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Expensive cannabis, affordable housing crisis, Southold Town cyber incident, and more
Long Island’s native nations gathered at a Kew Gardens cemetery Saturday morning to honor the lives and mark the premature deaths of two boys sent to a Pennsylvania boarding school for Indian "assimilation" more than 125 years ago. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that leaders of the Unkechaug and Matinecock nations, and members of the Shinnecock, Setauket and Montaukett tribes, led ceremonies and songs of remembrance and healing over two newly installed headstones for the boys and their four young sisters on ground that lay unmarked for more than a century.
Charles Edward Jones and Harry Jefferson Jones both died in 1900 at the ages of 15 and 11, respectively, after returning home with tuberculosis contracted at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, tribal leaders said. They were the children of Jane Davis Waters, of the Unkechaug nation, and Charles Waters, of the Shinnecock and Montaukett nations, the leaders said.
Harry Wallace, chief of the Unkechaug Indian Nation reservation near Mastic, said the boys’ deaths were "the result of practices of abuse at most of these schools, of horrific conditions, and military-style execution of policy." Their stated goal to "kill the Indian but save the man," he said "not only killed the Indian, they killed the man as well. [Killed] the boy."
Wallace said abuse suffered by indigenous children at the boarding schools has had a lasting impact on native communities across North America.
"The legacy of abuse and genocidal practices has affected every native community in North American," he said. "You have that generational trauma that is ongoing and continuing."
Shane Weeks, who led drum playing and song at the grave site. called the ceremony "a moment of remembering and healing."
Chenae Bullock, a Shinnecock member with shared Montaukett ancestry, said while remembrance for the Jones children was "a long time coming," she also expressed gratitude at "all the humans that are gathered around [today], not just native people but all people" to honor them.
"I think it’s just so beautiful," she said. "It just shows there’s so much more we can do together."
***
Cellphones and tablets in FedEx boxes were stolen from home porches in 31 Suffolk County communities by 14 individuals working in concert, according to indictments announced yesterday. James T. Madore reports in NEWSDAY that Ray Tierney, the county’s district attorney, estimated that "hundreds of phones were taken in acts of porch piracy" between October 2023 and February of this year.
The defendants face 50 felony charges; if convicted, they could spend years in prison.
"These indictments demonstrate that we will track down and hold accountable those who commit crimes against Suffolk County residents, regardless of how extensive their operation," Tierney said.
Most of the defendants are Bronx residents; one lives in Valley Stream, according to the indictments.
The defendants allegedly hacked computer systems to find out when phones and other electronic devices would be delivered to the homes of Verizon and AT&T customers. The defendants had the customer’s name, address, device types and FedEx shipment tracking numbers, the indictments state.
He added that some of the thefts involved acts of violence such as throwing a FedEx driver to the ground in Hauppauge and forcibly taking a package from a Suffolk resident.
Suffolk prosecutors discovered the ring more than two years ago when they were looking into why there had been a spike in package thefts from front porches throughout the county.
D.A. Tierney said Monday "the investigation is ongoing" with help from federal and New York City law enforcement. More than 200 stolen phones and other electronic devices, and about $120,000 in cash, have been recovered so far.
Asked how residents can protect themselves from porch thefts during the holiday shopping season, Tierney said, "Track your packages and get them off your porch as quickly as possible."
***
Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Stony Brook University’s School of Health Professions will host a gathering with Dr. Ray Dorsey, author of “The Parkinson’s Plan,” on Wednesday, December 3. Admission is free but registration for the limited seating is required.
New time: 3 pm****
The lecture will be held at Duke Lecture Hall, Stony Brook Southampton Campus, 39 Tuckahoe Road in Southampton.
Dr. Dorsey is an internationally renowned neurologist and leading Parkinson’s researcher. His book lays out the environmental drivers of Parkinson’s disease, the policy changes needed to shape the future of brain health, and why prevention must be part of the conversation.
Register at bit.ly/ParkinsonsPlan.
***
As several recent steps have advanced the redevelopment of Riverside, just across the river from downtown Riverhead, residents in the area are concerned that the proposed construction of a 7-Eleven and gas station on the traffic circle at the center of the hamlet will thwart decades of effort to build a walkable, inviting downtown. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Southampton Town’s 2014 Riverside Revitalization Action Plan (RRAP), prepared by the firm Renaissance Downtowns after lengthy engagement with the community, envisioned larger scale mixed-use buildings surrounding the traffic circle, including housing and walkable neighborhoods. It is dependent on the creation of a sewer district, decades in the works, which received a major federal grant of $19 million in October.
