will boost the ability to deliver huge volumes of water to Southampton Village and its surroundings during peak demand times — which is invariably the early morning hours of summer days, when thousands of residential automatic irrigation systems are churning sprinkler heads to keep lawns green through blazing days.

The tank will be able to hold 2 million gallons of water, to be pumped into the supply mains during times of peak demand to help keep water pressure stable.

Construction of the tank will cost the SCWA — and, therefore, its customers countywide — $4 million.

Southampton Village is home to several of the largest single sources of water demand in the SCWA residential portfolio — the homes that the authority refers to internally as “superusers,” because they suck up many times more water than the average residential SCWA customer does.

***

Three Riverhead public safety officers were honored Tuesday night for their quick response to a speeding driver at the Polish Town Fair, action that officials said prevented injuries to fairgoers and vendors.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Traffic Control Officer Ryan Zaleski and Police Officers Matthew Neknez and Stephan Ady received proclamations from Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin and the Town Board for their roles in stopping the vehicle Sunday morning.

Supervisor Halpin presented the three men with proclamations honoring them for their fast, heroic actions which he said undoubtedly saved lives Sunday.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, from our community, from each one of the Town Board members, for what you did … in fast-acting…selfless reaction time, with humility, and with kindness,” Halpin said. “Your regard for everyone else around you will forever be appreciated,” he said.

***

Some Riverhead residents and immigration advocates are urging the town to consider legislation aimed at protecting public safety when federal immigration agents respond in Riverhead, but town officials say there are no plans to consider it.

More than a dozen people, many wearing black T-shirts bearing pro-immigrant sentiments, urged the board Tuesday evening to act on or discuss a bill backed by Organización Latino Americana - OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy nonprofit.

The bill sets procedures for how town governments and police departments respond to immigration enforcement activity, including by sharing incident reports publicly.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the new push comes amid reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sightings are up across Long Island and as other East End towns weigh policies to respond to those incidents.

In neighboring Southold, the town board is expected to finalize policies next week requiring police to respond to reported ICE incidents for peacekeeping efforts.

Minerva Perez, the executive director of OLA who pitched the bill to East End municipalities in February, said some officials have mischaracterized the legislation. She emphasized the bill isn’t intended to block ICE from working in Riverhead.

"When there is a random ICE raid that comes to town ... we want to see more presence from law enforcement in a coordinated way," she said. The goal, she said during Tuesday's meeting, is "to make sure there isn’t a rise in panic and chaos and possible injury, which we’ve seen in the past in other areas.”

None of the Riverhead Town board members responded publicly at Tuesday’s meeting, though several said in post-meeting interviews that they did not plan to act on the measure and view the town’s role as limited.

“Riverhead Town police is not a part of those activities, and ICE doesn’t need to share anything with us. They’re not obligated to do that,” Councilman Ken Rothwell told NEWSDAY.

While the Riverhead Town board has declined to take up the measure publicly, Supervisor Jerry Halpin said he met privately with Perez.

“I have read their legislation and I did let her know that I would not, at that time, be bringing it to a work session,” Halpin said yesterday. “I believe our police department is doing an exceptional job keeping their finger on the pulse with it, and understanding what they can do to protect every citizen in our town.”

***

Residents of Hampton Bays are being asked, for the second time this summer, to approve the sale of land on Montauk Highway that is owned by the Hampton Bays Fire District.

The fire district will hold a public referendum at its headquarters at 69 Montauk Highway next Tuesday, August 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. Only residents who are registered to vote at an address within the Hampton Bays Fire District boundaries will be eligible to cast ballots.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the referendum asks residents to authorize the fire district’s commissioners to put the land it owns across the street from the current Hampton Bays Firehouse, at 84 West Montauk Highway, up for sale.

In June, voters rejected a similar proposition at the...]]>From dusk till dawn and back again, a small group of hotline staffers handle potentially high-stake calls. The voices on the other end: Long Island abuse victims reaching out for help, sometimes while in harm’s way.

Such calls may soon slip into silence or become fewer as ECLI-VIBES — an Islandia-based nonprofit that staffs the hotline and serves victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual assault — is one of several such organizations in New York due to see a reduction in state funding.

Jennifer Hernandez, executive director of ECLI-VIBES, said the potential loss of funding amounts to a broken trust for clients who are often confronting a porous social safety net. Ms. Hernandez told NEWSDAY, “The worst thing that you can do is promise something that you can't deliver on, and we've learned that because trust is broken so much with our community, and it's like, you know, ‘Yeah, you're another person who says you're going to help me and can't?’”

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the state Office of Victims Services, which doles out the money, said it received more requests for funding than it had earmarked for its two-year budget cycle that starts this year, resulting in a loss of funding for some organizations. The office also said fluctuations in federal funding from the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) contributed to the cuts. For instance, the state received about $70 million from VOCA in 2025 and $43.9 million in 2024, the agency said.

At ECLI-VIBES, the loss would be seismic. The organization has received $1.3 million annually from the Office of Victims Services. But in a July letter, the nonprofit found its funding would drop to about $637,000, a 50% cut.

The cut, which the Office of the State Comptroller must still review, will hit the nonprofit’s direct services, including the hotline, as well as its licensed social workers and mental health counselors. The organization may have to cut seven employees if it doesn’t secure additional funding through fundraising and other avenues.

Each year, the organization ends up following up on about 6,000 domestic violence reports filed with the Suffolk County police. After that, the nonprofit's client care clinicians, licensed mental health counselors or social workers do safety planning and work with shelters, hospitals and other providers. The nonprofit also manages the county’s sexual assault forensic examiner program, which sends a healthcare provider to collect scientific evidence of assaults at hospitals. Some of those areas could be affected by the financial pinch, raising concerns among Suffolk officials including Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney Suffolk Sheriff Errol D Toulon, Jr. urged the state and federal government to factor in the impact of ECLI-VIBES’ critical services and restore funding.

The NYS Office of Victims Services told NEWSDAY that it never received so many applications seeking so much funding.

***

The Suffolk County Water Authority pumped a record amount of water to its customers in June, as 400,000 homes and businesses and thousands of acres of residential lawns, thirsty after a prolonged period of drought, sucked up more than 11 billion gallons of water that month. During that time, the water authority also came close to eclipsing its record for the most water it’s ever pumped at one given moment, which is about 550,000 gallons per minute.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that a wetter July and early August has eased the stress on the supply infrastructure, the SCWA says, thanks largely to homeowners who have installed smart systems that use weather forecasting or soil moisture and rainfall sensors to bypass automated watering schedules when watering is not needed.

“It’s been a tale of two summers for us this year,” Daniel Dubois, the SCWA’s director of communications and external affairs, said this week. “In the early season we had a widespread drought across Suffolk County and water usage was really through the roof, particularly on the East End but across our service territory, also. In June, we set a record, 11.15 billion gallons. But since then we’ve had quite a bit of rain, so we’re in a much better position now.”

To keep up with the soaring demand and the stresses on its supply systems, the water authority is pouring millions of dollars into infrastructure to prop up its supply network, while still wrestling with whether to introduce a new, third tier of its pricing schedule to help shift some of the burden of its costs on those who use the most water.

Among the infrastructure improvements underway is a new water storage tank currently being constructed by the SCWA in Tuckahoe, which will boost the ability to deliver huge volumes of water to Southampton Village and its surroundings during peak demand times — which is invariably the early morning hours of summer days, when thousands of residential automatic irrigation systems are churning sprinkler heads to keep lawns green through blazing days.

The tank will be able to hold 2 million gallons of water, to be pumped into the supply mains during times of peak demand to help keep water pressure stable.

Construction of the tank will cost the SCWA — and, therefore, its customers countywide — $4 million.

Southampton Village is home to several of the largest single sources of water demand in the SCWA residential portfolio — the homes that the authority refers to internally as “superusers,” because they suck up many times more water than the average residential SCWA customer does.

***

Three Riverhead public safety officers were honored Tuesday night for their quick response to a speeding driver at the Polish Town Fair, action that officials said prevented injuries to fairgoers and vendors.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Traffic Control Officer Ryan Zaleski and Police Officers Matthew Neknez and Stephan Ady received proclamations from Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin and the Town Board for their roles in stopping the vehicle Sunday morning.

Supervisor Halpin presented the three men with proclamations honoring them for their fast, heroic actions which he said undoubtedly saved lives Sunday.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, from our community, from each one of the Town Board members, for what you did … in fast-acting…selfless reaction time, with humility, and with kindness,” Halpin said. “Your regard for everyone else around you will forever be appreciated,” he said.

***

Some Riverhead residents and immigration advocates are urging the town to consider legislation aimed at protecting public safety when federal immigration agents respond in Riverhead, but town officials say there are no plans to consider it.

More than a dozen people, many wearing black T-shirts bearing pro-immigrant sentiments, urged the board Tuesday evening to act on or discuss a bill backed by Organización Latino Americana - OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy nonprofit.

The bill sets procedures for how town governments and police departments respond to immigration enforcement activity, including by sharing incident reports publicly.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the new push comes amid reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sightings are up across Long Island and as other East End towns weigh policies to respond to those incidents.

In neighboring Southold, the town board is expected to finalize policies next week requiring police to respond to reported ICE incidents for peacekeeping efforts.

Minerva Perez, the executive director of OLA who pitched the bill to East End municipalities in February, said some officials have mischaracterized the legislation. She emphasized the bill isn’t intended to block ICE from working in Riverhead.

"When there is a random ICE raid that comes to town ... we want to see more presence from law enforcement in a coordinated way," she said. The goal, she said during Tuesday's meeting, is "to make sure there isn’t a rise in panic and chaos and possible injury, which we’ve seen in the past in other areas.”

None of the Riverhead Town board members responded publicly at Tuesday’s meeting, though several said in post-meeting interviews that they did not plan to act on the measure and view the town’s role as limited.

“Riverhead Town police is not a part of those activities, and ICE doesn’t need to share anything with us. They’re not obligated to do that,” Councilman Ken Rothwell told NEWSDAY.

While the Riverhead Town board has declined to take up the measure publicly, Supervisor Jerry Halpin said he met privately with Perez.

“I have read their legislation and I did let her know that I would not, at that time, be bringing it to a work session,” Halpin said yesterday. “I believe our police department is doing an exceptional job keeping their finger on the pulse with it, and understanding what they can do to protect every citizen in our town.”

***

Residents of Hampton Bays are being asked, for the second time this summer, to approve the sale of land on Montauk Highway that is owned by the Hampton Bays Fire District.

The fire district will hold a public referendum at its headquarters at 69 Montauk Highway next Tuesday, August 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. Only residents who are registered to vote at an address within the Hampton Bays Fire District boundaries will be eligible to cast ballots.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the referendum asks residents to authorize the fire district’s commissioners to put the land it owns across the street from the current Hampton Bays Firehouse, at 84 West Montauk Highway, up for sale.

In June, voters rejected a similar proposition at the polls that would have authorized the commissioners to sell the same parcel of land to Alfred Caiola, the Hampton Bays resident and developer who has amassed with a group of partners a number of properties totaling about 10 acres surrounding the fire district’s land — on which he plans to create a new Main Street area, jutting north off Montauk Highway lined with a mix of commercial storefronts and second- and third-story apartments that he has said will revitalize the hamlet’s downtown.

Unlike the referendum in June, next week’s proposition does not specify who the property will be sold to and commissioners have said that if approved they would list the property for sale on the open market and sell it to the highest bidder.

Critics have called the proposal an effort to ignore the will of voters in the first referendum — since Caiola is widely assumed to be the most likely ultimate buyer when the property is listed for sale.

Several residents of the hamlet have appealed to the Southampton Town Board to step in and purchase the property, resurrecting a shelved plan for the property to be used to create a pedestrian access between Montauk Highway and Good Ground Park.

***

As part of the national commemoration of the August 8 passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and the August 26 passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote in 1920, Leagues of Women Voters throughout the nation have been asked to schedule special programs for the public this month.

The League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island & North Fork is offering a free screening of the 2022 Carnegie Hall premiere of Dr. Andrea Ramsey’s “Suffrage Cantata” this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Westhampton Free Library.

The “Suffrage Cantata”—both written and composed by Dr. Ramsey-–is a unique, nearly one-hour concert in five movements that tells in choral song, piano, strings, percussion and narration, plus historical images projected on a screen above the chorus, of the hard road women traveled to win equal rights

The Suffrage Cantata also explains how for some—Native Americans, Chinese and Blacks—the struggle for the vote took longer.

Refreshments and a discussion about the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions will follow the screening.

That’s “SUFFRAGE CANTATA,” being shown SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, at 1 P.M., in WESTHAMPTON FREE LIBRARY, 7 Library Avenue, Westhampton Beach.

***

Island Harvest Food Bank has received 11,700 cartons of eggs — 140,400 eggs in all — as part of a settlement following a bipartisan, multistate investigation into price manipulation by three major national egg suppliers.

John Valenti reports in NEWSDAY that food banks nationwide will receive 53 million eggs, including nearly 5 million eggs delivered to agencies in New York. That is a result of the settlement, which found the three distributors — Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum and Hickman’s Egg Ranch — coordinated bidding strategies to influence and manipulate daily egg prices and had been doing so since at least 2022.

In a statement issued yesterday, NYS Attorney General Letitia James' office said the trio of companies submitted "sham bids" at "artificially inflated prices" in order to distort the market, then withdrew the bids — all in an effort to raise what are known as the Urner Barry price quotes.

Urner Barry is a "benchmark pricing service" that provides a daily egg price index used by the egg supply industry.

The investigation followed a joint filing by officials in New York and 16 other states and revealed an email from December 2022 from the CEO of Hickman’s to executives at Versova/Centrum and Cal-Maine, "urging them," according to the attorney general's office, to submit what the office quoted as "strong bids, early and often" in order to push egg prices higher.

That collusion and coordination not only impacted prices but caused undue financial burden for egg buyers and consumers, according to A.G. James.

In addition to the eggs to be distributed, the three companies will pay a combined $3.3 million in restitution, the attorney general’s office said.

Officials said Island Harvest and food banks in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Westchester and along the Southern Tier have all received egg deliveries as part of the settlement.

"Eggs are a highly nutritious, versatile, and wholesome food item that is frequently requested by the people we serve," Island Harvest CEO Randi Shubin Dresner said in a statement on Wednesday.

While thanking James for "negotiating this settlement in such a thoughtful way," Dresner said Island Harvest would distribute the eggs in Nassau and Suffolk through its network of food pantries, as well as through its emergency feeding programs.

In yesterday's statement, James said: "Families throughout New York count on eggs for an affordable and balanced diet. After investigating the corporations behind an illegal effort to inflate egg prices, my office is helping to deliver millions of eggs to food banks across the state. I thank Island Harvest for their work to deliver these eggs to Long Island families."

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that Flock Safety, which operates a nationwide network of license plate reader cameras, is under scrutiny over the use of data collected, privacy issues and the potential for abuse. Proponents say the technology provides law enforcement a critical tool to use in certain investigations.

The request, prompted by Legis. Greg Doroski (D-Mattituck), comes weeks before Flock is set to roll out its gunfire detection technology across the county thanks to a $3.7 million deal with Suffolk police that's being finalized. It also comes amid reported vandalism of the company's cameras on the north fork.

Doroski requested the company answer a series of questions by Aug. 27 that include whether federal agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can access or have accessed data collected by cameras based in Suffolk.

Doroski said yesterday that he has not yet gotten a response to the July 24 letter he sent requesting a company representative attend the Public Safety Committee meeting on Sept. 3.

The letter says "numerous constituents" across the county have raised concerns about the cameras, which are used by the Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and local municipal departments.

"Suffolk County residents deserve to know who is watching them and where our data goes," Doroski wrote.

Doroski has also requested a summary for the prior 12 months of "all instances in which data collected by Suffolk County-based Flock cameras was accessed by agencies outside Suffolk County."

Last week, Flock announced changes to its policies to further protect privacy and add security and transparency safeguards.

One change cut the default data retention time from 30 days to seven, which the company says adds "a careful balance between safety and privacy."

The company is also offering a new filtering capability that would allow an agency to restrict what other departments can determine from searching data collected by the cameras, such as for stolen vehicles or missing persons.

The company has maintained that its customers own their data and can decide how it is shared.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, a Republican, told NEWSDAY recently that he’s "comfortable" with how the police department handles data collected from the license plate readers.

"That data is used to save lives," he said. "It’s used to catch the bad guys."

He said he’s "always open to counterargument" about the technology and will wait for guidance from the legislature if lawmakers decide to go in a different direction.

***

Investigators from the Suffolk County district attorney’s office arrested an El Salvadoran man who has been convicted of felony DWI four times, most recently this month after being arrested in Flanders last year. The Suffolk D.A. then turned him over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be deported a second time.

As reported on 27east.com, District Attorney Raymond Tierney had decried the fact that a Suffolk County Criminal Court judge had released Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez, 36, without bail to await his October sentencing after he was convicted by a jury on August 7 of his fourth felony DWI charge. WIth Aguilar-Alvarez facing an almost certain long sentence, Tierney had said that he was seen as a highly likely flight risk and asked for him to be held in custody until his sentencing.

On Monday, however, investigators from Tierney’s office tracked down Aguilar-Alvarez in Riverhead and witnessed him driving a car, which he is prohibited from doing due to his numerous DWI convictions.

The investigators arrested him for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the second degree, a misdemeanor, and brought him to the district attorney’s office in Riverside for processing.

While he was being processed, the DA’s office notified ICE, which sent officers to detain Aguilar-Alvarez when he left the DA’s office.

“It is self-evident that given his history of multiple felony convictions, Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez is a clear and present danger to any Suffolk County citizen traveling on our roads,” Tierney said in a statement released by his office yesterday. “He is a repeat felony drunk driver who does not belong behind the wheel. Less than two weeks after his fourth felony DWI conviction, and despite explicit instructions not to drive, the defendant once again got behind the wheel of a vehicle. I want to thank my detective investigators for apprehending the defendant. I extend my gratitude to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their swift action in taking this individual into custody and working with my office to help protect Suffolk County residents.”

The DA’s office said that it would file a writ with ICE requesting that Aguilar-Alvarez be brought back to Suffolk County for his sentencing in October.

***

The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) will offer its S.A.F.E. (Strength, Awareness, Function, Education) Falls Prevention Program, a free eight-week workshop designed to help older adults improve balance and strength, reduce their risk of falls and maintain independence in their daily activities.

Held at Stony Brook University’s Southampton Campus, the program provides older adults on the East End with practical skills, education and resources to help them stay active, confident and independent. The eight-week session begins next Tuesday, August 25, 2026.

Throughout the program, participants will:

• Build strength and improve balance through exercises designed to support mobility and stability
• Identify and manage fall risks at home and during everyday activities
• Learn strategies for staying active and independent while reducing their risk of falls
• Connect with community resources that support physical activity, social connection and overall well-being

This year’s program will meet for two hours each week, with the eight-week session running from August 25 through October 16. Classes will be held on August 25; September 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29; and October 6 and 16.

For more information visit stonybrook.edu

Or to register, please contact Sarah Cohen, (631) 644-6667 or register at bit.ly/SBSHfallsfree

***

East Hampton residents who live around a battery storage plant suspected of causing a toxic plume after a 2023 fire are asking the state to provide health screening amid worries they may have ingested impacted water for years.

But the New York State Department of Health in responses to Newsday, said it doesn’t believe such biomonitoring “would be useful.” It instead is offering to take residents' questions and concerns directly via email or phone.

Residents concerned about the impacts of the water said that's not enough.

"It's unconscionable, that's what I think," said Charlie Esposito, who lives across the street from the battery site and is one of the residents who pressed East Hampton Town to demand health testing.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that in a letter sent to state and county agencies on Thursday following an occasionally heated public meeting last week, East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez wrote that residents who consume water from private and public wells are “concerned they have been ingesting” water laden with forever chemicals for “over three years…Residents have specifically requested biomonitoring, PFAS blood testing to establish a baseline for future tests, and a formal epidemiologic study.”

State Health Department spokeswoman Erin Clary said that while the agency “remains committed to working with local officials to ensure residents have safe and healthy” drinking water, it didn't believe biomonitoring would be useful.

“Fortunately, Suffolk County Water Authority took swift and appropriate actions to minimize use of the affected well field for drinking water after PFPrA was detected, reducing the potential harm to the water supply,” the state Health Department said in its statement, referring to a toxic forever chemical.

Residents can email the state at BTSA@health.ny.gov, or call 518-402-7800.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine on Friday said, "I absolutely support" health testing by the state for residents who may be impacted. He said the county is planning a forum for East Hampton residents on Sept. 23 to discuss all its findings, which he said are publicly available. He encouraged anyone in East Hampton to call the county at 631-852-5810 for a free test of their water.

***

The Town of Riverhead issued a stop-work order last week to the developer of the Summerwind Farms subdivision on Peconic Bay Boulevard, after clearing and site-preparation work took place without permits.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the stop-work order, dated Aug. 11 and posted at the project site, indicates violations of Riverhead Town Code sections 217-10 and 217-11. A handwritten notation on the order, signed by Riverhead Building Inspector Robert Muller, states: “Subdivision does not have final approval. No land clearing permit.”

That finding tracks a condition imposed by the Planning Board when it granted preliminary plat approval for the Summerwind Farms major...]]>Ahead of its gunfire detection system coming online in Suffolk County, Flock Safety executives won't say if they'll agree to come to a legislative meeting to address concerns about the firm's privacy and data-sharing policies.

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that Flock Safety, which operates a nationwide network of license plate reader cameras, is under scrutiny over the use of data collected, privacy issues and the potential for abuse. Proponents say the technology provides law enforcement a critical tool to use in certain investigations.

The request, prompted by Legis. Greg Doroski (D-Mattituck), comes weeks before Flock is set to roll out its gunfire detection technology across the county thanks to a $3.7 million deal with Suffolk police that's being finalized. It also comes amid reported vandalism of the company's cameras on the north fork.

Doroski requested the company answer a series of questions by Aug. 27 that include whether federal agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can access or have accessed data collected by cameras based in Suffolk.

Doroski said yesterday that he has not yet gotten a response to the July 24 letter he sent requesting a company representative attend the Public Safety Committee meeting on Sept. 3.

The letter says "numerous constituents" across the county have raised concerns about the cameras, which are used by the Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and local municipal departments.

"Suffolk County residents deserve to know who is watching them and where our data goes," Doroski wrote.

Doroski has also requested a summary for the prior 12 months of "all instances in which data collected by Suffolk County-based Flock cameras was accessed by agencies outside Suffolk County."

Last week, Flock announced changes to its policies to further protect privacy and add security and transparency safeguards.

One change cut the default data retention time from 30 days to seven, which the company says adds "a careful balance between safety and privacy."

The company is also offering a new filtering capability that would allow an agency to restrict what other departments can determine from searching data collected by the cameras, such as for stolen vehicles or missing persons.

The company has maintained that its customers own their data and can decide how it is shared.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, a Republican, told NEWSDAY recently that he’s "comfortable" with how the police department handles data collected from the license plate readers.

"That data is used to save lives," he said. "It’s used to catch the bad guys."

He said he’s "always open to counterargument" about the technology and will wait for guidance from the legislature if lawmakers decide to go in a different direction.

***

Investigators from the Suffolk County district attorney’s office arrested an El Salvadoran man who has been convicted of felony DWI four times, most recently this month after being arrested in Flanders last year. The Suffolk D.A. then turned him over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be deported a second time.

As reported on 27east.com, District Attorney Raymond Tierney had decried the fact that a Suffolk County Criminal Court judge had released Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez, 36, without bail to await his October sentencing after he was convicted by a jury on August 7 of his fourth felony DWI charge. WIth Aguilar-Alvarez facing an almost certain long sentence, Tierney had said that he was seen as a highly likely flight risk and asked for him to be held in custody until his sentencing.

On Monday, however, investigators from Tierney’s office tracked down Aguilar-Alvarez in Riverhead and witnessed him driving a car, which he is prohibited from doing due to his numerous DWI convictions.

The investigators arrested him for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the second degree, a misdemeanor, and brought him to the district attorney’s office in Riverside for processing.

While he was being processed, the DA’s office notified ICE, which sent officers to detain Aguilar-Alvarez when he left the DA’s office.

“It is self-evident that given his history of multiple felony convictions, Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez is a clear and present danger to any Suffolk County citizen traveling on our roads,” Tierney said in a statement released by his office yesterday. “He is a repeat felony drunk driver who does not belong behind the wheel. Less than two weeks after his fourth felony DWI conviction, and despite explicit instructions not to drive, the defendant once again got behind the wheel of a vehicle. I want to thank my detective investigators for apprehending the defendant. I extend my gratitude to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their swift action in taking this individual into custody and working with my office to help protect Suffolk County residents.”

The DA’s office said that it would file a writ with ICE requesting that Aguilar-Alvarez be brought back to Suffolk County for his sentencing in October.

***

The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) will offer its S.A.F.E. (Strength, Awareness, Function, Education) Falls Prevention Program, a free eight-week workshop designed to help older adults improve balance and strength, reduce their risk of falls and maintain independence in their daily activities.

Held at Stony Brook University’s Southampton Campus, the program provides older adults on the East End with practical skills, education and resources to help them stay active, confident and independent. The eight-week session begins next Tuesday, August 25, 2026.

Throughout the program, participants will:

• Build strength and improve balance through exercises designed to support mobility and stability
• Identify and manage fall risks at home and during everyday activities
• Learn strategies for staying active and independent while reducing their risk of falls
• Connect with community resources that support physical activity, social connection and overall well-being

This year’s program will meet for two hours each week, with the eight-week session running from August 25 through October 16. Classes will be held on August 25; September 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29; and October 6 and 16.

For more information visit stonybrook.edu

Or to register, please contact Sarah Cohen, (631) 644-6667 or register at bit.ly/SBSHfallsfree

***

East Hampton residents who live around a battery storage plant suspected of causing a toxic plume after a 2023 fire are asking the state to provide health screening amid worries they may have ingested impacted water for years.

But the New York State Department of Health in responses to Newsday, said it doesn’t believe such biomonitoring “would be useful.” It instead is offering to take residents' questions and concerns directly via email or phone.

Residents concerned about the impacts of the water said that's not enough.

"It's unconscionable, that's what I think," said Charlie Esposito, who lives across the street from the battery site and is one of the residents who pressed East Hampton Town to demand health testing.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that in a letter sent to state and county agencies on Thursday following an occasionally heated public meeting last week, East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez wrote that residents who consume water from private and public wells are “concerned they have been ingesting” water laden with forever chemicals for “over three years…Residents have specifically requested biomonitoring, PFAS blood testing to establish a baseline for future tests, and a formal epidemiologic study.”

State Health Department spokeswoman Erin Clary said that while the agency “remains committed to working with local officials to ensure residents have safe and healthy” drinking water, it didn't believe biomonitoring would be useful.

“Fortunately, Suffolk County Water Authority took swift and appropriate actions to minimize use of the affected well field for drinking water after PFPrA was detected, reducing the potential harm to the water supply,” the state Health Department said in its statement, referring to a toxic forever chemical.

Residents can email the state at BTSA@health.ny.gov, or call 518-402-7800.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine on Friday said, "I absolutely support" health testing by the state for residents who may be impacted. He said the county is planning a forum for East Hampton residents on Sept. 23 to discuss all its findings, which he said are publicly available. He encouraged anyone in East Hampton to call the county at 631-852-5810 for a free test of their water.

***

The Town of Riverhead issued a stop-work order last week to the developer of the Summerwind Farms subdivision on Peconic Bay Boulevard, after clearing and site-preparation work took place without permits.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the stop-work order, dated Aug. 11 and posted at the project site, indicates violations of Riverhead Town Code sections 217-10 and 217-11. A handwritten notation on the order, signed by Riverhead Building Inspector Robert Muller, states: “Subdivision does not have final approval. No land clearing permit.”

That finding tracks a condition imposed by the Planning Board when it granted preliminary plat approval for the Summerwind Farms major subdivision on March 19. The resolution states that no land-clearing permits for construction of any roadway or infrastructure related to the proposed development may be issued before the final map is filed with the Suffolk County Clerk.

Final plat approval has not been granted, according to the stop-work order posted at the site.

The stop-work order follows concerns voiced by neighbors, who say clearing and site-preparation work began in mid-June despite the subdivision lacking final approval. In an Aug. 14 letter to Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin and the rest of the Town Board, the Planning Board, Town Clerk James Wooten and the town attorneys, residents said work at the property included tree and brush removal, temporary power installation, fenced and graveled areas and other apparent site-preparation activity. Residents said the clearing along Peconic Bay Boulevard went far beyond the developer’s prior public representations that brush would merely be thinned.

Supervisor Halpin said yesterday he has asked the Riverhead Town building department, the code enforcement division and the town attorney’s office to “bring the full weight of those departments for someone who has a total disregard for the procedure and process.” “I’m not trying to set an example. I’m trying to set a standard [for] how business [and] development should be done in Riverhead,” Halpin said.

***

The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation honored eight people, including Hugh King and Richard White, for their work on local preservation at the Snapper Inn in Oakdale last Thursday.

King and White, along with the six others, were the first recipients of the LIONS Awards. The inaugural class of eight honorees includes preservationists, civic leaders and educators who have championed the protection of historic places, expanded the public’s understanding of the past and inspired others to safeguard Long Island’s heritage for future generations, according to the foundation.

An East Hampton High School Class of 1965 graduate and Springs School teacher for 31 years, Hughie King serves as the East Hampton town and village historian, while Richard White was honored for advocacy of preservation and his work stewarding the Montauk Lighthouse.

***

When the Suffolk County Water Authority holds public hearings through the coming week...beginning today...on the proposed North Fork Pipeline, a few things will be different than they were during last year’s rounds of public meetings. Beth Young in EAST END BEACON points out primarily that the route has changed — the pipeline is now slated to travel down the Main Road from Route 105 to the Southold Town border in Laurel, instead of down Sound Avenue. It’s a route change that will shorten the pipeline distance by about a mile and will also shorten the construction time by two years. The Suffolk County Water Authority announced in late July that, with those changes, it now anticipates completing the project by 2028 instead of 2030, at a cost of about $25 million — down from $35 million initially projected.

By avoiding Sound Avenue, a Riverhead Town road, SCWA officials hope to address some of the major objections to the route brought by the Town of Riverhead, which asserted that it needed to issue road opening permits in order for the work to be done there. The Water Authority has since sued Riverhead over the town’s determination that it had a right to local zoning control over major public infrastructure projects.

Southold had considered holding its own hearings, using a process known as a Monroe Balancing Test, to determine whether it can retain local control over the pipeline, but that effort stalled after the litigation in Riverhead, which is still pending.

More than a year after SCWA first announced it was preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and solicited public comment at scoping sessions, it says the need for a pipeline has only grown, despite Southold Town’s new irrigation code, passed in the midst of concern over potential increased real estate development due to the pipeline last summer.

The first hearing will be held this evening at 6 p.m. at SCWA’s facility at 624 Old Riverhead Road in Westhampton Beach. The second is scheduled for tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the Southold Town Recreation Center at 970 Peconic Lane in Peconic. A final meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at the Riverhead Public Library at 330 Court Street.

The ghosts are in the form of unpaid tickets apparently dug up by a recent computer system upgrade by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Matthew Chayes reports in NEWSDAY that it’s a reckoning for New York drivers that began elsewhere in recent years to drivers in other states, including Massachusetts, Illinois and New Jersey, when those jurisdictions got new systems that were able to tap into old records, including those from out of state.

“The new drive system that we have in New York State DMV is bringing in information from other states,” the county clerk of Syracuse-area Madison County, Michael Keville, posted on a Facebook video to warn motorists.

Keville, who like some other upstate county clerks acts as an agent for the DMV, recalled having a resident come in to get a replacement license, only to be denied by the computer system because of what Keville later learned was an outstanding ticket from 1989.

DMV spokesman Walter McClure said the system is the National Driver Register, run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency also runs the Problem Driver Pointer System. All states participate, and the registry also includes those with revoked licenses.

“Any outstanding violation from out of state must be handled by an individual with that state before we can proceed with a renewal,” McClure told NEWSDAY.

AAA Northeast spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. said the upgrade happened earlier this year, part of a points-system upgrade, “making certain tickets have higher points.”

Sinclair said the computer system gets fed information from across the nation.

So what happened, say, in Vegas, is less likely to stay in Vegas.

“Pay your tickets,” Sinclair said. “If you get a ticket, you better take care of it. You know, there’s no escape. And folks get these violations, they have to be attended to.”

“There are reciprocal agreements with New York State,” he said. “With the update of the computer system, they’re able to go back,” he said.

A driver can complete form NDR-1 for more information.

***

Suffolk County quietly finalized a five-year, nearly $4 million deal for new gunshot detectors with controversial surveillance network Flock Safety — and AI-powered cameras could be next.

Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that Flock Safety’s technology will replace the ShotSpotter system, which Suffolk County has used for more than a decade to detect gunshots and notify first responders.

The new devices from Flock Safety — the same company behind the AI-powered license plate readers that can track a car’s every move based on dents, bumper stickers and roof racks — are expected to be fully installed, covering 23.5 square miles in Suffolk, by Sept. 6, the officials said.

The switch from ShotSpotter will save the county about $800,000 per-year, according to Jed Painter, general counsel of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, who led the contract negotiations.

The contract does not include any AI-powered Flock cameras, which critics have called a “Big Brother”-style surveillance system for local governments and have raised Fourth Amendment concerns nationwide

But that may change in the near future, according to Painter.

“We did not negotiate anything with Automated License Plate Readers or cameras… yet,” said Painter.

Painter said he finds Flock’s tech “appealing,” and was adamant that more of the company’s devices and additional gunshot detectors could be on their way to the county.

This includes not only floating the idea of installing the controversial cameras around the county, but also potentially upgrading to Flock’s “Raven” system.

The “Raven” system can not only detect gunshots, but also listens for and reports car crashes, and even loud community disruptions, according to Painter.

The county doesn’t currently operate any of the cameras itself — but multiple towns, villages, and even private housing communities around Long Island have formed their own contracts with Flock Safety to install the eyes in the sky.

The new contract will allow law enforcement to cross-reference any potential gunshot detection in Suffolk County with any local municipality’s or private community’s own Flock cameras to track vehicles that were in the area when a shot is detected.

The deal was quietly approved back in April with a 3-0 vote from Suffolk County’s RFP {Request for Proposal} Waiver Committee, with the gunshot detectors beginning to be installed earlier this month.

***

A Riverhead woman was arrested Sunday morning after police said she drove at high speed toward the Polish Festival, maneuvered around police vehicles and traffic-control devices blocking the roadway and struck a marked police vehicle.

Blanca Jimenez-Tapia, 34, was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and multiple state Vehicle and Traffic Law violations, Riverhead Town Police said. Jimenez-Tapia was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Police said she was released on an appearance ticket for a future court date.

No pedestrians or festivalgoers were injured, but police said an officer was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, treated and released.

Polish Town Civic Association president Tomasz Andzejewski told NEWSDAY that he was assured by police the festival was not targeted. He also expressed gratitude for the quick action by officers to stop the driver and avert a potential tragedy.

"It was just an unfortunate accident that happened near the fair," Andzejewski said. "But, thanks to Riverhead’s finest everybody was safe, secure and that was no major damage or injuries. It could have ended up really, really bad … We’re very, very grateful for that and what our police officers do.”

Riverhead Town Police ask anyone with information regarding the incident to call them at 631-727-4500.

***

An army of politically connected lobbying, consulting, legal and construction firms are pushing a plan to build a sprawling $3.26 billion power-line project from Long Island to Westchester.

The list of those working within the realm of influence on the Propel NY Energy project include a politically connected Long Island law firm whose partner advises the Hochul administration and an influential Albany law firm.

No one's accusing the developers or the state of any improprieties, but opponents say the air of inevitability of a project whose primary purpose has changed lends credence to the notion that higher forces are at work pulling for it.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Propel, being developed by the New York Power Authority and utility consortium New York Transco, this summer awarded pre-construction contracts for a project that will bring a series of high-voltage power lines and substations from western Suffolk and across Nassau to Queens, the Bronx and Westchester. Transco is owned by subsidiaries of investor-owned utilities including National Grid and Con Edison.

NYPA and Transco are filing construction plans in preparation for a late 2026 start of construction, even before the project has received two critical federal permits and a final certificate from the state.

While Hochul has called Propel a “critical infrastructure” project, North Shore residents who oppose its convergence point through their Long Island community have complained about potential health, economic and environmental concerns over the five-year construction period.

The project, initially developed in response to a need to transmit upwards of 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind from offshore Long Island to the upstate region, has since morphed into a “power agnostic” line that proponents say will help energy reliability and address future power constraints facing the downstate region.

When Propel NY Energy was first awarded in 2023, offshore wind was touted to replace aging natural gas-powered plants to become the baseload power source for Long Island and, with the proper extension, much of the state. Long Island alone was expected to see up to 2,400 megawatts of wind coming its way, and proponents cheered the project on.

Lobbying by Transco hasn’t slowed even as the project prepares to launch construction. In the first six months of 2026, New York Transco has spent $327,498 to pay six separate lobbying firms to advocate for Propel, among other lobbying initiatives, according to state records. Among those lobbied this year: six staffers at the state Department of Public Service, the governor’s office, the Nassau County executive’s office and the mayor of Roslyn, according to the records.

***

The Town of Southold’s draft update of its Community Preservation Fund Project Plan will soon be sent out for review to other stakeholders, but it does not yet include a component long wished for by lawmakers in Greenport — a plan to guide funding for water quality improvement projects.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Community Preservation Fund — which began as a land preservation program in each of the five East End towns in 1999, received approval from voters in 2016 to expand to include water quality projects. But Southold Town has not yet created a Project Plan for water quality projects — which is necessary before it can spend the money — and has not updated its overall Project Plan since 2016, despite the fact that state law requires town project plans to be...]]>Old traffic tickets and other violations — including those issued decades ago and out of state — are haunting some New Yorkers’ ability to renew their driver’s licenses.

The ghosts are in the form of unpaid tickets apparently dug up by a recent computer system upgrade by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Matthew Chayes reports in NEWSDAY that it’s a reckoning for New York drivers that began elsewhere in recent years to drivers in other states, including Massachusetts, Illinois and New Jersey, when those jurisdictions got new systems that were able to tap into old records, including those from out of state.

“The new drive system that we have in New York State DMV is bringing in information from other states,” the county clerk of Syracuse-area Madison County, Michael Keville, posted on a Facebook video to warn motorists.

Keville, who like some other upstate county clerks acts as an agent for the DMV, recalled having a resident come in to get a replacement license, only to be denied by the computer system because of what Keville later learned was an outstanding ticket from 1989.

DMV spokesman Walter McClure said the system is the National Driver Register, run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency also runs the Problem Driver Pointer System. All states participate, and the registry also includes those with revoked licenses.

“Any outstanding violation from out of state must be handled by an individual with that state before we can proceed with a renewal,” McClure told NEWSDAY.

AAA Northeast spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. said the upgrade happened earlier this year, part of a points-system upgrade, “making certain tickets have higher points.”

Sinclair said the computer system gets fed information from across the nation.

So what happened, say, in Vegas, is less likely to stay in Vegas.

“Pay your tickets,” Sinclair said. “If you get a ticket, you better take care of it. You know, there’s no escape. And folks get these violations, they have to be attended to.”

“There are reciprocal agreements with New York State,” he said. “With the update of the computer system, they’re able to go back,” he said.

A driver can complete form NDR-1 for more information.

***

Suffolk County quietly finalized a five-year, nearly $4 million deal for new gunshot detectors with controversial surveillance network Flock Safety — and AI-powered cameras could be next.

Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that Flock Safety’s technology will replace the ShotSpotter system, which Suffolk County has used for more than a decade to detect gunshots and notify first responders.

The new devices from Flock Safety — the same company behind the AI-powered license plate readers that can track a car’s every move based on dents, bumper stickers and roof racks — are expected to be fully installed, covering 23.5 square miles in Suffolk, by Sept. 6, the officials said.

The switch from ShotSpotter will save the county about $800,000 per-year, according to Jed Painter, general counsel of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, who led the contract negotiations.

The contract does not include any AI-powered Flock cameras, which critics have called a “Big Brother”-style surveillance system for local governments and have raised Fourth Amendment concerns nationwide

But that may change in the near future, according to Painter.

“We did not negotiate anything with Automated License Plate Readers or cameras… yet,” said Painter.

Painter said he finds Flock’s tech “appealing,” and was adamant that more of the company’s devices and additional gunshot detectors could be on their way to the county.

This includes not only floating the idea of installing the controversial cameras around the county, but also potentially upgrading to Flock’s “Raven” system.

The “Raven” system can not only detect gunshots, but also listens for and reports car crashes, and even loud community disruptions, according to Painter.

The county doesn’t currently operate any of the cameras itself — but multiple towns, villages, and even private housing communities around Long Island have formed their own contracts with Flock Safety to install the eyes in the sky.

The new contract will allow law enforcement to cross-reference any potential gunshot detection in Suffolk County with any local municipality’s or private community’s own Flock cameras to track vehicles that were in the area when a shot is detected.

The deal was quietly approved back in April with a 3-0 vote from Suffolk County’s RFP {Request for Proposal} Waiver Committee, with the gunshot detectors beginning to be installed earlier this month.

***

A Riverhead woman was arrested Sunday morning after police said she drove at high speed toward the Polish Festival, maneuvered around police vehicles and traffic-control devices blocking the roadway and struck a marked police vehicle.

Blanca Jimenez-Tapia, 34, was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and multiple state Vehicle and Traffic Law violations, Riverhead Town Police said. Jimenez-Tapia was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Police said she was released on an appearance ticket for a future court date.

No pedestrians or festivalgoers were injured, but police said an officer was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, treated and released.

Polish Town Civic Association president Tomasz Andzejewski told NEWSDAY that he was assured by police the festival was not targeted. He also expressed gratitude for the quick action by officers to stop the driver and avert a potential tragedy.

"It was just an unfortunate accident that happened near the fair," Andzejewski said. "But, thanks to Riverhead’s finest everybody was safe, secure and that was no major damage or injuries. It could have ended up really, really bad … We’re very, very grateful for that and what our police officers do.”

Riverhead Town Police ask anyone with information regarding the incident to call them at 631-727-4500.

***

An army of politically connected lobbying, consulting, legal and construction firms are pushing a plan to build a sprawling $3.26 billion power-line project from Long Island to Westchester.

The list of those working within the realm of influence on the Propel NY Energy project include a politically connected Long Island law firm whose partner advises the Hochul administration and an influential Albany law firm.

No one's accusing the developers or the state of any improprieties, but opponents say the air of inevitability of a project whose primary purpose has changed lends credence to the notion that higher forces are at work pulling for it.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Propel, being developed by the New York Power Authority and utility consortium New York Transco, this summer awarded pre-construction contracts for a project that will bring a series of high-voltage power lines and substations from western Suffolk and across Nassau to Queens, the Bronx and Westchester. Transco is owned by subsidiaries of investor-owned utilities including National Grid and Con Edison.

NYPA and Transco are filing construction plans in preparation for a late 2026 start of construction, even before the project has received two critical federal permits and a final certificate from the state.

While Hochul has called Propel a “critical infrastructure” project, North Shore residents who oppose its convergence point through their Long Island community have complained about potential health, economic and environmental concerns over the five-year construction period.

The project, initially developed in response to a need to transmit upwards of 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind from offshore Long Island to the upstate region, has since morphed into a “power agnostic” line that proponents say will help energy reliability and address future power constraints facing the downstate region.

When Propel NY Energy was first awarded in 2023, offshore wind was touted to replace aging natural gas-powered plants to become the baseload power source for Long Island and, with the proper extension, much of the state. Long Island alone was expected to see up to 2,400 megawatts of wind coming its way, and proponents cheered the project on.

Lobbying by Transco hasn’t slowed even as the project prepares to launch construction. In the first six months of 2026, New York Transco has spent $327,498 to pay six separate lobbying firms to advocate for Propel, among other lobbying initiatives, according to state records. Among those lobbied this year: six staffers at the state Department of Public Service, the governor’s office, the Nassau County executive’s office and the mayor of Roslyn, according to the records.

***

The Town of Southold’s draft update of its Community Preservation Fund Project Plan will soon be sent out for review to other stakeholders, but it does not yet include a component long wished for by lawmakers in Greenport — a plan to guide funding for water quality improvement projects.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Community Preservation Fund — which began as a land preservation program in each of the five East End towns in 1999, received approval from voters in 2016 to expand to include water quality projects. But Southold Town has not yet created a Project Plan for water quality projects — which is necessary before it can spend the money — and has not updated its overall Project Plan since 2016, despite the fact that state law requires town project plans to be updated every five years.