This sewage treatment plant is smaller than the system the town had originally planned. Renaissance Downtowns’ proposal could have led to the creation of 2,300 housing units, and the Town of Southampton has since scaled down that plan to allow 967 housing units. The town is working with consultant Historical Concepts to update the RRAP.
In the midst of this, the 7-Eleven proposal, at the Flanders Road exit from the traffic circle, is a reminder to the community of the development patterns of the past, not of the future they’d envisioned in the revitalization plan.
The project is currently before Southampton Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals for review of several variances, which the property owner said are due to the irregular size of the lot and town code issues related to 7-Eleven’s signage. There is a crumbling gas station building that is still on the property. It closed more than a decade and has become an eyesore at the gateway to the hamlet.
Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said that town board representatives will attend the Flanders, Riverside & Northampton Community Association {FRNCA} January meeting to discuss the town’s work with the community.
***
Southold Town employees were without email and access to some computer servers yesterday after what officials said in an alert to residents was a “potential cyber incident.” Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that servers are computers that handle tasks such as data storage and website hosting. Town officials learned of the email problem by 7:30 a.m., but the extent of the disruption to server access was unclear Monday afternoon, Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski told NEWSDAY. Officials warned residents in an alert shortly after 2 p.m. that “town services will be limited.” The alert was posted on the town website, which appeared to be functioning.
The Town of Southold's 911 and administrative phone systems were not affected by the incident, though processing of records requests will be limited until access to computer systems is restored, Southold Town police said in a Facebook post. "Residents and visitors can be assured that the Southold Town Police Department remains fully prepared to respond to all emergencies and calls for service," the department said.
Officials had not yet determined if the town was the victim of an attack or a technical mishap, Krupski said. There was “no indication” that sensitive municipal or resident information had been exposed, but “we don’t know right now,” he said. “There is no smoking gun.”
As a precaution, Krupski said, town employees physically disconnected town computers from the internet.
“Our focus today is making sure we restore town services so the town can function without email,” Krupski said. “This town is 400 years old — we did function for a long time without email.”
Residents were still able to get services by phone or in person, according to the alert.
Southold employees were consulting with counterparts at Suffolk County and New York State’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Cyber Incident Response Team, Krupski said. The town has three Information Technologies Department staffers.
***
Long Island cannabis dispensaries are peddling the priciest pot in New York — while outselling every other region, according to new state data. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that licensed pot shops in Nassau and Suffolk counties charged an average of $41 for 3.5 grams in 2024 — the highest average price per unit for weed in New York — leaving them generating more retail cash than all of the five boroughs, the Hudson Valley and every upstate region despite having far fewer stores available, according to the latest figures from the NYS Office of Cannabis Management. Long Island accounted for 11 percent of statewide retail sales while representing just 3 percent of dispensaries, state data shows.
There are about six legal dispensaries throughout Nassau and Suffolk combined. This NY POST estimate does not include the numerous cannabis shops on Shinnecock Tribal territory in Southampton.
***
East Hampton Village officials are looking at a $5 million plan to alleviate some of the pressures of staffing Village Hall amid the ongoing affordable housing crisis. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that business owners have long spotlighted the difficulty of finding staff in the middle of an affordable housing desert — but they aren’t alone: Local governments must contend with the same issues, and they don’t have the option of closing due to a lack of staff.
So, East Hampton Village officials have turned to the East End Housing Initiative for help.
Launched earlier this year, the initiative is an advocacy platform founded by Kirby Marcantonio, an East Hampton High School alumnus who publishes Montauk Life magazine and helms Whalebone Workforce Housing, which is intended to promote and build housing.
Marcantonio is the force behind the much-publicized proposed workforce housing development on Pantigo Road, which is currently snaking its way through East Hampton Town Planning Board review and would offer condo-style housing in which employers, like Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, would own units and rent them to employees.
Now East Hampton Village officials have turned to Marcantonio for help with lodging village staff, with the goal of alleviating some of the pressure brought on by past and pending retirements.
Marcantonio mocked up a plan that would cost about $5 million, which East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said could be bonded out over some 20 years, with the rent at least partially offsetting the village-incurred debt. The plan would be to use a vacant portion of the 12-acre, village-owned lot that houses the Village Department of Public Works, located on Accabonac Road, to build 10 units of housing, which could either be sold to employees or rented out. Marcantonio suggested the village opt for floor plans for both two- and three-bedroom units.
Larsen expects that the East Hampton Village Board will hold a public discussion at its next meeting. Once the board reaches a consensus, Larsen will ask Marcantonio to bring a contract forward and the village will pay him to start work.