In addition to the water quality component, changes to the CPF law in 2024 also require that 10 percent of a town’s CPF money be spent for the benefit of a “Disadvantaged Community,” or DAC.

The DAC designation is determined by a complicated formula assessing an area’s ability to adapt to climate change, created by New York State’s Climate Justice Working Group in 2023. Greenport Village is the only designated Disadvantaged Community on the North Fork, and while Southold has been reserving CPF funds to be applied toward this program, it has not yet used any.

Southold Town Land Preservation Coordinator Lillian McCullough and the town’s Land Preservation Committee have nearly completed their update to the open space portion of the CPF project plan, Ms. McCullough told the Southold Town Board at its work session last Tuesday August 11th.

Ms. McCullough said the CPF is not the only potential source of funding in hamlet centers, and pocket parks created with other funding could also later be accepted into the CPF program for long-term stewardship and management. She suggested the board refer the draft plan to stakeholders for feedback over the next four weeks, after which formal public hearings would be held.

***

The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) will offer its S.A.F.E. (Strength, Awareness, Function, Education) Falls Prevention Program, a free eight-week workshop designed to help older adults improve balance and strength, reduce their risk of falls and maintain independence in their daily activities.

Held at Stony Brook University’s Southampton Campus, the program provides older adults on the East End with practical skills, education and resources to help them stay active, confident and independent. The eight-week session begins Tuesday, August 25, 2026.

Throughout the program, participants will:

• Build strength and improve balance through exercises designed to support mobility and stability
• Identify and manage fall risks at home and during everyday activities
• Learn strategies for staying active and independent while reducing their risk of falls
• Connect with community resources that support physical activity, social connection and overall well-being

This year’s program will meet for two hours each week, with the eight-week session running from August 25 through October 16. Classes will be held on August 25; September 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29; and October 6 and 16.

For more information or to register, please contact Sarah Cohen, (631) 644-6667 or register at bit.ly/SBSHfallsfree

***

Julia Koch, the second-richest woman in America, may not be on the social scene, but she is keeping busy.

Mara Siegler reports in THE NY POST that the famously private socialite has been creating a family compound in Southampton, complete with multimillion-dollar renovations. Koch, who is worth an estimated $81.2 billion, owns two homes on Meadow Lane in Southampton Village, also known as Billionaire Lane. She quietly scooped up another nearby property for $33.5 million in the past year.

A Page Six source revealed she is creating a “family compound” for her three children with late husband David, who died in August 2019 at 79.

Koch has been updating the homes, spending millions of dollars, especially one she purchased in 2022 for $75 million that needs a full renovation to “bring it up to date and make it more modern.”

When the property first came on the market, one report described it as a “22,000-square-foot Tudor-style fixer-upper.” Additionally, it has 500 feet of beach frontage and a total of 15 bedrooms.

Julia Koch also owns an $18 million mansion on Meadow Lane, which is known for having wealthy residents including Calvin Klein, Leon Black, Aby Rosen, Ian Schrager and Jay Sugarman.

Koch has built a reputation for being the queen of stellar redos. She previously tapped A-list designer Peter Marino to work on her $40 million Upper East Side townhouse. She also received the Ballinger Award for restoration or rehabilitation of a landmarked estate or public space in 2008 for her work on a Palm Beach property.

However, Ms. Koch is rarely spotted on the high society scene since her husband’s passing 7 years ago this month.

FYI - The richest woman in America is Alice Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune, with an estimated net worth surpassing $100 billion. She does not appear to own a home in "The Hamptons."

Asked if this has been the worst year ever for ticks on Long Island, Suffolk County's chief entomologist wouldn't bite. "Tick populations fluctuate year to year and are dependent on many factors including weather, hosts and breeding success," Scott Campbell, head of the Arthropod-Borne Disease Laboratory for the Suffolk Health department, told Newsday. Campbell and his colleagues collect ticks at several locations in Suffolk County by dragging a flannel cloth across the grass. Ticks cling to the cloth and are later brought to a lab. This tick surveillance in Suffolk and Nassau counties is focused on finding out which species are here and determining if they carry bacteria or viruses that can cause illness in people. It is not trying to figure out how many ticks are on Long Island in a given year.

The NYS Health Department publishes density data on infected blacklegged ticks, which carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and other illnesses, collected at various locations. The data for Long Island varies over the past 13 years.

Using the density data and previous tick infection rates, the state also assigns a "tick risk score" from 0-5 for each region every year. Long Island currently has a score of 3.31 — the highest in New York.

***

Brief chants of “Vote! Vote! Vote!” broke out at Southampton Village Hall this past Thursday night before the Village Board decided to take a vote immediately after the public hearing was closed, in a break from the usual practice.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that those chanting, who were in attendance to speak against a proposed local law regarding village beach parking stickers, got what they wanted. The board unanimously voted against adopting a local law that would have implemented a year-round parking permit to park at Southampton Village beach access roads. The current system, in which passes are effective from May 15 through September 15 and no permits are required in the offseason, will remain in place.

Mayor Bill Manger declared at the start of the public hearing that the idea to implement a year-round pass would be scrapped due to the high volume of opposition to the proposal expressed in the written correspondence the board received ahead of the public hearing. He explained that the proposal was made in response to vehicles driven by contractors and other workers using beach parking during the summer and offseason, often leaving few to no spots for village residents and those from outside the village to park at beaches.

“The idea was, how can we prevent the lots from being completely filled up with contractor vehicles?” he said. “Obviously, in retrospect now, I understand that trying to have a year-round permit was not the answer.”

Southampton Town Trustee Sara Topping, joined by Trustee Joe McLoughlin and Trustee President Jimmy Mack, encouraged the board to have further discussions about permit parking but wait until the offseason to do so.

“New parking regulations on the village letter roads will create additional questions and requests for our staff at a time when they are already managing peak seasonal operations,” she said. “Waiting would allow time for a smoother transition and continued collaboration between the village and the trustees and the public.”

***

Marders in Bridgehampton will host a Birds of Prey program featuring rescued birds from the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center this coming Saturday afternoon, August 22, from 1 to 3 p.m.

The family-friendly event will give visitors an opportunity to see the birds up close while learning about their behaviors, habitats and adaptations, as well as their role in the local ecosystem.

Representatives from the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center will introduce the birds and discuss the organization’s work rescuing and rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife on the East End.

This coming Saturday's Birds of Prey event at Marders in Bridgehampton begins at 1 p.m. And is open to people of all ages...highlighting the importance of protecting wildlife and preserving natural habitats.

For additional information, contact Marders, 631-537-3700.

***

A new lawsuit is asking a State Supreme Court judge to invalidate another part of Riverhead’s cannabis zoning code, less than two weeks after an appeals court ruled the Town of Riverhead’s 1,000-foot setback from schools is preempted by state law.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the new lawsuit, filed Aug. 5 by 1086 OCR LLC, Brian Stark Enterprises LLC and Brian Stark, directly challenges a Riverhead Town Code provision requiring at least 2,500 feet between cannabis retail dispensaries.

State regulations generally require 1,000 feet between retail dispensaries in municipalities the size of Riverhead.

The same plaintiffs successfully challenged the town’s school setback in litigation decided last year by NYS Supreme Court Justice Paul Hensley and affirmed July 29 by the Appellate Division, Second Department.

Their attorney, Martha Reichert of the Riverhead law firm Twomey Latham, is again arguing that state cannabis law preempts a local restriction that interferes with rights granted under New York’s cannabis licensing system.

The new case centers on competing state-approved dispensary locations at 1086 Old Country Road and 840 Old Country Road. The two sites are about 1,845 feet apart, according to a map filed with the lawsuit.

Brian Stark Enterprises holds a state adult-use retail dispensary license for the 1086 Old Country Road location. Large Leaf 618 LLC has state approval for a dispensary at 840 Old Country Road.

The lawsuit names the Town of Riverhead, the Town Board, the town Planning Department and several town officials as defendants. It also names as defendants Large Leaf 618 LLC, Keshav 840 LLC, Peter Moutafis, Moutafis Motors Ltd., the state Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board.

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the 2,500-foot spacing requirement is preempted to the extent it interferes with state-approved cannabis locations and the state’s dispensary proximity rules.

It also seeks an order requiring Riverhead to process the applications for 1086 Old Country Road and make a final, reviewable determination.

The Town of Riverhead and the other defendants have not yet answered the allegations.

The case is pending in NYS Supreme Court in Suffolk County.

***

Fifteen people face charges and seven cars were impounded after an early-morning street takeover in Medford this weekend, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

By monitoring social media, the police department’s Street Takeover Task Force learned of a planned takeover Friday night and tracked the participants to Woodside Avenue and Sawgrass Drive shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday. The cars were "driving recklessly, performing stunts in the roadway, and doing donuts and burnouts," according to a police department news release.

Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that the 15 people arrested were from a range of Long Island communities, as well Manhattan and Queens. They were charged with participation in an unlawful speed contest and spectating at an unlawful speed contest. Traffic tickets also were issued.

Illegal racing meetups sometimes involve dozens or even hundreds of cars and other vehicles, blocking roads and creating a hazard for other drivers.

Suffolk police created the Street Takeover Task Force in November 2024, after a street race resulted in a crash. The county legislature also passed a law the following month allowing participants and spectators to be charged.

Since then, the task force has made more than 100 arrests and impounded more than 150 vehicles.

The task force interrupted several takeovers earlier this summer.

The 15 people arrested Saturday were released on appearance tickets in First District Court in Central Islip at later dates.

***

The Cutchogue Civic Association holds its annual Summer Social tomorrow at 6 p.m. at McCall Vineyards.

All are Welcome

Light Bites Will Be Provided

Wine and beverages available for purchase

Tuesday evening’s event is free.

The Cutchogue Civic Association is a not-for-profit, community-based organization whose mission is to inform and educate residents about issues of community interest or concern. The association provides a neutral forum that promotes discussion, collaboration and the expression of diverse ideas.

You are invited to join them tomorrow at 6 p.m. at McCall Vineyards, 22600 Main Road, Cutchogue, New York 11935

Further info available online here.

***

The State of New York is way behind when it comes to screening infants and toddlers, often a crucial first step in determining if they have a disability or developmental delay. Only four states — Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and Nevada — do worse.

Sarah Carr reports in THE NY TIMES that in New York, about 28 percent of parents of young children report having filled out a...]]>Some Long Islanders believe this could be the worst tick season ever but experts say it's not easy to judge. The dominance of the lone star tick, an aggressive biter, on Long Island may be a factor, along with ticks that survived the winter under a bed of snow and the emergence of some rare tick-borne diseases in local residents. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that experts keep track of the kind of ticks on Long Island and the bacteria or viruses they carry that can cause disease, but not the overall population.

Asked if this has been the worst year ever for ticks on Long Island, Suffolk County's chief entomologist wouldn't bite. "Tick populations fluctuate year to year and are dependent on many factors including weather, hosts and breeding success," Scott Campbell, head of the Arthropod-Borne Disease Laboratory for the Suffolk Health department, told Newsday. Campbell and his colleagues collect ticks at several locations in Suffolk County by dragging a flannel cloth across the grass. Ticks cling to the cloth and are later brought to a lab. This tick surveillance in Suffolk and Nassau counties is focused on finding out which species are here and determining if they carry bacteria or viruses that can cause illness in people. It is not trying to figure out how many ticks are on Long Island in a given year.

The NYS Health Department publishes density data on infected blacklegged ticks, which carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and other illnesses, collected at various locations. The data for Long Island varies over the past 13 years.

Using the density data and previous tick infection rates, the state also assigns a "tick risk score" from 0-5 for each region every year. Long Island currently has a score of 3.31 — the highest in New York.

***

Brief chants of “Vote! Vote! Vote!” broke out at Southampton Village Hall this past Thursday night before the Village Board decided to take a vote immediately after the public hearing was closed, in a break from the usual practice.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that those chanting, who were in attendance to speak against a proposed local law regarding village beach parking stickers, got what they wanted. The board unanimously voted against adopting a local law that would have implemented a year-round parking permit to park at Southampton Village beach access roads. The current system, in which passes are effective from May 15 through September 15 and no permits are required in the offseason, will remain in place.

Mayor Bill Manger declared at the start of the public hearing that the idea to implement a year-round pass would be scrapped due to the high volume of opposition to the proposal expressed in the written correspondence the board received ahead of the public hearing. He explained that the proposal was made in response to vehicles driven by contractors and other workers using beach parking during the summer and offseason, often leaving few to no spots for village residents and those from outside the village to park at beaches.

“The idea was, how can we prevent the lots from being completely filled up with contractor vehicles?” he said. “Obviously, in retrospect now, I understand that trying to have a year-round permit was not the answer.”

Southampton Town Trustee Sara Topping, joined by Trustee Joe McLoughlin and Trustee President Jimmy Mack, encouraged the board to have further discussions about permit parking but wait until the offseason to do so.

“New parking regulations on the village letter roads will create additional questions and requests for our staff at a time when they are already managing peak seasonal operations,” she said. “Waiting would allow time for a smoother transition and continued collaboration between the village and the trustees and the public.”

***

Marders in Bridgehampton will host a Birds of Prey program featuring rescued birds from the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center this coming Saturday afternoon, August 22, from 1 to 3 p.m.

The family-friendly event will give visitors an opportunity to see the birds up close while learning about their behaviors, habitats and adaptations, as well as their role in the local ecosystem.

Representatives from the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center will introduce the birds and discuss the organization’s work rescuing and rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife on the East End.

This coming Saturday's Birds of Prey event at Marders in Bridgehampton begins at 1 p.m. And is open to people of all ages...highlighting the importance of protecting wildlife and preserving natural habitats.

For additional information, contact Marders, 631-537-3700.

***

A new lawsuit is asking a State Supreme Court judge to invalidate another part of Riverhead’s cannabis zoning code, less than two weeks after an appeals court ruled the Town of Riverhead’s 1,000-foot setback from schools is preempted by state law.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the new lawsuit, filed Aug. 5 by 1086 OCR LLC, Brian Stark Enterprises LLC and Brian Stark, directly challenges a Riverhead Town Code provision requiring at least 2,500 feet between cannabis retail dispensaries.

State regulations generally require 1,000 feet between retail dispensaries in municipalities the size of Riverhead.

The same plaintiffs successfully challenged the town’s school setback in litigation decided last year by NYS Supreme Court Justice Paul Hensley and affirmed July 29 by the Appellate Division, Second Department.

Their attorney, Martha Reichert of the Riverhead law firm Twomey Latham, is again arguing that state cannabis law preempts a local restriction that interferes with rights granted under New York’s cannabis licensing system.

The new case centers on competing state-approved dispensary locations at 1086 Old Country Road and 840 Old Country Road. The two sites are about 1,845 feet apart, according to a map filed with the lawsuit.

Brian Stark Enterprises holds a state adult-use retail dispensary license for the 1086 Old Country Road location. Large Leaf 618 LLC has state approval for a dispensary at 840 Old Country Road.

The lawsuit names the Town of Riverhead, the Town Board, the town Planning Department and several town officials as defendants. It also names as defendants Large Leaf 618 LLC, Keshav 840 LLC, Peter Moutafis, Moutafis Motors Ltd., the state Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board.

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the 2,500-foot spacing requirement is preempted to the extent it interferes with state-approved cannabis locations and the state’s dispensary proximity rules.

It also seeks an order requiring Riverhead to process the applications for 1086 Old Country Road and make a final, reviewable determination.

The Town of Riverhead and the other defendants have not yet answered the allegations.

The case is pending in NYS Supreme Court in Suffolk County.

***

Fifteen people face charges and seven cars were impounded after an early-morning street takeover in Medford this weekend, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

By monitoring social media, the police department’s Street Takeover Task Force learned of a planned takeover Friday night and tracked the participants to Woodside Avenue and Sawgrass Drive shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday. The cars were "driving recklessly, performing stunts in the roadway, and doing donuts and burnouts," according to a police department news release.

Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that the 15 people arrested were from a range of Long Island communities, as well Manhattan and Queens. They were charged with participation in an unlawful speed contest and spectating at an unlawful speed contest. Traffic tickets also were issued.

Illegal racing meetups sometimes involve dozens or even hundreds of cars and other vehicles, blocking roads and creating a hazard for other drivers.

Suffolk police created the Street Takeover Task Force in November 2024, after a street race resulted in a crash. The county legislature also passed a law the following month allowing participants and spectators to be charged.

Since then, the task force has made more than 100 arrests and impounded more than 150 vehicles.

The task force interrupted several takeovers earlier this summer.

The 15 people arrested Saturday were released on appearance tickets in First District Court in Central Islip at later dates.

***

The Cutchogue Civic Association holds its annual Summer Social tomorrow at 6 p.m. at McCall Vineyards.

All are Welcome

Light Bites Will Be Provided

Wine and beverages available for purchase

Tuesday evening’s event is free.

The Cutchogue Civic Association is a not-for-profit, community-based organization whose mission is to inform and educate residents about issues of community interest or concern. The association provides a neutral forum that promotes discussion, collaboration and the expression of diverse ideas.

You are invited to join them tomorrow at 6 p.m. at McCall Vineyards, 22600 Main Road, Cutchogue, New York 11935

Further info available online here.

***

The State of New York is way behind when it comes to screening infants and toddlers, often a crucial first step in determining if they have a disability or developmental delay. Only four states — Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and Nevada — do worse.

Sarah Carr reports in THE NY TIMES that in New York, about 28 percent of parents of young children report having filled out a screener in the previous 12 months, according to the latest National Survey of Children’s Health, conducted by the federal government. While the survey, from 2024, provides the most recent data, it might underestimate screening if parents didn’t recall filling out a form or didn’t recognize what it was.

Nationally, roughly 36 percent of parents report having completed a developmental screener recently.

New York officials recently acknowledged that the state needs to improve its numbers. The State Health Department this month issued a memo to pediatricians, social workers and others who work with young children citing the low screening rate. “We are missing critical opportunities to identify developmental concerns early, educate families about developmental milestones, support their children’s individual growth, and learn what to do if they have questions or concerns,” the letter stated.

It also announced a campaign to address the issue, including by distributing a guide of early childhood resources to families.

Medicaid did not cover developmental screenings in New York until a few years ago. Even now, the reimbursement rate, at less than $20 per screening, does not always offset clinics’ cost. Some states have invested more heavily in screening.

In an effort to boost screening, a growing number of communities are taking a new approach: bringing the tool from inside doctor’s offices to libraries, zoos, farmer’s markets and other gatherings where families congregate. In New York and 29 other states, much of this work is supported by Help Me Grow, a national network of local organizations that promotes child development. Help Me Grow operates in six parts of New York State, from Long Island to the Finger Lakes.

Doctors routinely screen children in all kinds of ways — measuring and weighing them, and testing their vision and hearing. But a 2006 recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics called for a standardized developmental screener to be administered when children are 9, 18 and 30 months old.

When it comes to screenings, “it’s exceptionally important to do them early and often,” said Kate Ryan, who directs the Adirondack Birth to Three Alliance. Money and time explain why many pediatric clinics don’t do the screening. The electronic tablets often used by parents to complete the questionnaires cost money, as does training for staff members on how to interpret and explain the results. And some physicians say it can be difficult to get reimbursed by insurance and Medicaid, or to incorporate screening into cramped office visits.

“We’re all wondering why we don’t identify conditions early — it’s not because it’s not recommended,” said Noelle Hause, senior manager of infant and early childhood mental health at the national child development advocacy organization Zero to Three. “It’s because it’s not getting reimbursed.”

Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that the one-time $1 billion tax rebate program — known as the Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate program — was included in the state’s $277 billion budget for 2026-27, which was approved in May along with changes to how utility rates are set to help lower costs for consumers as state lawmakers look to make New York more affordable.

"The bills are just getting higher and higher, and it is so discouraging for our families," Gov. Kathy Hochul said on May 7, when she announced a "general agreement" on the budget. "That's why we're sending one-time $1 billion out there in energy rebate checks to New Yorkers with this budget that'll help, at least in some way, offset the rising cost of keeping the lights on and the heat running in the wintertime."

The rebate checks, which are expected to help 8.2 million taxpayers, are based on residents’ 2024 returns and are expected to be mailed between September and December, according to the governor's office.

Qualified married joint filers or surviving spouse filers with incomes up to $150,000 will receive a $200 check under the program, while those earning between $150,000 and $300,000 will receive $150. Single filers earning up to $150,000 will receive a $100 check.

The rebate comes as energy costs rise for a variety of reasons, among them the U.S. war with Iran, supply chain disruptions, the expense of replacing aging infrastructure and increased demand.

Checks will start being mailed out ahead of November, when the governor’s seat and all 213 seats in the State Legislature are up for election.

Public policy experts say it’s common for lawmakers in Albany to send out checks in an election year.

"For families that are struggling to pay their bills, getting a little infusion of cash I'm sure is welcome," said Blair Horner, senior policy adviser with the New York Public Interest Research Group. "Politically of course, elected officials like to shower voters with gifts before an election cycle and that's why legislative sessions tend to be filled with goodies no matter what the financial situation is of the state in an election year."

And it could politically benefit incumbent lawmakers regardless of party, Horner told Newsday. "It really is an incumbency protection move more than anything depending on when they get it. Obviously it doesn't have the same political benefit if it comes out in December."

***

The settlement approved by the Southampton Town Board with Discovery Land Company over The Hills development in East Quogue last month was reviewed this week as the board weighed giving legislative approval to two key components of the settlement.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that residents who had at times bitterly disagreed with one another for years came to Town Hall this past Tuesday night to say that in many cases they still do not agree but accept that the Town of Southampton and their hamlet must mend the rift and take what positives they can out of the settlement.

With construction of The Hills project well underway — the golf course and about 22 of the 110 homes are completed, and another 25 are under construction — residents said that their focus should now be turned to ensuring that as much as possible of the $11.5 million Discovery will pay Southampton Town as part of the settlement is directed to the betterment of East Quogue.

“Finally, with this settlement we see a light at the end of a tunnel,” Cathy Zembetti, the chairwoman of the East Quogue Citizens Advisory Committee said. “No settlement is perfect, but I think this is a step in the right direction and proves The Hills is willing to work with the community.”

The Town Board on Tuesday held public hearings on two local laws that would officially bring an end to the town’s review of The Hills project. One approves the golf course and development by granting the property a special zoning designation that allows for the operation of a commercial golf course — giving Discovery the ability to sell 177 more memberships to the golf club, beyond those held by owners of the 118 residences within the development.

The other component abandons the northerly portion of Spinney Road, which cuts through The Hills property and the golf course itself, in exchange for a public easement in perpetuity that will allow town residents to pass through the development to access hiking and biking trails to the north.

In exchange, Discovery will purchase a narrow strip of town-owned land that cuts through the property for $10 million, and will give the town an additional $1.5 million in cash as a “public benefit,” and give the town title to a 32-acre parcel of undeveloped land it owns on Montauk Highway.

The giant resort development company will also improve and maintain several miles of town trails along Spinney Road and surrounding town lands to the east of The Hills property in perpetuity and create a new parking area for those accessing the trails.

The settlement will dispense with three separate pending lawsuits, two brought by Discovery against the Town of Southampton, in 2020 and 2025. Board members, who unanimously approved the settlement proposal last month, were clearly set on the approval of the two related legislative changes.

***

Earlier this week U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota, announced that he’d secured $158,000 in federal grant funding for the Quogue Village Police Department for vehicle acquisitions through the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process.

“We are grateful to Congressman LaLota for his hard work and for securing this funding for the Quogue Police Department and the community we serve,” Quogue Village Police Chief Chris Isola said.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the money has been earmarked to cover the purchase of two new, fully equipped hybrid patrol cars. Chief Isola explained that while the hybrid vehicles are more expensive, they represent a 30-percent savings in fuel, and also work better and more seamlessly with all the electronic equipment inside the cars. Marked patrol cars typically remain on the road for between two and three years, Isola said, before the department has to replace them. Once they’re taken out of service as marked patrol cars, they remain with the force and are used as unmarked vehicles. The department typically gets about a decade out of each car.

The Quogue Village Police chief said he doesn’t have a specific timeline on when the new vehicles will arrive, because it depends on when the manufacturer is able to deliver them, but he said residents can rest assured that they’re coming, and he’s glad it’s federal money well spent that residents will actually see.

***

Hours after its launch yesterday, Supermodel Café by Bethenny Frankel was issued a stop-work order by the Town of Southampton.

Melissa Azofeifa reports in NEWSDAY that the stop-work order posted on the window at 481 Montauk Hwy. in East Quogue has three boxes checked off, which state that the operator has failed to comply with the provisions of New York State Building Code, failed to comply with the provisions of Southampton Town Zoning Ordinance chapter 330, and that a dangerous and unsafe condition exists.

The notice was signed by Southampton Town's Department of Land Management and the Building and Zoning Division’s Senior Building Inspector Michael Chih.

In an e-mailed statement to NEWSDAY, a representative for Bethenny Frankel wrote, “Today’s Supermodel Café launch drew an extraordinary turnout, and we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support from the community. The café received a yellow notice labeled ‘Warning Stop Work Order’ following concerns surrounding the unusually high volume of launch-day attendees…The team is working cooperatively with local officials and taking the appropriate steps to address those concerns. The notice does not require the café to close, and there is no anticipated disruption to business. The café will operate during its regular daily hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.”

Southampton Town Public Safety and Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy said, "We’re also going to be issuing some violations and/or summonses from the Fire Marshal's office as well for sidewalk obstructions and unpermitted signage too,” adding that "notices were already given and they failed to take corrective action.”

Murphy confirmed the notices were given before the opening of the cafe in East Quogue.

Hundreds of fans lined up early Thursday morning outside the eatery, building excitement for the opening, some traveling all the way from Nassau County.

Frankel said it took one month from concept to execution of the cafe, named after a play on one of her popular Instagram video series in which she taste tests "supermodel snacks," or simple-to-make, low-calorie dishes.

***

Trump is coming back to Long Island.

Alex Mitchell reports in THE NY POST that President Donald J. Trump will join Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman today on a tour of Nassau County’s “state of the art” police facility to “pay tribute” to the area’s first responders.

Trump also plans to release 2025 FBI stats that will show the largest ever year-to-year drop in violent crime while in Nassau County, the Daily Caller reported.

The POTUS will be joined by FBI Director Kash Patel, who grew up in Garden City, newly sworn-in Attorney General Todd Blanche, in addition to Blakeman, according to the outlet.“I am grateful that President Trump is coming to Nassau County,” Blakeman, who is currently county...]]>Qualified New Yorkers can expect to receive a utility rebate check for up to $200 in the mail starting in September ahead of the November elections.

Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that the one-time $1 billion tax rebate program — known as the Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate program — was included in the state’s $277 billion budget for 2026-27, which was approved in May along with changes to how utility rates are set to help lower costs for consumers as state lawmakers look to make New York more affordable.

"The bills are just getting higher and higher, and it is so discouraging for our families," Gov. Kathy Hochul said on May 7, when she announced a "general agreement" on the budget. "That's why we're sending one-time $1 billion out there in energy rebate checks to New Yorkers with this budget that'll help, at least in some way, offset the rising cost of keeping the lights on and the heat running in the wintertime."

The rebate checks, which are expected to help 8.2 million taxpayers, are based on residents’ 2024 returns and are expected to be mailed between September and December, according to the governor's office.

Qualified married joint filers or surviving spouse filers with incomes up to $150,000 will receive a $200 check under the program, while those earning between $150,000 and $300,000 will receive $150. Single filers earning up to $150,000 will receive a $100 check.

The rebate comes as energy costs rise for a variety of reasons, among them the U.S. war with Iran, supply chain disruptions, the expense of replacing aging infrastructure and increased demand.

Checks will start being mailed out ahead of November, when the governor’s seat and all 213 seats in the State Legislature are up for election.

Public policy experts say it’s common for lawmakers in Albany to send out checks in an election year.

"For families that are struggling to pay their bills, getting a little infusion of cash I'm sure is welcome," said Blair Horner, senior policy adviser with the New York Public Interest Research Group. "Politically of course, elected officials like to shower voters with gifts before an election cycle and that's why legislative sessions tend to be filled with goodies no matter what the financial situation is of the state in an election year."

And it could politically benefit incumbent lawmakers regardless of party, Horner told Newsday. "It really is an incumbency protection move more than anything depending on when they get it. Obviously it doesn't have the same political benefit if it comes out in December."

***

The settlement approved by the Southampton Town Board with Discovery Land Company over The Hills development in East Quogue last month was reviewed this week as the board weighed giving legislative approval to two key components of the settlement.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that residents who had at times bitterly disagreed with one another for years came to Town Hall this past Tuesday night to say that in many cases they still do not agree but accept that the Town of Southampton and their hamlet must mend the rift and take what positives they can out of the settlement.

With construction of The Hills project well underway — the golf course and about 22 of the 110 homes are completed, and another 25 are under construction — residents said that their focus should now be turned to ensuring that as much as possible of the $11.5 million Discovery will pay Southampton Town as part of the settlement is directed to the betterment of East Quogue.

“Finally, with this settlement we see a light at the end of a tunnel,” Cathy Zembetti, the chairwoman of the East Quogue Citizens Advisory Committee said. “No settlement is perfect, but I think this is a step in the right direction and proves The Hills is willing to work with the community.”

The Town Board on Tuesday held public hearings on two local laws that would officially bring an end to the town’s review of The Hills project. One approves the golf course and development by granting the property a special zoning designation that allows for the operation of a commercial golf course — giving Discovery the ability to sell 177 more memberships to the golf club, beyond those held by owners of the 118 residences within the development.

The other component abandons the northerly portion of Spinney Road, which cuts through The Hills property and the golf course itself, in exchange for a public easement in perpetuity that will allow town residents to pass through the development to access hiking and biking trails to the north.

In exchange, Discovery will purchase a narrow strip of town-owned land that cuts through the property for $10 million, and will give the town an additional $1.5 million in cash as a “public benefit,” and give the town title to a 32-acre parcel of undeveloped land it owns on Montauk Highway.

The giant resort development company will also improve and maintain several miles of town trails along Spinney Road and surrounding town lands to the east of The Hills property in perpetuity and create a new parking area for those accessing the trails.

The settlement will dispense with three separate pending lawsuits, two brought by Discovery against the Town of Southampton, in 2020 and 2025. Board members, who unanimously approved the settlement proposal last month, were clearly set on the approval of the two related legislative changes.

***

Earlier this week U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota, announced that he’d secured $158,000 in federal grant funding for the Quogue Village Police Department for vehicle acquisitions through the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process.

“We are grateful to Congressman LaLota for his hard work and for securing this funding for the Quogue Police Department and the community we serve,” Quogue Village Police Chief Chris Isola said.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the money has been earmarked to cover the purchase of two new, fully equipped hybrid patrol cars. Chief Isola explained that while the hybrid vehicles are more expensive, they represent a 30-percent savings in fuel, and also work better and more seamlessly with all the electronic equipment inside the cars. Marked patrol cars typically remain on the road for between two and three years, Isola said, before the department has to replace them. Once they’re taken out of service as marked patrol cars, they remain with the force and are used as unmarked vehicles. The department typically gets about a decade out of each car.

The Quogue Village Police chief said he doesn’t have a specific timeline on when the new vehicles will arrive, because it depends on when the manufacturer is able to deliver them, but he said residents can rest assured that they’re coming, and he’s glad it’s federal money well spent that residents will actually see.

***

Hours after its launch yesterday, Supermodel Café by Bethenny Frankel was issued a stop-work order by the Town of Southampton.

Melissa Azofeifa reports in NEWSDAY that the stop-work order posted on the window at 481 Montauk Hwy. in East Quogue has three boxes checked off, which state that the operator has failed to comply with the provisions of New York State Building Code, failed to comply with the provisions of Southampton Town Zoning Ordinance chapter 330, and that a dangerous and unsafe condition exists.

The notice was signed by Southampton Town's Department of Land Management and the Building and Zoning Division’s Senior Building Inspector Michael Chih.

In an e-mailed statement to NEWSDAY, a representative for Bethenny Frankel wrote, “Today’s Supermodel Café launch drew an extraordinary turnout, and we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support from the community. The café received a yellow notice labeled ‘Warning Stop Work Order’ following concerns surrounding the unusually high volume of launch-day attendees…The team is working cooperatively with local officials and taking the appropriate steps to address those concerns. The notice does not require the café to close, and there is no anticipated disruption to business. The café will operate during its regular daily hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.”

Southampton Town Public Safety and Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy said, "We’re also going to be issuing some violations and/or summonses from the Fire Marshal's office as well for sidewalk obstructions and unpermitted signage too,” adding that "notices were already given and they failed to take corrective action.”

Murphy confirmed the notices were given before the opening of the cafe in East Quogue.

Hundreds of fans lined up early Thursday morning outside the eatery, building excitement for the opening, some traveling all the way from Nassau County.

Frankel said it took one month from concept to execution of the cafe, named after a play on one of her popular Instagram video series in which she taste tests "supermodel snacks," or simple-to-make, low-calorie dishes.

***

Trump is coming back to Long Island.

Alex Mitchell reports in THE NY POST that President Donald J. Trump will join Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman today on a tour of Nassau County’s “state of the art” police facility to “pay tribute” to the area’s first responders.

Trump also plans to release 2025 FBI stats that will show the largest ever year-to-year drop in violent crime while in Nassau County, the Daily Caller reported.

The POTUS will be joined by FBI Director Kash Patel, who grew up in Garden City, newly sworn-in Attorney General Todd Blanche, in addition to Blakeman, according to the outlet.“I am grateful that President Trump is coming to Nassau County,” Blakeman, who is currently county executive in Nassau, told The Post in a statement.

“To tour our outstanding, state-of-the-art law enforcement facilities and pay tribute to the men and women of our Police Department, Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department, and our firefighters for their outstanding efforts to protect our county, state, and country.”

Trump’s Long Island visit this afternoon also comes as a state-imposed deadline kicks in requiring local governments in New York to submit plans to end cooperating efforts with federal Immigration and Customs and Enforcement agents.

Nassau County is an active partner with ICE and Blakeman has defied recently approved sanctuary state measures that include banning agreements with local governments and ICE. Blakeman has long been a Trump ally and received the president’s endorsement in his race for governor against incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.

According to the latest Siena poll, Blakeman trails Hochul by 10 points.

Yesterday, Blakeman was accompanied by Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick J. Ryder, as they shared safety protocols ahead of the president's visit. The Garden City, Mineola and Uniondale areas will have street closures. “We will not detail those street closures for security reasons because that will telegraph the direction that the president is coming in, so we will not do that,” Blakeman said. “If you don't have to go in that area from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. it's probably a good idea [to avoid].”

***

This coming Sunday at 6 p.m. in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church the Shelter Island Friends of Music present THE WESTERLIES in concert.

The Westerlies are a genre-defying brass quartet from Seattle, now based in New York. With two trumpets and two trombones, the group blends classical chamber precision with the freedom of improvisation and the warmth of folk traditions. Their performances are celebrated for creative storytelling, innovative collaborations, and a distinctly American sound.

Sunday’s concert is free of charge with donations accepted at the door. It starts at 6 p.m. in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.

Further info available on line at https://www.sifriendsofmusic.org/

***

A discussion about adding up the deer in East Hampton Town ended instead with plans for how best to subtract them at this past Tuesday’s town board meeting.

Christopher Gangemi reports in THE EAST HAMPTON STAR that - that wasn’t the plan. In fact, Councilman Tom Flight, the board liaison to both the wildlife management advisory committee and the tick advisory committee, said at the beginning of his presentation that it wasn’t about deciding whether the deer herd should be culled or sterilized, but rather if it was worth spending $40,000 budgeted to the wildlife committee to take a census of the animals. “The deer count is what’s before the board,” he said.

The idea came from the tick committee. It’s widely accepted that deer are the main vector for tick reproduction. The math is simple: More deer equals more ticks. And deer are a main food source and breeding host for the lone star tick, whose population now far exceeds that of the black-legged or deer tick. Councilman Flight noted, however, that neither the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation nor the Town of East Hampton’s own Land Acquisition Department supported the tally. It quickly became clear that a majority of the board didn’t either.

Andrew Gaites, principal environmental analyst in the Land Acquisition Department, said it’s difficult to get an accurate count of deer populations. Another issue is cost. A townwide survey of the deer population could run up to $100,000. Nonetheless Gaites suggested, “We’ve been talking about this for 13 years and deer management for 20-plus years…I think we are in a place where we do have the data to start taking action.”

United States Department of Agriculture guidance says once you have more than 20 deer in a square mile, ecology suffers. East Hampton is just over 74 square miles, which equates to about 1,500 deer for a healthy situation. Past estimates indicate over 3,200 deer in the Town of East Hampton.

On top of increasing tick populations, the impacts of deer are many. Councilman Flight said exclosures on town land prove that where deer are unable to browse, biodiversity blooms. “We’re not seeing the forest regeneration that we should,” agreed Mr. Gaites. And of course motor vehicle collisions.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the new tower will be 146 feet tall, slightly more than double the height of the existing tower, which stands at 70 feet. The new tower will also be closer to the runway than the current tower.

Romaine noted that the existing tower, which has stood since the 1940s, no longer meets Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements, which was one of the main motivating factors in the push for a new tower.

“The one thing that you want when you run an airport is safety first, always,” Romaine said. “So we’ll be building a new tower right over there, and that tower will be 146 feet tall and eight stories. It will provide greater visibility and it will make sure that the tower can control aircraft on this airport and prevent any unnecessary accidents from happening.”

Romaine also noted that during the U.S. Open golf tournament that was held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, nearly 2,000 flights came into Gabreski Airport as a result of the tournament, a sign of the increased air traffic the airport has seen in recent years.

Replacing the tower will cost $20.3 million, $12.5 million of which is coming from the federal government. Getting federal funding has been in the works for years and got a key boost after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed in 2021, a law that Lee Zeldin, the representative from New York’s 1st congressional district at the time, voted against.

LaLota said that securing the funding for the new tower was part of his goal for Long Island residents to “spend less towards Washington and get more from Washington.”

Construction is expected to be completed within a year, according to EW Howell Construction Group Executive Chairman Howie Rowland.

***

The Southampton Village Board will host a public hearing on a law that would amend a section of the village code regarding permit parking for Southampton Village beaches at its meeting this evening at 6 p.m.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the proposed local law would require parking permits to be posted on vehicles at all times throughout the entire year. Currently, permits are only required from May 15 through September 15.

The new permit changes would not impact Coopers Beach, as the law states that it would not apply “unless the parking guard booth at said facility is staffed by an attendant.”

The Eastern Long Island chapter of the Surfrider Foundation sent a written statement to the Village Board that was shared with The Southampton Press to express its opposition to the proposal.

“These changes, while simple at face value, represent a major departure from what has been tradition, what other local municipalities continue to maintain, and a further restriction of the public’s right to beach access,” the organization wrote. “For these reasons, we hope that in the least the Southampton Village Trustees will consider delaying this proposal until further presentations, hearings, and public comment can be heard, and the public can fully understand and express their opinions on these changes.”

A public hearing regarding beach permits will be held this evening at 6 p.m.in Southampton Village Hall.

***

This coming Sunday, August 16th at 6 p.m. in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church the Shelter Island Friends of Music present THE WESTERLIES in concert.

The Westerlies are a genre-defying brass quartet from Seattle, now based in New York. With two trumpets and two trombones, the group blends classical chamber precision with the freedom of improvisation and the warmth of folk traditions. Their performances are celebrated for creative storytelling, innovative collaborations, and a distinctly American sound.

Sunday’s concert is free of charge with donations accepted at the door.

It starts at 6 p.m. in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.

Further info available on line at sifriendsofmusic.org.

***

New York State’s generous health plan for working-class people was hit hard by federal funding cuts. More than 400,000 people are now looking for new coverage or living without it statewide.

Emma G. Fitzsimmons reports in THE NY TIMES that New York’s Essential Plan, an unusual state program that is almost entirely federally subsidized, was a lifeline for people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but struggle to pay for private insurance. Established in 2015 under the Affordable Care Act, the plan also became popular with immigrants ineligible for Medicaid, and drove down the number of people in New York without health insurance to below 5 percent.

Now, health experts are worried that number will rise and that more people will lose access to care. And many New Yorkers are now paying more for insurance at a time when families are already struggling to afford housing and groceries.

The plan had become a spigot of billions of federal health care dollars, more than were routed to other states. When President Donald Trump’s domestic policy law was approved last year, it restricted which noncitizens were eligible, reducing the flow of funding. The state then limited eligibility. The earnings threshold for a family of four used to be $82,500; now it is $66,000.

Health officials and community groups are rushing to help people find new insurance. Nearly 450,000 people lost coverage on July 1, and about 242,000 have since joined new plans, state officials said. New Yorkers have until the end of August to sign up for coverage through the state’s marketplace.

Elisabeth Benjamin, a vice president at the Community Service Society, an antipoverty nonprofit that helps people access health care, said that many of those who lost coverage were freelancers and hourly workers.

“Our call volume has doubled,” she said. “People are confused and upset. They’re going without insurance.”

The deep cuts to the Essential Plan come as congressional Republicans have reduced federal subsidies for people on A.C.A. plans, and enrollment has dropped. More New Yorkers are expected to lose their insurance in January when new Medicaid rules, including work requirements, take effect. State officials have warned that more than one million people in New York could lose Medicaid coverage in the coming years.

Bill Hammond, a health care policy analyst at the Empire Center for Public Policy, a fiscally conservative think tank, said the Essential Plan was unsustainable under the previous rules. Those losing coverage have incomes between 200 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty level, or between $31,900 and $39,900 for a single adult.

“I think it’s reasonable to ask people in that range to pay more,” he said.

Some state lawmakers had called on Governor Kathy Hochul to provide state funding to prevent people from losing coverage, but it was not included in the state budget deal earlier this year. Keeping those 450,000 people on the plan could have cost more than $2 billion annually, experts said.

***

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski will hold his annual State of the Town address this evening at 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport. Topics he’s expecting to highlight in the speech include short-term rentals, the town’s new cell tower code, water conservation, affordable housing, public safety, land preservation, communications and last year’s cyberattack.

The public is welcome to attend.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the public is also invited to some free local musical events through the next couple days.

This evening, the Town of Southampton’s Good Ground Park concert series in Hampton Bays continues at 7 p.m. with Sweet Ride Long Island - an up-beat cover band of experienced musicians who play a mix of Rock & Roll, Country, Blues and more!

Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Mitchell Park, the Greenport Band performs for free as it regularly does on summer Friday evenings.

And this coming Saturday, historic Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead will rock on and on when it hosts Hallockville Hootenanny, a full day, free music festival featuring performances by five talented Long Island bands. From noon to 7 p.m. the picturesque grounds surrounding the farm’s Naugles Barn will come alive with music, local food trucks and vendors, and family-friendly fun. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and celebrate summer on the North Fork at this historic 28-acre preserved family farm homestead. Hallockville Museum Farm is located at 6038 Sound Avenue in Riverhead.

***

The Greater Westhampton Historical Museum is celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial with a new exhibition highlighting Westhampton Beach’s role in American history and the community’s patriotic traditions.

The exhibition, “Liberty’s Legacy: Westhampton Beach’s 250-Year Salute,” invites visitors to explore American history through local artifacts, historical displays and imagery commemorating the country’s 250th anniversary.

Among the highlights are displays tracing the evolution of iconic American symbols, including Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty, alongside photographs and memorabilia documenting Independence Day celebrations and other patriotic events in Westhampton Beach and surrounding communities over the past century.

The exhibition is on view at the Greater Westhampton Historical Museum, 101 Mill Road, Westhampton Beach. Admission is...]]>U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine gathered with local officials at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton yesterday to discuss the construction of a new air traffic control tower that is being financed, in part, by funds from the federal government.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the new tower will be 146 feet tall, slightly more than double the height of the existing tower, which stands at 70 feet. The new tower will also be closer to the runway than the current tower.

Romaine noted that the existing tower, which has stood since the 1940s, no longer meets Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements, which was one of the main motivating factors in the push for a new tower.

“The one thing that you want when you run an airport is safety first, always,” Romaine said. “So we’ll be building a new tower right over there, and that tower will be 146 feet tall and eight stories. It will provide greater visibility and it will make sure that the tower can control aircraft on this airport and prevent any unnecessary accidents from happening.”