View all episodes
By WLIW-FMLong Island’s native nations gathered at a Kew Gardens cemetery Saturday morning to honor the lives and mark the premature deaths of two boys sent to a Pennsylvania boarding school for Indian "assimilation" more than 125 years ago. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that leaders of the Unkechaug and Matinecock nations, and members of the Shinnecock, Setauket and Montaukett tribes, led ceremonies and songs of remembrance and healing over two newly installed headstones for the boys and their four young sisters on ground that lay unmarked for more than a century.
Charles Edward Jones and Harry Jefferson Jones both died in 1900 at the ages of 15 and 11, respectively, after returning home with tuberculosis contracted at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, tribal leaders said. They were the children of Jane Davis Waters, of the Unkechaug nation, and Charles Waters, of the Shinnecock and Montaukett nations, the leaders said.
Harry Wallace, chief of the Unkechaug Indian Nation reservation near Mastic, said the boys’ deaths were "the result of practices of abuse at most of these schools, of horrific conditions, and military-style execution of policy." Their stated goal to "kill the Indian but save the man," he said "not only killed the Indian, they killed the man as well. [Killed] the boy."
Wallace said abuse suffered by indigenous children at the boarding schools has had a lasting impact on native communities across North America.
"The legacy of abuse and genocidal practices has affected every native community in North American," he said. "You have that generational trauma that is ongoing and continuing."
Shane Weeks, who led drum playing and song at the grave site. called the ceremony "a moment of remembering and healing."
Chenae Bullock, a Shinnecock member with shared Montaukett ancestry, said while remembrance for the Jones children was "a long time coming," she also expressed gratitude at "all the humans that are gathered around [today], not just native people but all people" to honor them.
"I think it’s just so beautiful," she said. "It just shows there’s so much more we can do together."
***
Cellphones and tablets in FedEx boxes were stolen from home porches in 31 Suffolk County communities by 14 individuals working in concert, according to indictments announced yesterday. James T. Madore reports in NEWSDAY that Ray Tierney, the county’s district attorney, estimated that "hundreds of phones were taken in acts of porch piracy" between October 2023 and February of this year.
The defendants face 50 felony charges; if convicted, they could spend years in prison.
"These indictments demonstrate that we will track down and hold accountable those who commit crimes against Suffolk County residents, regardless of how extensive their operation," Tierney said.
Most of the defendants are Bronx residents; one lives in Valley Stream, according to the indictments.
The defendants allegedly hacked computer systems to find out when phones and other electronic devices would be delivered to the homes of Verizon and AT&T customers. The defendants had the customer’s name, address, device types and FedEx shipment tracking numbers, the indictments state.
He added that some of the thefts involved acts of violence such as throwing a FedEx driver to the ground in Hauppauge and forcibly taking a package from a Suffolk resident.
Suffolk prosecutors discovered the ring more than two years ago when they were looking into why there had been a spike in package thefts from front porches throughout the county.
D.A. Tierney said Monday "the investigation is ongoing" with help from federal and New York City law enforcement. More than 200 stolen phones and other electronic devices, and about $120,000 in cash, have been recovered so far.
Asked how residents can protect themselves from porch thefts during the holiday shopping season, Tierney said, "Track your packages and get them off your porch as quickly as possible."
***
Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Stony Brook University’s School of Health Professions will host a gathering with Dr. Ray Dorsey, author of “The Parkinson’s Plan,” on Wednesday, December 3. Admission is free but registration for the limited seating is required.
New time: 3 pm****
The lecture will be held at Duke Lecture Hall, Stony Brook Southampton Campus, 39 Tuckahoe Road in Southampton.
Dr. Dorsey is an internationally renowned neurologist and leading Parkinson’s researcher. His book lays out the environmental drivers of Parkinson’s disease, the policy changes needed to shape the future of brain health, and why prevention must be part of the conversation.
Register at bit.ly/ParkinsonsPlan.
***
As several recent steps have advanced the redevelopment of Riverside, just across the river from downtown Riverhead, residents in the area are concerned that the proposed construction of a 7-Eleven and gas station on the traffic circle at the center of the hamlet will thwart decades of effort to build a walkable, inviting downtown. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Southampton Town’s 2014 Riverside Revitalization Action Plan (RRAP), prepared by the firm Renaissance Downtowns after lengthy engagement with the community, envisioned larger scale mixed-use buildings surrounding the traffic circle, including housing and walkable neighborhoods. It is dependent on the creation of a sewer district, decades in the works, which received a major federal grant of $19 million in October.