Romaine also noted that during the U.S. Open golf tournament that was held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, nearly 2,000 flights came into Gabreski Airport as a result of the tournament, a sign of the increased air traffic the airport has seen in recent years.

Replacing the tower will cost $20.3 million, $12.5 million of which is coming from the federal government. Getting federal funding has been in the works for years and got a key boost after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed in 2021, a law that Lee Zeldin, the representative from New York’s 1st congressional district at the time, voted against.

LaLota said that securing the funding for the new tower was part of his goal for Long Island residents to “spend less towards Washington and get more from Washington.”

Construction is expected to be completed within a year, according to EW Howell Construction Group Executive Chairman Howie Rowland.

***

The Southampton Village Board will host a public hearing on a law that would amend a section of the village code regarding permit parking for Southampton Village beaches at its meeting this evening at 6 p.m.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the proposed local law would require parking permits to be posted on vehicles at all times throughout the entire year. Currently, permits are only required from May 15 through September 15.

The new permit changes would not impact Coopers Beach, as the law states that it would not apply “unless the parking guard booth at said facility is staffed by an attendant.”

The Eastern Long Island chapter of the Surfrider Foundation sent a written statement to the Village Board that was shared with The Southampton Press to express its opposition to the proposal.

“These changes, while simple at face value, represent a major departure from what has been tradition, what other local municipalities continue to maintain, and a further restriction of the public’s right to beach access,” the organization wrote. “For these reasons, we hope that in the least the Southampton Village Trustees will consider delaying this proposal until further presentations, hearings, and public comment can be heard, and the public can fully understand and express their opinions on these changes.”

A public hearing regarding beach permits will be held this evening at 6 p.m.in Southampton Village Hall.

***

This coming Sunday, August 16th at 6 p.m. in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church the Shelter Island Friends of Music present THE WESTERLIES in concert.

The Westerlies are a genre-defying brass quartet from Seattle, now based in New York. With two trumpets and two trombones, the group blends classical chamber precision with the freedom of improvisation and the warmth of folk traditions. Their performances are celebrated for creative storytelling, innovative collaborations, and a distinctly American sound.

Sunday’s concert is free of charge with donations accepted at the door.

It starts at 6 p.m. in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.

Further info available on line at sifriendsofmusic.org.

***

New York State’s generous health plan for working-class people was hit hard by federal funding cuts. More than 400,000 people are now looking for new coverage or living without it statewide.

Emma G. Fitzsimmons reports in THE NY TIMES that New York’s Essential Plan, an unusual state program that is almost entirely federally subsidized, was a lifeline for people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but struggle to pay for private insurance. Established in 2015 under the Affordable Care Act, the plan also became popular with immigrants ineligible for Medicaid, and drove down the number of people in New York without health insurance to below 5 percent.

Now, health experts are worried that number will rise and that more people will lose access to care. And many New Yorkers are now paying more for insurance at a time when families are already struggling to afford housing and groceries.

The plan had become a spigot of billions of federal health care dollars, more than were routed to other states. When President Donald Trump’s domestic policy law was approved last year, it restricted which noncitizens were eligible, reducing the flow of funding. The state then limited eligibility. The earnings threshold for a family of four used to be $82,500; now it is $66,000.

Health officials and community groups are rushing to help people find new insurance. Nearly 450,000 people lost coverage on July 1, and about 242,000 have since joined new plans, state officials said. New Yorkers have until the end of August to sign up for coverage through the state’s marketplace.

Elisabeth Benjamin, a vice president at the Community Service Society, an antipoverty nonprofit that helps people access health care, said that many of those who lost coverage were freelancers and hourly workers.

“Our call volume has doubled,” she said. “People are confused and upset. They’re going without insurance.”

The deep cuts to the Essential Plan come as congressional Republicans have reduced federal subsidies for people on A.C.A. plans, and enrollment has dropped. More New Yorkers are expected to lose their insurance in January when new Medicaid rules, including work requirements, take effect. State officials have warned that more than one million people in New York could lose Medicaid coverage in the coming years.

Bill Hammond, a health care policy analyst at the Empire Center for Public Policy, a fiscally conservative think tank, said the Essential Plan was unsustainable under the previous rules. Those losing coverage have incomes between 200 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty level, or between $31,900 and $39,900 for a single adult.

“I think it’s reasonable to ask people in that range to pay more,” he said.

Some state lawmakers had called on Governor Kathy Hochul to provide state funding to prevent people from losing coverage, but it was not included in the state budget deal earlier this year. Keeping those 450,000 people on the plan could have cost more than $2 billion annually, experts said.

***

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski will hold his annual State of the Town address this evening at 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport. Topics he’s expecting to highlight in the speech include short-term rentals, the town’s new cell tower code, water conservation, affordable housing, public safety, land preservation, communications and last year’s cyberattack.

The public is welcome to attend.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the public is also invited to some free local musical events through the next couple days.

This evening, the Town of Southampton’s Good Ground Park concert series in Hampton Bays continues at 7 p.m. with Sweet Ride Long Island - an up-beat cover band of experienced musicians who play a mix of Rock & Roll, Country, Blues and more!

Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Mitchell Park, the Greenport Band performs for free as it regularly does on summer Friday evenings.

And this coming Saturday, historic Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead will rock on and on when it hosts Hallockville Hootenanny, a full day, free music festival featuring performances by five talented Long Island bands. From noon to 7 p.m. the picturesque grounds surrounding the farm’s Naugles Barn will come alive with music, local food trucks and vendors, and family-friendly fun. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and celebrate summer on the North Fork at this historic 28-acre preserved family farm homestead. Hallockville Museum Farm is located at 6038 Sound Avenue in Riverhead.

***

The Greater Westhampton Historical Museum is celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial with a new exhibition highlighting Westhampton Beach’s role in American history and the community’s patriotic traditions.

The exhibition, “Liberty’s Legacy: Westhampton Beach’s 250-Year Salute,” invites visitors to explore American history through local artifacts, historical displays and imagery commemorating the country’s 250th anniversary.

Among the highlights are displays tracing the evolution of iconic American symbols, including Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty, alongside photographs and memorabilia documenting Independence Day celebrations and other patriotic events in Westhampton Beach and surrounding communities over the past century.

The exhibition is on view at the Greater Westhampton Historical Museum, 101 Mill Road, Westhampton Beach. Admission is free, although donations are welcomed. The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call 631-288-1139 or email office@whbhistorical.org.

***

Long before she was in her current role as environmental director for the Shinnecock Nation, Shavonne Smith was taught how to care for the land she and her family call home. In more modern times, the kind of work that needs to be done to address the climate crisis, particularly in a vulnerable geographic area like the Shinnecock peninsula, takes enormous effort and enormous resources.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did its part to help advance that cause.

In June, the Shinnecock Nation announced that it had been awarded a $950,000 grant from the EPA as part of its $14 million Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup (MAC) grant to accelerate cleanup of polluted sites across the State of New York.

The funding will allow the Shinnecock Nation to assess sites in Southampton, Hampton Bays and on tribal territory, including abandoned residences, beach properties, dump sites and wetlands. The grant will also support cleanup, reuse plans and community engagement.

In July, the EPA also announced that it had selected the Shinnecock Nation to receive a $750,000 grant to fund recycling initiatives through the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) to support and help expand the nation’s preexisting recycling initiatives. That money will go directly toward a project known as Shinnecock Enhancement of Recycling and Composting Initiative. “The Shinnecock Indian Nation’s commitment to advancing recycling and composting demonstrates its commitment to improving the management of waste and improving the quality of life for all of its members,” EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci said. “This grant will create stronger local waste management systems, reduce landfill use, and support new economic opportunities while protecting the local environment for generations to come.”

The project will make recycling and composting programs on the nation’s territory more efficient. Through this program, the nation will supply every home with recycling bins and pick up recyclables weekly. The project will improve how recyclable materials, organics and food waste are collected from homes and office buildings by offering direct pickup services. The nation will buy collection and storage bins and a truck to help with collection and transportation.

Earlier this week, Smith spoke about what the EPA grants mean for tribal members, and why they are so important. Because the Shinnecock Nation does not tax its citizens, like surrounding communities, it does not have the financial resources to create extensive environmental initiatives on the scale that is now needed to address the immediate concerns of global warming and climate change.

“Having access to these types of federal funds makes it possible to do these projects on a pretty significant scale,” she said. “As opposed to just the surface removal of things.”

The Shinnecock Environmental Department was created shortly after the tribe became federally recognized in 2010. In her role as the department’s director, Smith’s job has been to design the department and then seek the funding to implement different projects.

Smith said she hopes the expanded program will take off.

The lawsuits argue that the policies are unconstitutional, violate federal law and discriminate against U.S. citizens from other states who pay thousands of dollars more in out-of-state tuition.

Luis Ferré-Sadurní reports in THE NY TIMES that the legal actions were the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten immigration enforcement and crack down on policies it sees as favoring immigrants who do not have legal status at the expense of Americans.

“Congress long ago made clear that states cannot put illegal aliens over our nation’s own citizens,” Stanley Woodward, the associate attorney general, said in a statement. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, New York, Vermont and Connecticut are doing just that. No more.”

In New York, undocumented students who graduated from a state high school pay $7,700 a year at State University of New York campuses, while citizens from other states are charged about $17,730.

Emma Wallner, a spokeswoman for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the state was reviewing the lawsuit but expressed confidence that the state’s policies would be upheld.

“In keeping with the law, the governor believes all New York high school students deserve the opportunity to pursue higher education in the state,” she said in a statement.

William Tong, the attorney general in Connecticut, addressed President Trump in a statement: “How we run our schools and teach our kids is none of your business, and you have no authority to force the sovereign state of Connecticut to deny our kids a future.”

He added that Connecticut offered in-state tuition and financial aid to all eligible students because “all kids deserve the opportunity to learn, to advance and to achieve their dreams.”

Under a federal law passed in 1996, states that provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants based on state residence must offer that same tuition rate to all citizens in the United States.

***

As the East End remains in a drought at the height of the peak water usage season, the East Hampton Town Board is weighing how best to conserve the water supply. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that East Hampton Town Attorney Jake Turner yesterday brought forth a suggestion that the East Hampton Town Board follow in the footsteps of the Southold Town Board, which opted last year to mandate that homeowners on automatic irrigation systems adhere to an odd/even watering schedule — those with an even number address water on even days of the month, while homes with an odd number would do so on the odd days. Watering would be prohibited between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Two additional measures, under the code presented by Turner, would have required irrigation systems to be equipped with both a rain sensor, which would ensure sprinklers aren’t running during a downpour, and a smart controller, which would keep irrigation systems from pumping when the grass doesn’t need water.

But this code will likely be workshopped after the Town Board expressed skepticism over the impacts on homeowners who use a specific schedule when watering flower beds and vegetable gardens.

There was, nonetheless, support for ensuring the water supply is protected.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the East End remains in a “severe drought,” which is the fourth of six levels ranging from “none” to “exceptional drought.” The East End is the only part of Long Island currently in a severe drought, with other parts hovering one or two levels below.

***

The little league baseball field at Iron Point Park in Flanders will get a big expansion this winter as Southampton Town looks to boost its use by the community — enlarging the field to be suitable to adult baseball leagues and soccer games and upgrading the lighting and field.

Kristen Doulos, director of Southampton Town’s Parks and Recreation Department said, “The Flanders Little League were the main user group when the town originally improved the fields there … but they have folded into the Riverhead Little League, so it is not getting used much” by little leaguers now.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that when completed, the new field in Flanders will be the first lighted field in the town’s portfolio of athletic facilities built to the specifications of an adult baseball diamond.

The Southampton Town Board this week approved accepting a $200,000 grant from New York State to fund the upgrades to the lighting. NYS Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni, a former Southampton Town councilman, said that the town has needed to upgrade the Iron Point facilities for some time and that he was happy to be able to tap the state for some help.

“Years ago, we put money into the budget for Iron Point and it got moved to Red Creek Park, so I’m glad that the town is putting money back into this,” Schiavoni said. “I think it’s money well spent, in a community that is underserved.”

***

Head Start, an anti-poverty, early education initiative, is struggling to maintain its programs on Long Island and elsewhere amid federal funding that has not increased in recent years. Controversial proposed federal rule changes may alter the program's mission, critics said, and bring potential cuts in federal aid. Several Head Start facilities on Long Island are in need of repair.

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published proposed rule changes for the program that nationally serves roughly 700,000 of the nation’s neediest children, titled: “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs.”

Long Island Head Start programs, local agency officials say, are already managing a balancing act of whether to serve more children, pay staff a wage to keep them or invest in facilities by getting a new roof, playground or HVAC. The new rules could mean further cutbacks, as well as changes in the program's mission.

The Trump administration says the proposed changes will save about $2.2 billion a year by 2031, enough to add roughly 116,500 Head Start seats and 45,600 seats to Early Head Start, which focuses on children under 3 and pregnant women.

The lack of infrastructure funding can be seen in classrooms around the country and in the region, where Long Island Head Start has about 20 locations.

The National Head Start Association is advocating for an updated infrastructure report to Congress and for the legislative body to allocate $339 million to the Office of Head Start so that local programs can repair, renovate, and rebuild facilities.

In Southampton, the church basement is the latest stop in a long effort to get a permanent facility to provide childcare services.

Their new center will be in Riverside near a school building. It will have a commercial kitchen, playground and five classrooms. Newsday previously reported that the organization received more than $2 million from the state to construct the facility, originally slated to open next month but now delayed.

John Ortiz, deputy supervisor for the Town of Southampton, told Newsday that officials there have been trying to help the town find a better temporary location since 2024, with no success.

“As we are now, presently the town has no available land and/or buildings to make available to them,” he said.

​***

The Town of Southold is aiming to formalize policies for responding to and communicating about federal immigration enforcement activity in two weeks.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the Southold Town board met yesterday for continued discussion on what role the town should play to keep residents safe and informed if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are conducting arrests in the area.

Under the proposed policy, Southold officers would respond to reports of outside law enforcement activity for verification.

The policy will also spell out a notification chain for relaying that information from high-ranking police officials to town and village leaders, other institutions and the public. It may also include a news release or public statement from the police department.

Following reported events, the town board — which also acts as police commissioners — would debrief about the incident and may form a task force to review the responses.

Board members focused Tuesday on refining the policy and whether to communicate about unverified reports of outside law enforcement. Southold Town Police Chief Steve Grattan cautioned against such alerts.

On Sunday, for example, word spread after the Department of Homeland Security was spotted in Greenport, Grattan said. He said the agency was conducting a port operation with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and both Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski Jr. and Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi were notified.

“They’re not out there for immigration purposes, they’re walking around and looking at foreign-flagged vessels,” he said yesterday, adding that a mass notification to the public could “potentially jeopardize their safety.”

The board agreed to focus on verified immigration actions, but must still work out key details including what a proposed response would look like.

“I want the public to have clear expectations of what they’re going to get from us,” Councilwoman Jill Doherty said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Councilwoman Anne Smith said the board should draft a “very clear and detailed” resolution outlining the policy, which could be ready for a vote as soon as the next meeting on Aug....]]>The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday sued three states — Connecticut, New York and Vermont — over policies that offer in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants at public colleges and universities.

The lawsuits argue that the policies are unconstitutional, violate federal law and discriminate against U.S. citizens from other states who pay thousands of dollars more in out-of-state tuition.

Luis Ferré-Sadurní reports in THE NY TIMES that the legal actions were the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten immigration enforcement and crack down on policies it sees as favoring immigrants who do not have legal status at the expense of Americans.

“Congress long ago made clear that states cannot put illegal aliens over our nation’s own citizens,” Stanley Woodward, the associate attorney general, said in a statement. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, New York, Vermont and Connecticut are doing just that. No more.”

In New York, undocumented students who graduated from a state high school pay $7,700 a year at State University of New York campuses, while citizens from other states are charged about $17,730.

Emma Wallner, a spokeswoman for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the state was reviewing the lawsuit but expressed confidence that the state’s policies would be upheld.

“In keeping with the law, the governor believes all New York high school students deserve the opportunity to pursue higher education in the state,” she said in a statement.

William Tong, the attorney general in Connecticut, addressed President Trump in a statement: “How we run our schools and teach our kids is none of your business, and you have no authority to force the sovereign state of Connecticut to deny our kids a future.”

He added that Connecticut offered in-state tuition and financial aid to all eligible students because “all kids deserve the opportunity to learn, to advance and to achieve their dreams.”

Under a federal law passed in 1996, states that provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants based on state residence must offer that same tuition rate to all citizens in the United States.

***

As the East End remains in a drought at the height of the peak water usage season, the East Hampton Town Board is weighing how best to conserve the water supply. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that East Hampton Town Attorney Jake Turner yesterday brought forth a suggestion that the East Hampton Town Board follow in the footsteps of the Southold Town Board, which opted last year to mandate that homeowners on automatic irrigation systems adhere to an odd/even watering schedule — those with an even number address water on even days of the month, while homes with an odd number would do so on the odd days. Watering would be prohibited between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Two additional measures, under the code presented by Turner, would have required irrigation systems to be equipped with both a rain sensor, which would ensure sprinklers aren’t running during a downpour, and a smart controller, which would keep irrigation systems from pumping when the grass doesn’t need water.

But this code will likely be workshopped after the Town Board expressed skepticism over the impacts on homeowners who use a specific schedule when watering flower beds and vegetable gardens.

There was, nonetheless, support for ensuring the water supply is protected.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the East End remains in a “severe drought,” which is the fourth of six levels ranging from “none” to “exceptional drought.” The East End is the only part of Long Island currently in a severe drought, with other parts hovering one or two levels below.

***

The little league baseball field at Iron Point Park in Flanders will get a big expansion this winter as Southampton Town looks to boost its use by the community — enlarging the field to be suitable to adult baseball leagues and soccer games and upgrading the lighting and field.

Kristen Doulos, director of Southampton Town’s Parks and Recreation Department said, “The Flanders Little League were the main user group when the town originally improved the fields there … but they have folded into the Riverhead Little League, so it is not getting used much” by little leaguers now.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that when completed, the new field in Flanders will be the first lighted field in the town’s portfolio of athletic facilities built to the specifications of an adult baseball diamond.

The Southampton Town Board this week approved accepting a $200,000 grant from New York State to fund the upgrades to the lighting. NYS Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni, a former Southampton Town councilman, said that the town has needed to upgrade the Iron Point facilities for some time and that he was happy to be able to tap the state for some help.

“Years ago, we put money into the budget for Iron Point and it got moved to Red Creek Park, so I’m glad that the town is putting money back into this,” Schiavoni said. “I think it’s money well spent, in a community that is underserved.”

***

Head Start, an anti-poverty, early education initiative, is struggling to maintain its programs on Long Island and elsewhere amid federal funding that has not increased in recent years. Controversial proposed federal rule changes may alter the program's mission, critics said, and bring potential cuts in federal aid. Several Head Start facilities on Long Island are in need of repair.

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published proposed rule changes for the program that nationally serves roughly 700,000 of the nation’s neediest children, titled: “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs.”

Long Island Head Start programs, local agency officials say, are already managing a balancing act of whether to serve more children, pay staff a wage to keep them or invest in facilities by getting a new roof, playground or HVAC. The new rules could mean further cutbacks, as well as changes in the program's mission.

The Trump administration says the proposed changes will save about $2.2 billion a year by 2031, enough to add roughly 116,500 Head Start seats and 45,600 seats to Early Head Start, which focuses on children under 3 and pregnant women.

The lack of infrastructure funding can be seen in classrooms around the country and in the region, where Long Island Head Start has about 20 locations.

The National Head Start Association is advocating for an updated infrastructure report to Congress and for the legislative body to allocate $339 million to the Office of Head Start so that local programs can repair, renovate, and rebuild facilities.

In Southampton, the church basement is the latest stop in a long effort to get a permanent facility to provide childcare services.

Their new center will be in Riverside near a school building. It will have a commercial kitchen, playground and five classrooms. Newsday previously reported that the organization received more than $2 million from the state to construct the facility, originally slated to open next month but now delayed.

John Ortiz, deputy supervisor for the Town of Southampton, told Newsday that officials there have been trying to help the town find a better temporary location since 2024, with no success.

“As we are now, presently the town has no available land and/or buildings to make available to them,” he said.

​***

The Town of Southold is aiming to formalize policies for responding to and communicating about federal immigration enforcement activity in two weeks.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the Southold Town board met yesterday for continued discussion on what role the town should play to keep residents safe and informed if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are conducting arrests in the area.

Under the proposed policy, Southold officers would respond to reports of outside law enforcement activity for verification.

The policy will also spell out a notification chain for relaying that information from high-ranking police officials to town and village leaders, other institutions and the public. It may also include a news release or public statement from the police department.

Following reported events, the town board — which also acts as police commissioners — would debrief about the incident and may form a task force to review the responses.

Board members focused Tuesday on refining the policy and whether to communicate about unverified reports of outside law enforcement. Southold Town Police Chief Steve Grattan cautioned against such alerts.

On Sunday, for example, word spread after the Department of Homeland Security was spotted in Greenport, Grattan said. He said the agency was conducting a port operation with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and both Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski Jr. and Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi were notified.

“They’re not out there for immigration purposes, they’re walking around and looking at foreign-flagged vessels,” he said yesterday, adding that a mass notification to the public could “potentially jeopardize their safety.”

The board agreed to focus on verified immigration actions, but must still work out key details including what a proposed response would look like.

“I want the public to have clear expectations of what they’re going to get from us,” Councilwoman Jill Doherty said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Councilwoman Anne Smith said the board should draft a “very clear and detailed” resolution outlining the policy, which could be ready for a vote as soon as the next meeting on Aug. 25.

***

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the New York Whale Awareness Act, which requires boater safety education on avoiding whale strikes, this past Friday in a ceremony at the Montauk Point Lighthouse.

Beth Young of EAST END BEACON reports that the bill, A.8515A/S.2292B, directs the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to establish educational guidelines to help mariners reduce interactions with marine mammal and prevent vessel strikes in New York waters.

In recent years, there has been an increase in whale sightings off of New York’s coastline, which advocates say highlights the need for boater education.

According to the governor’s office, the legislation “integrates whale-safe boating education directly into existing state boater safety courses and vessel registration processes. By equipping boaters with standard best practices and collision-prevention techniques, the initiative aims to encourage safer navigation habits and prevent accidental injuries and deaths among local marine life, including humpback whales and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale…the New York Whale Awareness Act ensures that everyone enjoying our state’s waterways has the tools and knowledge needed to navigate safely, avoid dangerous collisions and protect these special creatures,” per a statement from Governor Hochul’s office.

***

The south fork housing market - aka The Hamptons - heated up through the winter and spring of 2026.

Rachel Weiss reports in NEWSDAY that this spring, the median home price in the Hamptons rose to $2.2 million, a 16.1% increase from the same time last year, according to a report from real estate analyst Jonathan Miller and the Hamptons Real Estate Association.

Still, a number of abodes closed for under $1 million — a rarity both on the East End and Long Island at large, real estate agents say.

For those in search of a Hamptons home, the price point is hard to find because many of the smaller homes have been torn down and replaced or converted into luxury parcels, while plenty of homeowners are still unwilling to part with their low mortgage rates, said Michael Daly, an agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Sag Harbor.

"For years, you could sell your home here and move to other places that had significantly lower priced real estate," Daly said. "And while people still can sell their properties here for a significant gain, the fact that prices have doubled in some areas of Florida and the Carolinas make it less appealing to move."

At the current price point in the Hamptons, homebuyers often search for a long time — and if they are successful, the house usually needs work, real estate agents say. For seasonal dwellers, that could mean not having renovations in time for the summer, while those hoping to break into the area as full-time residents might be more willing to wait.

Often, something turnkey comes at a higher price: "It's just a matter of, do they want to walk into something that they don't have to do anything to, or walk into something they're willing to work on?" said Daniel Whooley, of Kerrigan Country Realty.

15 homes sold for under $1 million this year in the Hamptons through the end of July according to OneKey MLS...

8 in Hampton Bays, 3 in East Quogue, then one each in Remsenburg, Westhampton Beach, Southampton, and Montauk.

Speaking at a news conference at police headquarters in Yaphank, Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said video surveillance showed the driver, Thomas Lobianco, 26, of Lake Ronkonkoma, sitting in his 1999 Toyota Camry for about 20 minutes early Monday morning after he finished an overnight shift at a 7-Eleven convenience store about a mile away, during which time he may have ingested the drug. Observations made at the crash scene by a police drug recognition expert indicated he was impaired, Catalina said.

As reported in NEWSDAY, Catalina said Lobianco drove east in a westbound lane of Townline Road toward the work zone near the Terry Road intersection and may have been speeding. According to a police release, at around 6:40 a.m. yesterday Lobianco drove through a red light and onto a sidewalk, where he hit the three construction workers. He then hit an electronic crossing sign, a utility pole and a fence, according to the release. Lobianco is being held at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.

The three men were contractors working for Suffolk County on a paving project. They were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital. Joel Sicon-Porix, 38, of Mastic, was pronounced dead and Kevin Chavez-Sarmiento, 30, of Bay Shore, and Jose Gonzalez-Colindres, 33, of Brentwood, were admitted for treatment of injuries, according to police.

New York State transportation officials have long recognized work zone crashes, often exacerbated by speeding, as an occupational hazard for construction workers. In 2025, there were 33 work zone intrusions on Long Island state roads that resulted in injuries to five DOT workers, Newsday has reported, and 600 work zone crashes statewide roads maintained by the state DOT and Thruway Authority, according to a state report.

A state program, Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement, generated 600,000 notices of violation in just three years. During the program’s first 12 months, from May 2023 to May 2024, 40% — over 54,000 of citations — came from Nassau and Suffolk counties, Newsday has reported.

Since 1939, at least 59 transportation workers have died on the job statewide, according to the DOT.

***

The former Grace Episcopal Church in Riverhead, once slated for demolition by the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, was rededicated by the diocese Sunday as the home of Iglesia San Francisco.

“The celebration follows an extensive renovation project that has transformed the church campus into a safe, beautiful, and welcoming home for worship, fellowship, and community ministry,” the diocese said in an announcement of the rededication ceremony and celebration.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that congregants and community members packed the renovated church sanctuary Sunday for the 5 p.m. service and the time of fellowship that followed.

Diocesan Bishop Lawrence Provenzano led a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the formal opening of the renovated church and welcome the community into the sanctuary.

At the bishop’s side was Father Luis Fernando López, whom the bishop has named the priest-in-charge at Iglesia San Francisco. Since March 2025, Lopez has served the Latino East End Mission of Long Island.

The church, built in 1871, was closed in February 2023 after safety concerns made it unsuitable for continued use. The diocese pursued plans to demolish the structure before it decided to renovate it instead.

Throughout the renovation, the congregation faithfully continued worshipping, first in space provided by the Riverhead Central School District and later in the parish rectory, the diocese said.

Officially admitted as a diocesan mission in 2023, Iglesia San Francisco has long ministered to predominantly Spanish-speaking families and farmworkers on Long Island’s East End.

Throughout the renovation, the congregation continued its worship and outreach, while Rural and Migrant Ministry maintained its presence on the campus, continuing its longstanding partnership with the Diocese of Long Island in serving farmworkers and rural communities.

“This is a day of thanksgiving for our congregation,” Lopez said. “Our people never lost faith. We continued to worship, to pray, and to serve our neighbors wherever we gathered. Returning to this church gives us a renewed home for our ministry and a place where we can continue welcoming all who seek God’s love.”

Lopez, who is from Colombia, now lives in the church rectory with his family.

Provenzano, who is retiring as diocesan bishop next month, said he is grateful he had the opportunity to rededicate the Riverhead church before he retires.

***

The Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton presents Norway: A Coastal Adventure with Patricia Summers tomorrow at 1 p.m.

See the fjords and 38 ports of call from a real working ship that takes travelers from Bergen to the Russian border inside the Arctic Circle. Ships delivering the mail to remote areas of Norway also act as ferries and for many villages this is their only contact with the rest of the world. Visit with the Sami people as they raise deer, see authentic festivals and learn about this fascinating country as we explore her history and traditions. Travel tips will be given. No passport necessary!

Register on line at www.myrml.org

That’s Norway: A Coastal Adventure with Patricia Summers, tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Rd

Southampton, NY 11968

***

Federal officials are packing immigration courtrooms for mass hearings in New York City and across the country in what advocates said is an effort to accelerate immigration cases, sometimes prioritizing speed over deliberation and raising due process concerns.

In July, for instance, dockets for judges at Manhattan’s Federal Plaza Immigration Court compiled by the nonprofit BKLG.org showed seven hearings in which 100 or more deportation cases were scheduled, concerning a total of 892 individuals.

Nicholas Spangler and Anastasia Valeeva report in NEWSDAY that these are master calendar hearings, where immigrants make an early appearance before a judge who lays out the factual and legal issues of their case and gives a schedule for future appearances. Hearings of 100 cases or more have become common enough that lawyers for immigrants and the Department of Homeland Security have adopted a shared, informal name for them: “mega master.”

These hearings are sometimes scheduled on unusually short notice, making it hard for an immigrant to prepare or attend the hearing. Immigrant advocates said the accelerated timeline contributed to a spike in in-absentia removal orders, which can be issued by an immigration court judge if an immigrant misses a hearing.

The accelerated pace appears to be impacting Long Island immigrants. According to data posted by the Executive Office for Immigration Review {EOIR} processed by the Deportation Data Project, and analyzed by Newsday, the number of cases for Long Islanders ending in removal climbed from 305 in December to 733 in May and 768 in June. More than half of these were issued in absentia. EOIR, an agency of the Department of Justice, manages the nation's immigration courts.

Mega hearings “raise some incredibly serious due process concerns,” said Benjamin Remy, senior coordinating attorney with the New York Legal Assistance Group's Immigrant Protection Unit.

Federal officials said they are reducing a massive backlog in immigration cases and that while master calendar dockets are routinely scheduled in large groups, each case is heard separately and afforded due process.

***

A man who was deported from the United States in 2024 after his third felony DWI conviction was found driving under the influence yet again in 2025 and was convicted of a fourth set of felony charges on Friday.

As reported on 27east.com, the man, Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez, 36, was deported to his native El Salvador on March 1, 2024, after arrests for DWI in 2012, twice in 2017 and again in 2022, according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.

But on November 29, 2025, a woman asked the clerk at a Flanders Road gas station to call the police because her boyfriend was driving and highly intoxicated. A Southampton Town Police officer located the car and found Aguilar-Alvarez behind the wheel. A breath test later showed his blood alcohol level to be more than double the legal limit.

On Friday he was convicted on two more felony DWI counts, as well as a driving without a license misdemeanor. He faces up to seven years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 2.

The district attorney’s office had asked the judge handling the case, Judge Bryan Browns, to remand Aguilar-Alvarez to a Suffolk County jail until his sentencing because they fear he is likely to flee Suffolk County and not return for his sentencing.

The judge declined and ordered him released.

“There is no question Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez is a danger to society,” Suffolk County DA Ray Tierney railed in a statement issued yesterday. “Despite multiple prior felony DWI convictions, this defendant once again chose to get behind the wheel after drinking, putting everyone on the road at risk…And even now, despite the jury’s verdict, there is nothing to stop him from once again getting behind the wheel and endangering the lives of Suffolk County residents,” Tierney stated Monday...]]>A driver who struck and killed a construction worker and injured two others at a work zone on a Nesconset road yesterday has been charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and may have ingested marijuana minutes before the crash, Suffolk police said.

Speaking at a news conference at police headquarters in Yaphank, Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said video surveillance showed the driver, Thomas Lobianco, 26, of Lake Ronkonkoma, sitting in his 1999 Toyota Camry for about 20 minutes early Monday morning after he finished an overnight shift at a 7-Eleven convenience store about a mile away, during which time he may have ingested the drug. Observations made at the crash scene by a police drug recognition expert indicated he was impaired, Catalina said.

As reported in NEWSDAY, Catalina said Lobianco drove east in a westbound lane of Townline Road toward the work zone near the Terry Road intersection and may have been speeding. According to a police release, at around 6:40 a.m. yesterday Lobianco drove through a red light and onto a sidewalk, where he hit the three construction workers. He then hit an electronic crossing sign, a utility pole and a fence, according to the release. Lobianco is being held at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.

The three men were contractors working for Suffolk County on a paving project. They were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital. Joel Sicon-Porix, 38, of Mastic, was pronounced dead and Kevin Chavez-Sarmiento, 30, of Bay Shore, and Jose Gonzalez-Colindres, 33, of Brentwood, were admitted for treatment of injuries, according to police.

New York State transportation officials have long recognized work zone crashes, often exacerbated by speeding, as an occupational hazard for construction workers. In 2025, there were 33 work zone intrusions on Long Island state roads that resulted in injuries to five DOT workers, Newsday has reported, and 600 work zone crashes statewide roads maintained by the state DOT and Thruway Authority, according to a state report.

A state program, Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement, generated 600,000 notices of violation in just three years. During the program’s first 12 months, from May 2023 to May 2024, 40% — over 54,000 of citations — came from Nassau and Suffolk counties, Newsday has reported.

Since 1939, at least 59 transportation workers have died on the job statewide, according to the DOT.

***

The former Grace Episcopal Church in Riverhead, once slated for demolition by the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, was rededicated by the diocese Sunday as the home of Iglesia San Francisco.

“The celebration follows an extensive renovation project that has transformed the church campus into a safe, beautiful, and welcoming home for worship, fellowship, and community ministry,” the diocese said in an announcement of the rededication ceremony and celebration.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that congregants and community members packed the renovated church sanctuary Sunday for the 5 p.m. service and the time of fellowship that followed.

Diocesan Bishop Lawrence Provenzano led a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the formal opening of the renovated church and welcome the community into the sanctuary.

At the bishop’s side was Father Luis Fernando López, whom the bishop has named the priest-in-charge at Iglesia San Francisco. Since March 2025, Lopez has served the Latino East End Mission of Long Island.

The church, built in 1871, was closed in February 2023 after safety concerns made it unsuitable for continued use. The diocese pursued plans to demolish the structure before it decided to renovate it instead.

Throughout the renovation, the congregation faithfully continued worshipping, first in space provided by the Riverhead Central School District and later in the parish rectory, the diocese said.

Officially admitted as a diocesan mission in 2023, Iglesia San Francisco has long ministered to predominantly Spanish-speaking families and farmworkers on Long Island’s East End.

Throughout the renovation, the congregation continued its worship and outreach, while Rural and Migrant Ministry maintained its presence on the campus, continuing its longstanding partnership with the Diocese of Long Island in serving farmworkers and rural communities.

“This is a day of thanksgiving for our congregation,” Lopez said. “Our people never lost faith. We continued to worship, to pray, and to serve our neighbors wherever we gathered. Returning to this church gives us a renewed home for our ministry and a place where we can continue welcoming all who seek God’s love.”

Lopez, who is from Colombia, now lives in the church rectory with his family.

Provenzano, who is retiring as diocesan bishop next month, said he is grateful he had the opportunity to rededicate the Riverhead church before he retires.

***

The Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton presents Norway: A Coastal Adventure with Patricia Summers tomorrow at 1 p.m.

See the fjords and 38 ports of call from a real working ship that takes travelers from Bergen to the Russian border inside the Arctic Circle. Ships delivering the mail to remote areas of Norway also act as ferries and for many villages this is their only contact with the rest of the world. Visit with the Sami people as they raise deer, see authentic festivals and learn about this fascinating country as we explore her history and traditions. Travel tips will be given. No passport necessary!

Register on line at www.myrml.org

That’s Norway: A Coastal Adventure with Patricia Summers, tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Rd

Southampton, NY 11968

***

Federal officials are packing immigration courtrooms for mass hearings in New York City and across the country in what advocates said is an effort to accelerate immigration cases, sometimes prioritizing speed over deliberation and raising due process concerns.

In July, for instance, dockets for judges at Manhattan’s Federal Plaza Immigration Court compiled by the nonprofit BKLG.org showed seven hearings in which 100 or more deportation cases were scheduled, concerning a total of 892 individuals.

Nicholas Spangler and Anastasia Valeeva report in NEWSDAY that these are master calendar hearings, where immigrants make an early appearance before a judge who lays out the factual and legal issues of their case and gives a schedule for future appearances. Hearings of 100 cases or more have become common enough that lawyers for immigrants and the Department of Homeland Security have adopted a shared, informal name for them: “mega master.”

These hearings are sometimes scheduled on unusually short notice, making it hard for an immigrant to prepare or attend the hearing. Immigrant advocates said the accelerated timeline contributed to a spike in in-absentia removal orders, which can be issued by an immigration court judge if an immigrant misses a hearing.

The accelerated pace appears to be impacting Long Island immigrants. According to data posted by the Executive Office for Immigration Review {EOIR} processed by the Deportation Data Project, and analyzed by Newsday, the number of cases for Long Islanders ending in removal climbed from 305 in December to 733 in May and 768 in June. More than half of these were issued in absentia. EOIR, an agency of the Department of Justice, manages the nation's immigration courts.

Mega hearings “raise some incredibly serious due process concerns,” said Benjamin Remy, senior coordinating attorney with the New York Legal Assistance Group's Immigrant Protection Unit.

Federal officials said they are reducing a massive backlog in immigration cases and that while master calendar dockets are routinely scheduled in large groups, each case is heard separately and afforded due process.

***

A man who was deported from the United States in 2024 after his third felony DWI conviction was found driving under the influence yet again in 2025 and was convicted of a fourth set of felony charges on Friday.

As reported on 27east.com, the man, Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez, 36, was deported to his native El Salvador on March 1, 2024, after arrests for DWI in 2012, twice in 2017 and again in 2022, according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.

But on November 29, 2025, a woman asked the clerk at a Flanders Road gas station to call the police because her boyfriend was driving and highly intoxicated. A Southampton Town Police officer located the car and found Aguilar-Alvarez behind the wheel. A breath test later showed his blood alcohol level to be more than double the legal limit.

On Friday he was convicted on two more felony DWI counts, as well as a driving without a license misdemeanor. He faces up to seven years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 2.

The district attorney’s office had asked the judge handling the case, Judge Bryan Browns, to remand Aguilar-Alvarez to a Suffolk County jail until his sentencing because they fear he is likely to flee Suffolk County and not return for his sentencing.

The judge declined and ordered him released.

“There is no question Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez is a danger to society,” Suffolk County DA Ray Tierney railed in a statement issued yesterday. “Despite multiple prior felony DWI convictions, this defendant once again chose to get behind the wheel after drinking, putting everyone on the road at risk…And even now, despite the jury’s verdict, there is nothing to stop him from once again getting behind the wheel and endangering the lives of Suffolk County residents,” Tierney stated Monday morning.

***

New York State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni will hold a series of mobile office hours throughout the East End in August and September, giving constituents an opportunity to meet with him and his staff in their communities.

The mobile office hours are designed to make the assemblyman’s office more accessible to residents and provide an opportunity to discuss state issues, constituent concerns and matters affecting local communities.

Sessions are scheduled on Thursday, August 13, at the Hampton Bays Public Library from 10 a.m. to noon and at the Westhampton Free Library from 1 to 3 p.m. On Thursday, August 20, Schiavoni's office will be at the East Hampton Library from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On Thursday, August 27, hours will be held at the Mattituck-Laurel Library from 9 to 11 a.m. and at the Historic School House in Greenport from noon to 2 p.m.

The September schedule includes Hampton Bays from 10 a.m. to noon and Westhampton Beach from 1 to 3 p.m. on September 3; East Hampton from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on September 10; Shelter Island Historical Society Museum from 9 to 11 a.m. and the Historic Schoolhouse in Greenport from noon to 2 p.m. on September 17; and Hampton Bays from 10 a.m. to noon and Westhampton Beach from 1 to 3 p.m. on September 24.

Assembly Member Tommy John Schiavoni of Sag Harbor serves the 1st New York State Assembly District, which includes the towns of Southold, Shelter Island, East Hampton, Southampton and part of Brookhaven. He was elected to the NYS Assembly in November of 2024.

For more information, Schiavoni's office can be reached at 631-537-2583.

Or online at https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Tommy-John-Schiavoni/

***

For six weeks this summer, aspiring marine biologists from around the world came to Montauk to take part in a shark education camp led by shark biologist Dr. Craig O’Connell.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that O’Connell operates the program under a nonprofit called the O’Seas Conservation Foundation, which has a home base at the shark lab at the Montauk Anglers Club. Each week this summer, six students in ninth through 12th grades came together for one week — with a new batch coming in each week, for a total of 36 would-be marine biologists.

“Sharks are critically important for the marine environment and a lot of people, they still see sharks as these mindless, man-eating monsters — and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” O’Connell said. “These animals are intelligent and they’re curious and we absolutely need them out there.”

The past week was the final of the year for the shark camp. O’Connell is now planning to be a part of Shark Week for Discovery Channel next week in Montauk. Then, O’Connell will hold a separate two-week shark research program, this time for older students, in September.

During the research weeks in September, the more experienced crowd — usually in college or just recently graduated — comes out to conduct their own research. In that program, O’Connell and the group spend anywhere from 12 to 14 hours on the water tagging sharks.

Information on where sharks abound in the waters often comes from local fishermen, who alert O’Connell on where he should be looking. Those are the spots that he then heads for.

“If it weren’t for the Montauk community helping us out, I don’t think we’d be able to do this program, so it’s special because we all do it together,” O’Connell said.

McArdle said this week that the county has agreed and gave the town a permit to restripe the two roadways back to the two lanes they had traditionally been configured as and, when that is done, will return the red-green cycle of the traffic signal. Digital signs posted on County Road 39 indicate the former traffic patterns will be effective September 8.

“We did it for 11 months, and now we’re going to put it back the way it was. And the county is doing their local study, and hopefully, they come up with some answers for us,” said McArdle, who just two weeks ago had made a case to the Town Board that the new patterns were improving the westbound traffic flow in measurable ways — but at a significant financial cost.

The ultimate decision to reverse the traffic changes — which he proposed to the county on July 28 — was a mix of fiscal and quality of life concerns.

The Southampton Town Board last month approved a $136,000 budget amendment to cover overtime pay for Highway Department workers — though that cost also included the hours for staffing the Canoe Place Road traffic light bypass in Hampton Bays.

But beyond the costs, McArdle said, the changes made last year have shifted the impact of drivers trying to skirt backups on the main thoroughfares to new residential neighborhoods, or spiked the volume of bypass traffic on backroads that were already being used.

Suffolk County is in the final stages of a multiyear engineering study of the CR39 corridor — at least the sixth one it has conducted since the 1960s — and is expected to release its findings and recommendations for how to manage traffic this fall. Its former chief engineer said in 2024, when the study was just getting underway, that the only solution engineers would ever see for “fixing” the traffic congestion problems on CR39 and the surrounding neighborhoods would be the construction of a new bypass road cutting somewhere through northern Southampton, Water Mill and Bridgehampton.

***

Riverhead Town officials have now laid out a new construction timeline for the long-planned downtown revitalization project, with work on the riverfront hotel expected to begin this month and major public improvements continuing through 2030. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that planning and Community Development Director Dawn Thomas presented the update at the Riverhead Town Board’s work session last Thursday, saying the town is moving from years of planning into construction on six connected downtown projects: the Town Square, a 94-room Hilton Tapestry hotel, an adaptive playground, a riverfront amphitheater, East Main Street streetscape improvements and a structured parking garage.

“We’re transitioning out of the planning role to a construction role,” Thomas told the board.

The schedule distributed at the meeting shows construction beginning in August 2026…this month…with the hotel, followed by parking garage design this fall, Town Square work in spring or summer 2027, the adaptive playground in summer 2027, East Main Street streetscape improvements in fall 2027 and parking garage construction beginning in fall 2028. The parking structure is projected to be completed in fall 2030.

The timeline appears to push the public components of the project later than expectations presented in November 2024.

Thomas cautioned that the new timeline is still subject to change, depending on funding, weather, materials and other construction conditions.

The first visible work is expected to be on the riverfront hotel. Thomas said the hotel’s foundation permit should be issued within “the next week or two,” now that the site plan and special permit have been approved. The project schedule distributed at the meeting says hotel construction mobilization begins in August 2026 and the hotel is expected to open in fall or winter 2028.

Thomas said the Town of Riverhead is also close to finalizing its RAISE grant contract, which will support streetscape and parking-related improvements. The structured parking garage design is expected to begin this fall. Thomas said the town has $17 million available for that portion of the project, including about $2 million for design, but the total construction cost will not be known until the project is bid.

***

Families can meet one of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center’s owl ambassadors during a special wildlife education program on Tuesday, August 11…that’s tomorrow at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton.