This sewage treatment plant is smaller than the system the town had originally planned. Renaissance Downtowns’ proposal could have led to the creation of 2,300 housing units, and the Town of Southampton has since scaled down that plan to allow 967 housing units. The town is working with consultant Historical Concepts to update the RRAP.
In the midst of this, the 7-Eleven proposal, at the Flanders Road exit from the traffic circle, is a reminder to the community of the development patterns of the past, not of the future they’d envisioned in the revitalization plan.
The project is currently before Southampton Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals for review of several variances, which the property owner said are due to the irregular size of the lot and town code issues related to 7-Eleven’s signage. There is a crumbling gas station building that is still on the property. It closed more than a decade and has become an eyesore at the gateway to the hamlet.
Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said that town board representatives will attend the Flanders, Riverside & Northampton Community Association {FRNCA} January meeting to discuss the town’s work with the community.
***
Southold Town employees were without email and access to some computer servers yesterday after what officials said in an alert to residents was a “potential cyber incident.” Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that servers are computers that handle tasks such as data storage and website hosting. Town officials learned of the email problem by 7:30 a.m., but the extent of the disruption to server access was unclear Monday afternoon, Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski told NEWSDAY. Officials warned residents in an alert shortly after 2 p.m. that “town services will be limited.” The alert was posted on the town website, which appeared to be functioning.
The Town of Southold's 911 and administrative phone systems were not affected by the incident, though processing of records requests will be limited until access to computer systems is restored, Southold Town police said in a Facebook post. "Residents and visitors can be assured that the Southold Town Police Department remains fully prepared to respond to all emergencies and calls for service," the department said.
Officials had not yet determined if the town was the victim of an attack or a technical mishap, Krupski said. There was “no indication” that sensitive municipal or resident information had been exposed, but “we don’t know right now,” he said. “There is no smoking gun.”
As a precaution, Krupski said, town employees physically disconnected town computers from the internet.
“Our focus today is making sure we restore town services so the town can function without email,” Krupski said. “This town is 400 years old — we did function for a long time without email.”
Residents were still able to get services by phone or in person, according to the alert.
Southold employees were consulting with counterparts at Suffolk County and New York State’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Cyber Incident Response Team, Krupski said. The town has three Information Technologies Department staffers.
***
Long Island cannabis dispensaries are peddling the priciest pot in New York — while outselling every other region, according to new state data. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that licensed pot shops in Nassau and Suffolk counties charged an average of $41 for 3.5 grams in 2024 — the highest average price per unit for weed in New York — leaving them generating more retail cash than all of the five boroughs, the Hudson Valley and every upstate region despite having far fewer stores available, according to the latest figures from the NYS Office of Cannabis Management. Long Island accounted for 11 percent of statewide retail sales while representing just 3 percent of dispensaries, state data shows.
There are about six legal dispensaries throughout Nassau and Suffolk combined. This NY POST estimate does not include the numerous cannabis shops on Shinnecock Tribal territory in Southampton.
***
East Hampton Village officials are looking at a $5 million plan to alleviate some of the pressures of staffing Village Hall amid the ongoing affordable housing crisis. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that business owners have long spotlighted the difficulty of finding staff in the middle of an affordable housing desert — but they aren’t alone: Local governments must contend with the same issues, and they don’t have the option of closing due to a lack of staff.
So, East Hampton Village officials have turned to the East End Housing Initiative for help.
Launched earlier this year, the initiative is an advocacy platform founded by Kirby Marcantonio, an East Hampton High School alumnus who publishes Montauk Life magazine and helms Whalebone Workforce Housing, which is intended to promote and build housing.
Marcantonio is the force behind the much-publicized proposed workforce housing development on Pantigo Road, which is currently snaking its way through East Hampton Town Planning Board review and would offer condo-style housing in which employers, like Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, would own units and rent them to employees.
Now East Hampton Village officials have turned to Marcantonio for help with lodging village staff, with the goal of alleviating some of the pressure brought on by past and pending retirements.
Marcantonio mocked up a plan that would cost about $5 million, which East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said could be bonded out over some 20 years, with the rent at least partially offsetting the village-incurred debt. The plan would be to use a vacant portion of the 12-acre, village-owned lot that houses the Village Department of Public Works, located on Accabonac Road, to build 10 units of housing, which could either be sold to employees or rented out. Marcantonio suggested the village opt for floor plans for both two- and three-bedroom units.
Larsen expects that the East Hampton Village Board will hold a public discussion at its next meeting. Once the board reaches a consensus, Larsen will ask Marcantonio to bring a contract forward and the village will pay him to start work.