The program, “Raptor Day with the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center: Meet Some Owl Ambassadors for an Owl Story Time,” begins at 12 noon tomorrow and is designed for children and nature enthusiasts of all ages.

Guests will meet an owl ambassador up close while learning about the bird’s unique adaptations, behaviors and role in the ecosystem. The presentation will also explain how the owl became an ambassador animal and how wildlife rehabilitation and education help foster conservation.

Following the presentation, participants will enjoy an owl-themed story time designed to introduce younger audiences to the natural world through books and interactive learning.

For registration, admission information and additional details, go to wildliferescuecenter.org or sofo.org.

***

Long Island school districts reported 1,906 verified bullying, harassment and discrimination incidents in 2024-25, according to a Newsday analysis of data maintained by the New York State Education Department. The number of incidents dropped by 26.3% from the year prior, when 2,587 incidents were reported. Child advocates said the data fails to show the full scope of the problem, since many students and parents don't know they can file formal complaints or are afraid to come forward.

The number of incidents varied widely from district to district, from zero in Port Washington to 180 in Longwood.

“Bullying is historically underreported," said Joseph Salamone, executive director of The Long Island Coalition Against Bullying.

Lorena Mongelli and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that according to public health organizations, bullying can be detrimental to a student's mental, emotional and physical well-being. Children who are bullied are at a higher risk of depression, anxiety and other health issues.

“There isn't a school district that can escape this issue," said Salamone. "It's happening on a regular basis, and I think that it's obviously an ongoing issue. No school district has been able to figure out on Long Island, New York, the U.S., or globally how to make kids stop being unkind to each other."

New York's Dignity for All Students Act, more commonly known as DASA, took effect in 2012. It prohibits discrimination and harassment of students in school, on buses and at school functions. Incidents that occur off school grounds also can fall under DASA.

Local school districts are responsible for investigating any complaints of bullying. By law, they are required to submit to the state only verified incidents that meet a certain threshold.

For the 2024-25 school year, 21 districts on Long Island — about one-sixth — reported no incidents of bullying or harassment. Of those 21, 11 districts have more than 600 students and eight have a population greater than 1,000.

Any student who believes they have been bullied can file an oral or written complaint to their school’s Dignity for All Students Act coordinator. Parents and guardians also can submit complaints, which can be reported anonymously.

A DASA complaint form is required by law to be posted on a school's website. The state also has sample forms that can be used if families are unable to find one on their school’s website.

Only complaints that are verified are tracked by the state’s reporting system.

Schools are required by law to send all students, families and employees a copy of the district’s policies once a year, including the process for reporting harassment, discrimination and bullying.

To view a DASA sample form go to nysed.gov.

***

Long Islanders can expect to see a newly approved flu vaccine at their pharmacies in time for the flu season, but experts worry that many people will be wary of it because it uses mRNA technology. David Olson reports in NEWSDAY that a major study found that the vaccine is more effective than the traditional flu vaccine. Federal approval is only for those 50 and older. COVID-19 vaccines also are mRNA-based, and surveys indicate a significant minority of the public incorrectly believes mRNA vaccines can alter DNA and cause other harms.

It is only the second FDA-approved mRNA vaccine, after the one for COVID. To show "we can use it for other very common diseases, that’s a great new confirmation," said Dr. Martín Bäcker, a principal investigator at the NYU Langone-Long Island Vaccine Center. "We anticipated it would work. But you don’t know how well it can work compared with...]]>Southampton Town officials have asked Suffolk County to allow the town to reverse changes made last fall to traffic patterns along County Road 39 and Sandy Hollow Road in Southampton as an attempt to smooth the flow of westbound traffic in the afternoons. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle, who had conceived the experimental changes, has told the County Department of Public Works that he wants to end what he called a “pilot program” that made Sandy Hollow Road and CR39 each one lane, so as to eliminate the need for the traffic light where the two roads merge.

McArdle said this week that the county has agreed and gave the town a permit to restripe the two roadways back to the two lanes they had traditionally been configured as and, when that is done, will return the red-green cycle of the traffic signal. Digital signs posted on County Road 39 indicate the former traffic patterns will be effective September 8.

“We did it for 11 months, and now we’re going to put it back the way it was. And the county is doing their local study, and hopefully, they come up with some answers for us,” said McArdle, who just two weeks ago had made a case to the Town Board that the new patterns were improving the westbound traffic flow in measurable ways — but at a significant financial cost.

The ultimate decision to reverse the traffic changes — which he proposed to the county on July 28 — was a mix of fiscal and quality of life concerns.

The Southampton Town Board last month approved a $136,000 budget amendment to cover overtime pay for Highway Department workers — though that cost also included the hours for staffing the Canoe Place Road traffic light bypass in Hampton Bays.

But beyond the costs, McArdle said, the changes made last year have shifted the impact of drivers trying to skirt backups on the main thoroughfares to new residential neighborhoods, or spiked the volume of bypass traffic on backroads that were already being used.

Suffolk County is in the final stages of a multiyear engineering study of the CR39 corridor — at least the sixth one it has conducted since the 1960s — and is expected to release its findings and recommendations for how to manage traffic this fall. Its former chief engineer said in 2024, when the study was just getting underway, that the only solution engineers would ever see for “fixing” the traffic congestion problems on CR39 and the surrounding neighborhoods would be the construction of a new bypass road cutting somewhere through northern Southampton, Water Mill and Bridgehampton.

***

Riverhead Town officials have now laid out a new construction timeline for the long-planned downtown revitalization project, with work on the riverfront hotel expected to begin this month and major public improvements continuing through 2030. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that planning and Community Development Director Dawn Thomas presented the update at the Riverhead Town Board’s work session last Thursday, saying the town is moving from years of planning into construction on six connected downtown projects: the Town Square, a 94-room Hilton Tapestry hotel, an adaptive playground, a riverfront amphitheater, East Main Street streetscape improvements and a structured parking garage.

“We’re transitioning out of the planning role to a construction role,” Thomas told the board.

The schedule distributed at the meeting shows construction beginning in August 2026…this month…with the hotel, followed by parking garage design this fall, Town Square work in spring or summer 2027, the adaptive playground in summer 2027, East Main Street streetscape improvements in fall 2027 and parking garage construction beginning in fall 2028. The parking structure is projected to be completed in fall 2030.

The timeline appears to push the public components of the project later than expectations presented in November 2024.

Thomas cautioned that the new timeline is still subject to change, depending on funding, weather, materials and other construction conditions.

The first visible work is expected to be on the riverfront hotel. Thomas said the hotel’s foundation permit should be issued within “the next week or two,” now that the site plan and special permit have been approved. The project schedule distributed at the meeting says hotel construction mobilization begins in August 2026 and the hotel is expected to open in fall or winter 2028.

Thomas said the Town of Riverhead is also close to finalizing its RAISE grant contract, which will support streetscape and parking-related improvements. The structured parking garage design is expected to begin this fall. Thomas said the town has $17 million available for that portion of the project, including about $2 million for design, but the total construction cost will not be known until the project is bid.

***

Families can meet one of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center’s owl ambassadors during a special wildlife education program on Tuesday, August 11…that’s tomorrow at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton.

The program, “Raptor Day with the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center: Meet Some Owl Ambassadors for an Owl Story Time,” begins at 12 noon tomorrow and is designed for children and nature enthusiasts of all ages.

Guests will meet an owl ambassador up close while learning about the bird’s unique adaptations, behaviors and role in the ecosystem. The presentation will also explain how the owl became an ambassador animal and how wildlife rehabilitation and education help foster conservation.

Following the presentation, participants will enjoy an owl-themed story time designed to introduce younger audiences to the natural world through books and interactive learning.

For registration, admission information and additional details, go to wildliferescuecenter.org or sofo.org.

***

Long Island school districts reported 1,906 verified bullying, harassment and discrimination incidents in 2024-25, according to a Newsday analysis of data maintained by the New York State Education Department. The number of incidents dropped by 26.3% from the year prior, when 2,587 incidents were reported. Child advocates said the data fails to show the full scope of the problem, since many students and parents don't know they can file formal complaints or are afraid to come forward.

The number of incidents varied widely from district to district, from zero in Port Washington to 180 in Longwood.

“Bullying is historically underreported," said Joseph Salamone, executive director of The Long Island Coalition Against Bullying.

Lorena Mongelli and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that according to public health organizations, bullying can be detrimental to a student's mental, emotional and physical well-being. Children who are bullied are at a higher risk of depression, anxiety and other health issues.

“There isn't a school district that can escape this issue," said Salamone. "It's happening on a regular basis, and I think that it's obviously an ongoing issue. No school district has been able to figure out on Long Island, New York, the U.S., or globally how to make kids stop being unkind to each other."

New York's Dignity for All Students Act, more commonly known as DASA, took effect in 2012. It prohibits discrimination and harassment of students in school, on buses and at school functions. Incidents that occur off school grounds also can fall under DASA.

Local school districts are responsible for investigating any complaints of bullying. By law, they are required to submit to the state only verified incidents that meet a certain threshold.

For the 2024-25 school year, 21 districts on Long Island — about one-sixth — reported no incidents of bullying or harassment. Of those 21, 11 districts have more than 600 students and eight have a population greater than 1,000.

Any student who believes they have been bullied can file an oral or written complaint to their school’s Dignity for All Students Act coordinator. Parents and guardians also can submit complaints, which can be reported anonymously.

A DASA complaint form is required by law to be posted on a school's website. The state also has sample forms that can be used if families are unable to find one on their school’s website.

Only complaints that are verified are tracked by the state’s reporting system.

Schools are required by law to send all students, families and employees a copy of the district’s policies once a year, including the process for reporting harassment, discrimination and bullying.

To view a DASA sample form go to nysed.gov.

***

Long Islanders can expect to see a newly approved flu vaccine at their pharmacies in time for the flu season, but experts worry that many people will be wary of it because it uses mRNA technology. David Olson reports in NEWSDAY that a major study found that the vaccine is more effective than the traditional flu vaccine. Federal approval is only for those 50 and older. COVID-19 vaccines also are mRNA-based, and surveys indicate a significant minority of the public incorrectly believes mRNA vaccines can alter DNA and cause other harms.

It is only the second FDA-approved mRNA vaccine, after the one for COVID. To show "we can use it for other very common diseases, that’s a great new confirmation," said Dr. Martín Bäcker, a principal investigator at the NYU Langone-Long Island Vaccine Center. "We anticipated it would work. But you don’t know how well it can work compared with traditional vaccines until you do the studies."

The mFlusiva vaccine has the potential to save many lives because it can more closely match the most commonly circulating flu strains each season, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Medicine.

Each spring, scientists look at which influenza strains are causing illness in the southern hemisphere's flu season and pick which ones they believe will be most dominant in the fall, she said.

"Some years we guess right and some years we guess not so right," Nachman said.

Most flu vaccines are developed today just as they were more than 70 years ago: Growing vaccine viruses in chicken eggs, which is why the process is so time-consuming.

The potential to save many lives — and prevent serious illness or any symptoms at all — is especially high in flu seasons when traditional vaccines don’t match the most dominant strains, said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology at Northwell Health.

"It could be dramatically more effective" those years, he said.

Although experts estimate COVID vaccines saved more than three million American lives, only 56% of Americans believe it is safe, a survey by the health nonprofit KFF found last year.

False claims that began during the pandemic that mRNA vaccines alter DNA persist, with about a quarter of the public believing that.

Flu vaccination rates, while never high, have slipped in recent years to only about 48% of New Yorkers for the 2024-25 flu season, a KFF analysis found.

Farber said that, with rampant misinformation about mRNA vaccines, some people will never trust them, but over time, more people likely will become comfortable with them.

***

The Riverhead Town Planning Board voted last Thursday to reclassify the Brother Bear Canna application. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that when the proposal first came before the Planning Board in November, the project was described as a 33,700-square-foot cannabis greenhouse. Planning staff said then that no further environmental review was required under SEQRA because the proposal involved an agricultural use consistent with farming practices. Calverton residents immediately objected, arguing that the building’s scale, mechanical systems, lighting, security requirements and processing areas made it more like an industrial facility than a traditional greenhouse.

In response, the Riverhead Town Planning Board has changed course on the proposed Brother Bear Canna facility in Calverton, voting unanimously to reclassify the application as a Type I action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

The decision means the applicant must prepare a full environmental assessment form and the Town of Riverhead must begin a coordinated SEQRA review with other agencies before the Planning Board can move forward on the site plan.

Family-owned Brother Bear Canna, LLC partnering with Grasse River Hemp LLC.is a proposed cannabis cultivation facility planned for a 5.3-acre property at 1458 Middle Road in Calverton.

***

In its final offer to five Long Island Rail Road unions this spring before the railroad's first strike in more than 30 years, the MTA sought significant concessions — including overtime reforms and a sizable increase in employee healthcare contributions — but achieved none of those in a settlement that gave labor leaders most of what they wanted, a Newsday analysis of negotiation documents shows.

Union leaders' last proposal before the strike deadline called for a 4.5% raise in the final year of the four-year contract — the percentage eventually settled on in the final agreement, according to the offer time-stamped 9:40 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2026. It also included minor givebacks, including doing away with paper paychecks and workers performing some computer training outside of work hours.

Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that those terms all made it into the agreement ratified in June by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board and the unions, which represent locomotive engineers, electricians, signal inspectors, machinists and ticket clerks.

What did not make it in were the MTA's demands.

In its final written offer before the strike deadline, the MTA sought multiple concessions, including overtime reforms and significant increases in employee healthcare contributions demanded by the unions. The ultimate agreement included none of those and paid unions the raises they sought, but with a six-week contract extension that reduced their value.

The MTA has said it stood its ground to keep the new contract affordable, but newly projected budget deficits are raising concerns over the possibility of steep fare hikes or a taxpayer-funded bailout.

Rather than address "permanent structural problems" — including the fact that LIRR unions are not covered under the state's Taylor Law prohibiting strikes — Ken Girardin, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, expects the state and MTA will look to address the MTA's latest fiscal crisis as it has past ones: through a taxpayer-funded bailout.

Tory N. Parrish reports in NEWSDAY that the law will help licensed microbusinesses and dispensaries succeed in the state’s legal cannabis market, Hochul said in a statement.

"By opening the door for legal operators to sell at approved community events and farmer’s markets we are putting small entrepreneurs on a level playing field, expanding consumer access to safer, regulated products and strengthening one of New York’s fastest growing industries," she said.

A microbusiness cultivates, processes, distributes, sells at retail and delivers its own cannabis products. But it cannot sell products from other operations and it is limited in how much cannabis it can produce.

Since March 2025, licensed dispensaries have been able to partner with licensed cultivators and processors in the state to display and sell marijuana at Cannabis Showcase Events, such as pop-ups, farmers’ markets and public markets, with approvals from the municipality, event organizer and the NYS Office of Cannabis Management.

Microbusinesses were allowed to participate as of last August if they partnered with a cannabis retailer, cultivator and processor.

The legislation that Hochul signed into law on Thursday allows a microbusiness with a retail cannabis license to participate in a showcase as its own licensed processor and cultivator partner. Also, the microbusiness may serve as a processor and/or cultivator for another retailer.

Microbusinesses are often small farms that lack big marketing budgets or easy access to retail markets, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, of the 41st Senate District in Hudson Valley the lead Senate sponsor of the new law, said in the statement yesterday., "With summer here and New Yorkers excited to shop outside, it's critical that cannabis microbusinesses can participate in showcase events alongside retailers and other licensees — and our legislation makes that possible," she said.

***

An East Hampton man who allegedly drove off after striking and killing one pedestrian and seriously injuring a second in Queens, was arrested and charged by the NYPD yesterday, seven months after the New Year's Day crash.

Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that in an updated news release last evening, the NYPD identified the driver as Jonnathan Barbecho, 31. He is accused in connection with the Jan. 1 death of a Queens man, identified by the NYPD in the same updated release as Darwin Adrian Malan Cargua, 37.

About 4:07 a.m. on Jan. 1, near 102 Street and 37 Avenue in Flushing, Queens, a white SUV heading south toward 37 Avenue struck the two male pedestrians as they crossed 102nd, according to the release. Malan Cargua, identified earlier as "Pedestrian #1," "was thrown into a parked and unattended 2021 Honda Pilot and became pinned underneath the vehicle,"

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other pedestrian, 24, "was thrown onto the roadway" and transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst in critical condition, the police said.

The SUV fled the scene following the crash.

Barbecho faces manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, two counts of assault, aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, aggravated unlicensed operation, leaving the scene of an accident with injury, registration suspended, operating motor vehicle with blood alcohol content .08 of 1%, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, aggravated unlicensed operation, aggravated unlicensed operation with mandatory suspension, operating an unregistered vehicle, failure to exercise due care and imprudent speed.

Barbecho pleaded not guilty yesterday to all counts before Supreme Court Justice Gary Francis Miret at Queens Supreme Criminal Court, according to court documents. Miret ordered him held without bail.

***

WLIW-FM invites you to join us for a live broadcast of the 22nd annual East Hampton Library’s Authors Night tomorrow from 5pm to 7 pm. If you’re at Herrick Park for this literary celebration stop by and say hello to our G.M. Diane Masciale and invaluable members of the WLIW-FM staff including Paula Hinck, Kyle Lynch, and Brian Bannon. Plus, hear Brian Cosgrove, Gianna Volpe, and Michael Mackey conducting interviews with over a dozen authors...under the East Hampton Library’s Authors Night tent or over the air…as it happens.

So, tune in to our live broadcast of one of the most popular and celebrity-studded events of the Hamptons’ summer calendar, tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. right here on 88.3 WLIW FM…88.7 FM in Montauk...and 96.9 FM in western Suffolk. Or online at wliw.org/radio and the WLIW-FM app.

***

Top Suffolk County Republicans are pushing a bill that would force the state to share Medicaid fraud tips with local governments and prosecutors so they could investigate the claims themselves. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, District Attorney Ray Tierney and other local officials stood with state Sen. Dean Murray yesterday in Hauppauge as he introduced the bill — and a related piece of legislation that would offer a cash reward to whistleblowers who help convict fraudsters. “We need to crack down on those who are cheating and stealing from the system and we need to fund all local efforts, and saying if you help recover money from a fraudster, you’re entitled to keep some of that money, so that we send a very clear message,” Romaine told reporters at a news conference in the H Lee Dennison municipal building. “When you steal money from this program, you steal it from the very people that would benefit from this program — that’s why the cost in New York is twice the cost of Texas and California combined,” Romaine said.

The problem according to officials is that Medicaid fraud tips to the state are not shared with local authorities, leaving any potential investigations up to New York State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, whose office is busy probing “the big fish” while smaller schemers slip through the cracks.

A spokesperson for the AG said James’ Medicaid Fraud Control Unit records “more funds for Medicaid than almost any other state,” with $627 million since 2019. “Our office’s criminal investigations have led to dozens of convictions of owners, executives, and corporations and return millions of dollars to Medicaid every year,” the spokesperson said without addressing the new bills. “We will continue working with law enforcement across the state to investigate and prosecute Medicaid fraud to protect vulnerable New Yorkers“ per the NYS Attorney General’s office.

***

The fine print in a recent update to Southold Town’s proposed down payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers has been the talk of the town this week, after another local media outlet reported a new cap on the purchase price of the homes would be $1.9 million — up from an initial proposal of $750,000.

But Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that that’s not what the town is actually doing, says Southold Community Development Project Coordinator Andrea Sullivan, who is charged with implementing the town’s Community Housing Plan.

Ms. Sullivan presented the new eligibility guidelines for the plan to the Southold Town Board at its July 28 work session.

The guidelines include a table showing 150 percent of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) Maximum Purchase Price Limit for Suffolk County, which is $1,960,455 — the maximum purchase price allowed for these types of programs under New York Town Law.

While that number is listed in the program guidelines, Ms. Sullivan said this week, the purchase price would actually be limited by the mortgages that people can qualify for if they make under the income limits for the program.

The maximum income for one or two people applying for the program would be $197,160, while the maximum income for three or more people would be $230,000. Those numbers are also based on guidelines established by SONYMA for Suffolk County.

“If their debt-to-income ratio is low and everything is perfect in their application, we’re seeing the highest income realistically would equate to a $950,000 house,” said Ms. Sullivan. “We can’t subsidize a $1.9 million house unless the people are income eligible. This isn’t the number to focus on. It’s income eligibility per household.”

The Community Housing Fund receives its revenue through a .5 percent real estate transfer tax paid by buyers of properties above a certain price threshold upon closing, meaning at the higher purchase prices, loan recipients would both be paying into the CHF fund and also receiving funding from it.

But few houses in Southold Town are priced below $750,000, and Ms. Sullivan said she and Assistant Town Attorney Julie McGivney and members of the CHAB agreed that setting the $750,000 just to avoid payment of the transfer taxes overcomplicated the program. The town can also raise the exemption limit for transfer taxes, an option it is exploring.

***

In Sag Harbor, a plan to connect Long Wharf to Windmill Park and Steinbeck Park — years in the making — is now one step closer to completion. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that at a special meeting last week, the Sag Harbor Village Board unanimously approved awarding the bid for the John Steinbeck Park Boardwalk]]>Cannabis can now be sold by more types of small businesses at authorized venues, such as farmers’ markets and approved community events, in New York State, after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new law yesterday.

Tory N. Parrish reports in NEWSDAY that the law will help licensed microbusinesses and dispensaries succeed in the state’s legal cannabis market, Hochul said in a statement.

"By opening the door for legal operators to sell at approved community events and farmer’s markets we are putting small entrepreneurs on a level playing field, expanding consumer access to safer, regulated products and strengthening one of New York’s fastest growing industries," she said.

A microbusiness cultivates, processes, distributes, sells at retail and delivers its own cannabis products. But it cannot sell products from other operations and it is limited in how much cannabis it can produce.

Since March 2025, licensed dispensaries have been able to partner with licensed cultivators and processors in the state to display and sell marijuana at Cannabis Showcase Events, such as pop-ups, farmers’ markets and public markets, with approvals from the municipality, event organizer and the NYS Office of Cannabis Management.

Microbusinesses were allowed to participate as of last August if they partnered with a cannabis retailer, cultivator and processor.

The legislation that Hochul signed into law on Thursday allows a microbusiness with a retail cannabis license to participate in a showcase as its own licensed processor and cultivator partner. Also, the microbusiness may serve as a processor and/or cultivator for another retailer.

Microbusinesses are often small farms that lack big marketing budgets or easy access to retail markets, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, of the 41st Senate District in Hudson Valley the lead Senate sponsor of the new law, said in the statement yesterday., "With summer here and New Yorkers excited to shop outside, it's critical that cannabis microbusinesses can participate in showcase events alongside retailers and other licensees — and our legislation makes that possible," she said.

***

An East Hampton man who allegedly drove off after striking and killing one pedestrian and seriously injuring a second in Queens, was arrested and charged by the NYPD yesterday, seven months after the New Year's Day crash.

Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that in an updated news release last evening, the NYPD identified the driver as Jonnathan Barbecho, 31. He is accused in connection with the Jan. 1 death of a Queens man, identified by the NYPD in the same updated release as Darwin Adrian Malan Cargua, 37.

About 4:07 a.m. on Jan. 1, near 102 Street and 37 Avenue in Flushing, Queens, a white SUV heading south toward 37 Avenue struck the two male pedestrians as they crossed 102nd, according to the release. Malan Cargua, identified earlier as "Pedestrian #1," "was thrown into a parked and unattended 2021 Honda Pilot and became pinned underneath the vehicle,"

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other pedestrian, 24, "was thrown onto the roadway" and transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst in critical condition, the police said.

The SUV fled the scene following the crash.

Barbecho faces manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, two counts of assault, aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, aggravated unlicensed operation, leaving the scene of an accident with injury, registration suspended, operating motor vehicle with blood alcohol content .08 of 1%, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, aggravated unlicensed operation, aggravated unlicensed operation with mandatory suspension, operating an unregistered vehicle, failure to exercise due care and imprudent speed.

Barbecho pleaded not guilty yesterday to all counts before Supreme Court Justice Gary Francis Miret at Queens Supreme Criminal Court, according to court documents. Miret ordered him held without bail.

***

WLIW-FM invites you to join us for a live broadcast of the 22nd annual East Hampton Library’s Authors Night tomorrow from 5pm to 7 pm. If you’re at Herrick Park for this literary celebration stop by and say hello to our G.M. Diane Masciale and invaluable members of the WLIW-FM staff including Paula Hinck, Kyle Lynch, and Brian Bannon. Plus, hear Brian Cosgrove, Gianna Volpe, and Michael Mackey conducting interviews with over a dozen authors...under the East Hampton Library’s Authors Night tent or over the air…as it happens.

So, tune in to our live broadcast of one of the most popular and celebrity-studded events of the Hamptons’ summer calendar, tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. right here on 88.3 WLIW FM…88.7 FM in Montauk...and 96.9 FM in western Suffolk. Or online at wliw.org/radio and the WLIW-FM app.

***

Top Suffolk County Republicans are pushing a bill that would force the state to share Medicaid fraud tips with local governments and prosecutors so they could investigate the claims themselves. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, District Attorney Ray Tierney and other local officials stood with state Sen. Dean Murray yesterday in Hauppauge as he introduced the bill — and a related piece of legislation that would offer a cash reward to whistleblowers who help convict fraudsters. “We need to crack down on those who are cheating and stealing from the system and we need to fund all local efforts, and saying if you help recover money from a fraudster, you’re entitled to keep some of that money, so that we send a very clear message,” Romaine told reporters at a news conference in the H Lee Dennison municipal building. “When you steal money from this program, you steal it from the very people that would benefit from this program — that’s why the cost in New York is twice the cost of Texas and California combined,” Romaine said.

The problem according to officials is that Medicaid fraud tips to the state are not shared with local authorities, leaving any potential investigations up to New York State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, whose office is busy probing “the big fish” while smaller schemers slip through the cracks.

A spokesperson for the AG said James’ Medicaid Fraud Control Unit records “more funds for Medicaid than almost any other state,” with $627 million since 2019. “Our office’s criminal investigations have led to dozens of convictions of owners, executives, and corporations and return millions of dollars to Medicaid every year,” the spokesperson said without addressing the new bills. “We will continue working with law enforcement across the state to investigate and prosecute Medicaid fraud to protect vulnerable New Yorkers“ per the NYS Attorney General’s office.

***

The fine print in a recent update to Southold Town’s proposed down payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers has been the talk of the town this week, after another local media outlet reported a new cap on the purchase price of the homes would be $1.9 million — up from an initial proposal of $750,000.

But Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that that’s not what the town is actually doing, says Southold Community Development Project Coordinator Andrea Sullivan, who is charged with implementing the town’s Community Housing Plan.

Ms. Sullivan presented the new eligibility guidelines for the plan to the Southold Town Board at its July 28 work session.

The guidelines include a table showing 150 percent of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) Maximum Purchase Price Limit for Suffolk County, which is $1,960,455 — the maximum purchase price allowed for these types of programs under New York Town Law.

While that number is listed in the program guidelines, Ms. Sullivan said this week, the purchase price would actually be limited by the mortgages that people can qualify for if they make under the income limits for the program.

The maximum income for one or two people applying for the program would be $197,160, while the maximum income for three or more people would be $230,000. Those numbers are also based on guidelines established by SONYMA for Suffolk County.

“If their debt-to-income ratio is low and everything is perfect in their application, we’re seeing the highest income realistically would equate to a $950,000 house,” said Ms. Sullivan. “We can’t subsidize a $1.9 million house unless the people are income eligible. This isn’t the number to focus on. It’s income eligibility per household.”

The Community Housing Fund receives its revenue through a .5 percent real estate transfer tax paid by buyers of properties above a certain price threshold upon closing, meaning at the higher purchase prices, loan recipients would both be paying into the CHF fund and also receiving funding from it.

But few houses in Southold Town are priced below $750,000, and Ms. Sullivan said she and Assistant Town Attorney Julie McGivney and members of the CHAB agreed that setting the $750,000 just to avoid payment of the transfer taxes overcomplicated the program. The town can also raise the exemption limit for transfer taxes, an option it is exploring.

***

In Sag Harbor, a plan to connect Long Wharf to Windmill Park and Steinbeck Park — years in the making — is now one step closer to completion. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that at a special meeting last week, the Sag Harbor Village Board unanimously approved awarding the bid for the John Steinbeck Park Boardwalk Project to Chesterfield Associates in the amount of $1,032,070. The project will connect Windmill Beach — located off Long Wharf — and John Steinbeck Waterfront Park on the other side of the Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge. The initiative will feature a public boardwalk along with enhanced amenities for residents and visitors to the village. The development and maintenance of the landscape plan for Steinbeck Park and surrounding Windmill Beach was provided — free of charge — by local landscape architect Ed Hollander.

While the Village of Sag Harbor has already secured grant money to fund the majority of the project, local funding will cover the remainder. Construction is estimated to begin this fall.

***

Outside groups are raising millions to pour into the New York governor’s race as Republican Bruce Blakeman and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul crisscross the state campaigning and raising funds.

Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that such groups include the Democratic Governors Association, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority union still fuming over the LIRR strike earlier this year and a group heavily supported by the owner of the New York Knicks.

These super political action committees can accept unlimited donations and have a huge influence on a statewide race or political issue, though they are banned from formally coordinating or working with the candidates they support.

Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School, said outside groups like super PACs are playing a larger role in elections.

"Organizations like this exist to provide support for candidates," he said. "They do so technically independently and maybe actually independently, but they nonetheless intend to help a candidate."

Briffault added that the groups are managing to effectively work around rules meant to prevent them from coordinating with campaigns themselves. "They've figured out ways of cooperating without triggering the formal rules against cooperation," he said.

A previous supporter of Republican causes and candidates in the state, Ronald Lauder, appears to be sitting out the governor’s race this year, according to The New York Times. Lauder was the main funder in 2022 for two outside groups that helped former 1st Congressional District Representative Lee Zeldin of Shirley, Long Island run an unexpectedly competitive race against Governor Hochul.

So, tune in to our live broadcast of one of the most popular and celebrity-studded events of the Hamptons’ summer calendar, this coming Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. right here on 88.3 WLIW-FM, 88.7 FM in Montauk and 96.9 FM in western Suffolk.

Or online at wliw.org/radio and the WLIW-FM app.

***

The presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents appears to be, once again, growing on Long Island, as the agency's arrests rise nationwide, stoking renewed fear in immigrant communities, advocates for the undocumented said this week.

Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that in the last two weeks, Islip Forward, the main nonprofit that tracks ICE activity on Long Island, said the number of ICE sightings by activists in Nassau and Suffolk counties has jumped from two or three a day to six or eight or more a day.

That pattern is still below what the group reported during earlier peak periods of 15 or 16 or more last year and earlier this year, but it is an increase, said the group’s founder, Ahmad Perez.

“I would absolutely classify this as an uptick," he told Newsday yesterday. “We’ve been seeing a lot more federal agents and officers out on residential streets."

“I don't want to say it's a surge, because we have seen what a surge looks like when we had, like, 15, 16, 17, 18 sightings per day," he added. “But we are absolutely on an upward trend."

Osman Canales, an experienced “ICE tracker" and advocate, said he was getting between one and three reports of ICE sightings a week from residents on Long Island. Now, it is up to five or more a day, he said. The actual numbers may be even higher since some ICE arrests, which typically take place rapidly, are not getting reported to activists, he said.

Nationwide, the average number of daily arrests by ICE has gone from nearly 1,000 in May to 1,474 in July, according to ICE data analyzed by Newsday. The available data for July includes up to July 11. If arrests continued at that pace for the rest of the month, it would set a record for President Donald Trump’s second term. The average of 1,319 in June was the highest so far.

The uptick in New York comes weeks after the state passed a law seeking to limit ICE activity, prompting Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, to repeatedly pledge to unleash a “surge" of agents in New York City.

ICE did not respond directly to questions about an uptick or the agency’s methods. But the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, told Newsday in a statement that “for operational security reasons" the agency does not divulge details of its activity.

“ICE agents uphold our nation’s immigration laws in all 50 states, seven days a week, 24 hours a day," DHS added. “ICE is targeting criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, criminals, gang members and more."

***

A man died last evening after crashing an electric bicycle...an E-bike...into a chain-link fence in the rear parking lot of a shopping center on Route 58 in Riverhead, according to the Riverhead Town Police Department.

As reported on RiverheadLOCAL.com, police said officers responded at about 5:39 p.m. yesterday to Ross Dress for Less, 1080 Old Country Road in Riverhead, for a report of a male lying in the parking lot. When officers arrived, they found an adult male unconscious and in traumatic arrest in the rear parking lot, police said. An investigation determined the man had been operating an electric bicycle and collided with a chain-link fence along the western tree line. The man was not wearing a safety helmet, according to police.

The man was identified as John Sanmartino, 54, undomiciled, police said. He was transported by Riverhead Ambulance Corps to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said. The Riverhead Town Detective Division responded to continue the investigation.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has information is asked to contact the Riverhead Town Police Department at 631-727-4500. Police said calls will be kept confidential. Police also reminded residents that tips about suspicious or criminal activity can be reported to the department’s Crime Hotline at 631-727-3333. Calls will be kept confidential, police said.

***

Terminally ill adult New Yorkers with less than six months to live can now request a doctor prescribe them lethal medication to end their life as New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act went into effect yesterday.

Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that the legislation, which was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in February after more than a decade of advocacy — and fierce opposition from the New York State Catholic Conference — makes New York the 13th state, along with the District of Columbia, to legalize physician-assisted suicide.

"Decisions about end-of-life care are deeply personal and best reached on an individual basis in consultation with a person’s doctor, family and loved ones," State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement. "The Department has worked diligently and thoughtfully to establish guidance and to propose regulations designed to provide dignity and comfort to those who choose to use Medical Aid in Dying, while providing the necessary protections to ensure the law is not misused or inappropriately applied."

The law was allowed to move forward after a federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit that argued the legislation violated state disability rights.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, the state agreed to a narrow temporary restraining order that allows the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the Catholic Health system and four orders of Catholic nuns, including the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, which operates St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, an assisted living facility in Huntington, to avoid providing information to patients about the law.

The groups had filed suit last month to block implementation of the law or to create a limited "opt-out" allowing religious institutions to not participate in advising terminally ill individuals about their options under the act which is now in effect.

"Until our legal fight is resolved, this temporary agreement keeps our ministries free to serve every patient according to the Gospel," said Bishop John O. Barres, of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

The legislation allows mentally capable New Yorkers age 18 or older with a medically confirmed terminal illness, and who have six months or less to live, to take life-ending pharmaceuticals from a physician.

Two doctors would have to confirm the prognosis; patients must undergo a mental health evaluation, make both a written and verbal request, and wait at least five days before a prescription may be filled.

***

A week after Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine’s demand at a Georgica Beach press conference that a Battery Energy Storage System in East Hampton be closed after nearby wells were found to be contaminated, the Town of East Hampton is also making a series of demands of the owners of the BESS. The facility, at 3 Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton, was the site of a May 2023 fire, and the perfluorinated compound PFPrA, often the product of the breakdown of lithium-ion batteries, was later found in the Suffolk County Water Authority’s Bridgehampton Road Wellfield nearby.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that this past Tuesday, August 4, East Hampton Town demanded East Hampton Energy Storage Center, NextEra Energy and National Grid take six safety measures, “at their sole expense, to address fire-water containment and other safety concerns” at the site.

The demands include new engineering controls capable of containing all fire water and runoff, a revised emergency and safety plan, complete and certified technical information, a hazardous-waste management plan and an independent study of whether the facility remains necessary for the East End electric grid, according to the town.

“These demands come with firm deadlines,” said East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. “The town has reserved every enforcement option available to ensure the companies meet their obligations and put the necessary safeguards in place.”

“The town is not suggesting that anyone should have predicted PFPrA contamination in 2017 or that DEC has concluded that the facility is the source,” Supervisor Burke-Gonzalez added. “The failure is that the applicant knew, or should have known, that a fire would be fought with water and that containment built for oil alone would be insufficient. That was knowable in 2017, and the applicant did not address it when it applied.”

***

Local residents last week told the engineers planning the replacement of a Montauk Highway overpass of the LIRR tracks just east of downtown Hampton Bays, that a planned eight-month detour through residential neighborhoods would be a “nightmare” and an “existential problem” for residents and business owners, pleading with them to come up with ways to minimize the impacts on the...]]>WLIW FM invites you to join us for a live broadcast of the 22nd annual East Hampton Library’s Authors Night this coming Saturday, August 8th from 5pm to 7 pm. If you’re at Herrick Park for this literary celebration stop by and say hello to our G.M. Diane Masciale and invaluable members of the WLIW FM staff including Paula Hinck, Kyle Lynch, and Brian Cannon. Plus, hear Brian Cosgrove, Gianna Volpe, and Michael Mackey conducting interviews with over a dozen authors...under the East Hampton Library’s Authors Night tent or over the air as it happens.

So, tune in to our live broadcast of one of the most popular and celebrity-studded events of the Hamptons’ summer calendar, this coming Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. right here on 88.3 WLIW-FM, 88.7 FM in Montauk and 96.9 FM in western Suffolk.

Or online at wliw.org/radio and the WLIW-FM app.

***

The presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents appears to be, once again, growing on Long Island, as the agency's arrests rise nationwide, stoking renewed fear in immigrant communities, advocates for the undocumented said this week.

Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that in the last two weeks, Islip Forward, the main nonprofit that tracks ICE activity on Long Island, said the number of ICE sightings by activists in Nassau and Suffolk counties has jumped from two or three a day to six or eight or more a day.

That pattern is still below what the group reported during earlier peak periods of 15 or 16 or more last year and earlier this year, but it is an increase, said the group’s founder, Ahmad Perez.

“I would absolutely classify this as an uptick," he told Newsday yesterday. “We’ve been seeing a lot more federal agents and officers out on residential streets."

“I don't want to say it's a surge, because we have seen what a surge looks like when we had, like, 15, 16, 17, 18 sightings per day," he added. “But we are absolutely on an upward trend."

Osman Canales, an experienced “ICE tracker" and advocate, said he was getting between one and three reports of ICE sightings a week from residents on Long Island. Now, it is up to five or more a day, he said. The actual numbers may be even higher since some ICE arrests, which typically take place rapidly, are not getting reported to activists, he said.

Nationwide, the average number of daily arrests by ICE has gone from nearly 1,000 in May to 1,474 in July, according to ICE data analyzed by Newsday. The available data for July includes up to July 11. If arrests continued at that pace for the rest of the month, it would set a record for President Donald Trump’s second term. The average of 1,319 in June was the highest so far.

The uptick in New York comes weeks after the state passed a law seeking to limit ICE activity, prompting Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, to repeatedly pledge to unleash a “surge" of agents in New York City.

ICE did not respond directly to questions about an uptick or the agency’s methods. But the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, told Newsday in a statement that “for operational security reasons" the agency does not divulge details of its activity.

“ICE agents uphold our nation’s immigration laws in all 50 states, seven days a week, 24 hours a day," DHS added. “ICE is targeting criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, criminals, gang members and more."

***

A man died last evening after crashing an electric bicycle...an E-bike...into a chain-link fence in the rear parking lot of a shopping center on Route 58 in Riverhead, according to the Riverhead Town Police Department.

As reported on RiverheadLOCAL.com, police said officers responded at about 5:39 p.m. yesterday to Ross Dress for Less, 1080 Old Country Road in Riverhead, for a report of a male lying in the parking lot. When officers arrived, they found an adult male unconscious and in traumatic arrest in the rear parking lot, police said. An investigation determined the man had been operating an electric bicycle and collided with a chain-link fence along the western tree line. The man was not wearing a safety helmet, according to police.

The man was identified as John Sanmartino, 54, undomiciled, police said. He was transported by Riverhead Ambulance Corps to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said. The Riverhead Town Detective Division responded to continue the investigation.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has information is asked to contact the Riverhead Town Police Department at 631-727-4500. Police said calls will be kept confidential. Police also reminded residents that tips about suspicious or criminal activity can be reported to the department’s Crime Hotline at 631-727-3333. Calls will be kept confidential, police said.

***

Terminally ill adult New Yorkers with less than six months to live can now request a doctor prescribe them lethal medication to end their life as New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act went into effect yesterday.

Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that the legislation, which was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in February after more than a decade of advocacy — and fierce opposition from the New York State Catholic Conference — makes New York the 13th state, along with the District of Columbia, to legalize physician-assisted suicide.

"Decisions about end-of-life care are deeply personal and best reached on an individual basis in consultation with a person’s doctor, family and loved ones," State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement. "The Department has worked diligently and thoughtfully to establish guidance and to propose regulations designed to provide dignity and comfort to those who choose to use Medical Aid in Dying, while providing the necessary protections to ensure the law is not misused or inappropriately applied."

The law was allowed to move forward after a federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit that argued the legislation violated state disability rights.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, the state agreed to a narrow temporary restraining order that allows the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the Catholic Health system and four orders of Catholic nuns, including the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, which operates St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, an assisted living facility in Huntington, to avoid providing information to patients about the law.

The groups had filed suit last month to block implementation of the law or to create a limited "opt-out" allowing religious institutions to not participate in advising terminally ill individuals about their options under the act which is now in effect.

"Until our legal fight is resolved, this temporary agreement keeps our ministries free to serve every patient according to the Gospel," said Bishop John O. Barres, of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

The legislation allows mentally capable New Yorkers age 18 or older with a medically confirmed terminal illness, and who have six months or less to live, to take life-ending pharmaceuticals from a physician.

Two doctors would have to confirm the prognosis; patients must undergo a mental health evaluation, make both a written and verbal request, and wait at least five days before a prescription may be filled.

***

A week after Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine’s demand at a Georgica Beach press conference that a Battery Energy Storage System in East Hampton be closed after nearby wells were found to be contaminated, the Town of East Hampton is also making a series of demands of the owners of the BESS. The facility, at 3 Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton, was the site of a May 2023 fire, and the perfluorinated compound PFPrA, often the product of the breakdown of lithium-ion batteries, was later found in the Suffolk County Water Authority’s Bridgehampton Road Wellfield nearby.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that this past Tuesday, August 4, East Hampton Town demanded East Hampton Energy Storage Center, NextEra Energy and National Grid take six safety measures, “at their sole expense, to address fire-water containment and other safety concerns” at the site.

The demands include new engineering controls capable of containing all fire water and runoff, a revised emergency and safety plan, complete and certified technical information, a hazardous-waste management plan and an independent study of whether the facility remains necessary for the East End electric grid, according to the town.

“These demands come with firm deadlines,” said East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. “The town has reserved every enforcement option available to ensure the companies meet their obligations and put the necessary safeguards in place.”

“The town is not suggesting that anyone should have predicted PFPrA contamination in 2017 or that DEC has concluded that the facility is the source,” Supervisor Burke-Gonzalez added. “The failure is that the applicant knew, or should have known, that a fire would be fought with water and that containment built for oil alone would be insufficient. That was knowable in 2017, and the applicant did not address it when it applied.”

***

Local residents last week told the engineers planning the replacement of a Montauk Highway overpass of the LIRR tracks just east of downtown Hampton Bays, that a planned eight-month detour through residential neighborhoods would be a “nightmare” and an “existential problem” for residents and business owners, pleading with them to come up with ways to minimize the impacts on the community before work begins in 2029.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the project and the bridge replacement remains in the design phase, which residents said should give the county time to come up with a way to ease the impacts of the detour on those who live along the route — which would mainly use Ponquogue Avenue, Fanning Avenue, and Canoe Place Road to bump cars around the closure.

The team of engineers from the Suffolk County Department of Public Works and Gannett Fleming Transportation — the company leading the replacement project — spent much of the July 30 meeting attempting to assure dozens of residents that they were doing their utmost to make the project as painless as possible for those who live and work in Hampton Bays.

“This bridge has reached the point where this replacement cannot be delayed,” said Kyle Swaringen, a structural engineer for the Suffolk County Department of Public Works. “It is the worst-rated bridge in Suffolk County, it has exceeded its useful service life, and replacing it is necessary to ensure the long-term safety and reliability of a critical transportation corridor.”

About a year of work can take place before the roadway has to be removed, officials said, and trucking in prefabricated components of the new bridge will speed the construction process as much as possible. Still, the roadway will have to be closed for an extensive period of time.

The detours are anticipated to be needed from sometime soon after Labor Day 2030 until the spring of 2031, during which time all Montauk Highway through-traffic would be rerouted.

Montauk Highway would remain open to all traffic up to the eastern and western edges of the bridge throughout the construction period, the project team said, so no businesses along the roadway would be forced to close — though they would obviously be starved of drive-by traffic.