A large group of teachers walked into the gymnasium on Wednesday night at the Bridgehampton School during a Board of Education meeting, wearing matching black and yellow Bridgehampton Teachers Association shirts, in a show of solidarity, reminding those in the gym that they’ve been working without a new contract since the end of the last school term. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that contract negotiations began last spring, but thus far, the district and the union have not been able to work out a deal. After Wednesday's meeting, Bridgehampton School teachers Joseph Pluta and Caitlin Hansen, representatives for the union, spoke about what led to the situation. “Many of our members have expressed frustration with a toxic working environment,” Mr. Pluta said. When asked to expand on what exactly those frustrations were related to, Ms. Hansen chimed in. “Conversations between administration and staff, and the tone that some of those conversations take,” she said. “Some of our members have concerns about that.”

Bridgehampton School Superintendent Dr. Mary T. Kelly said yesterday that negotiations taking a few months is not an unusual circumstance, pointing out that the previous Bridgehampton Teachers Association contract took more than 14 months to settle. “With regard to this round of bargaining…We were prepared to negotiate beginning in January 2025.” She also pointed out that, under New York law, an expired contract remains fully in effect until a new one is reached, and that when the teachers returned to work this year after the summer break, they received raises under the existing salary schedule.

Dr. Kelly pushed back against the assertion that there's a “toxic” work environment at the school. “Staff are always encouraged to come directly to administration with any concerns or needs, which are addressed promptly,” she said. “In addition, over the past several years, we have made significant progress working collaboratively as a district. We were removed from all state improvement lists and are now in ‘good standing.’” She added that, over the last few years, the district has doubled its AP offerings, launched the College Board Capstone Program, and expanded its CTE (career and technical education) pathways in several areas as well. “While negotiations can be difficult, we are committed to ensuring that this process does not disrupt the educational environment,” Dr. Kelly concluded.

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A Hampton Bays teenager who was seen carrying a toy gun near the Hampton Bays High School as part of a nationally popular game, “Senior Assassin,” sparked a call to police and a search for what was feared to be an armed individual. As reported on 27east.com, police were called at about 7:20 a.m. yesterday regarding a report of a male teen seen getting out of a car with a “long gun” – a common police term for shotgun or rifle – near the high school, then getting back into the car. Hampton Bays High School was placed on lockdown Thursday morning as a precaution, Southampton Town Police said, while officers searched for the vehicle described by the witness. After an extensive search the vehicle and teenager were located and the gun was determined to be a toy prop for the game that simulates “assassination” of a friend using a squirt gun. The school convened an assembly with Southampton Town Police officers to discuss the dangers of brandishing toy guns that could be mistaken for real weapons in public. “We encourage all parents and guardians to have a conversation with your children regarding the potential risks associated with this game,” Southampton Town Police Sergeant Gina LaFerrera stated in a release by the department. “Thank you to the Hampton Bays School District for assisting with this investigation and helping to keep our community safe.”

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The North Fork Action Center, which is working on issues including immigration, education, local government, housing and the environment, reproductive rights and arts and music, will hold its monthly meeting on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalists of Southold meeting house on the bend at 51900 Main Road in Southold, followed by a 5 p.m. Anti-Fascist Book Club meeting. On this Sunday they will be discussing Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen.

More information is available at northforkaction.net where their website states:

The North Fork Action Center / Protecting the U.S. Constitution, working toward justice, civic engagement, evidence-based science, diversity and a free press.

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A Long Island postal worker helped a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detainee temporarily escape custody and tore into agents in two languages, according to a criminal complaint unsealed yesterday. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that Tamara Mayorga-Wong, 57, allegedly opened the door of an official vehicle in front of the Westhampton Post Office and told a handcuffed detainee in the backseat to run for it before trying to drive away in her own car, court documents said.

Cops caught up with the unidentified detainee and arrested Mayorga-Wong after she fled through the building, got into her car in a back parking lot, locked herself in and tried to drive away.

Agents then repeatedly told her to get out of the vehicle before she was forcibly removed, court records claimed.

“Why are you doing this to your people?” she yelled repeatedly to agents in Spanish and English after she was taken into custody, kicking at officers and “flailing her arms,” according to the documents

She then asked whether the agents were from Mexico and whether they had children, according to the complaint against her.

“What are you going to tell your children about what you do?” she railed, the documents said.

Mayorga-Wong had allegedly seen agents in “HSI Police” jackets grab a man outside the post office and demanded to see a warrant saying “you can’t do this,” according to court documents.

Agents allegedly told her she could see the warrant at the local office and was provided an address before she helped the detainee temporarily escape, the court documents said.

Mayorga-Wong is now facing charges of federal obstruction, which can carry up to 20 years in federal prison depending on the statute prosecutors apply.

At her arraignment in Suffolk County federal court yesterday, Mayorga-Wong appeared shackled at the ankles, scanning the gallery for her family as she cried quietly before the judge took the bench. She was then released from Suffolk jail after posting a $50,000 bond.

ICE agents conducted a raid in Hampton Bays and Westhampton earlier this month on Wednesday, November 5.

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Suffolk County may outlaw hourly rates at hotels and motels while also lengthening the duration the businesses are required to keep photo identification records and security footage to help law enforcement combat human trafficking. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the proposed legislation adds language into existing county code regulating the industry as lawmakers seek to make Suffolk "completely bereft of hotels and motels that serve as attractive venues for crimes," notably sex trafficking, according to the bill.

Businesses would be required to keep digital copies of photo identifications of guests for five years and maintain security footage for a minimum of 90 days.

The proposed legislation follows a pair of presentations before the legislature’s Public Safety Committee this year on human trafficking from members of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and Suffolk County Police Department. It comes amid a Newsday investigation this summer that shone a spotlight on human trafficking and the case of a then missing teenage girl that has since resulted in 23 arrests across two states tied to her disappearance. Legis. Chad Lennon (C-Rocky Point), the bill’s lead sponsor, said ongoing conversations between lawmakers and law enforcement officials led to the legislation to close "gaps and holes" traffickers exploit. He said the bill gives law enforcement "further resources to really go after all these traffickers."

The committee yesterday advanced the bill to a public hearing next Tuesday at the general meeting in Hauppauge. Public hearings begin at 2 p.m.

The bill will likely go back to committee and could be voted on by the full Suffolk County Legislature in December.

"This is just a start," Lennon said. "We’re not done yet."

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The East Hampton Food Pantry will hold its annual Harvest Food Drive at East Hampton Middle School on Newtown Lane tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those who wish to donate nonperishable food items may stop at the school, where volunteers will unload contributions. Monetary donations are also accepted. With Stop & Shop right across the street, shoppers can add items to their cart, give them to volunteers outside, and have them brought across the street to the pantry. According to the food pantry, food insecurity rises as the holiday season approaches. Numbers increase as seasonal jobs wind down and the cost of groceries and home heating goes up. So that’s East Hampton Food Pantry’s annual Harvest Food Drive at East Hampton Middle School on Newtown Lane tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Additionally, Springs Food Pantry and Montauk Food Pantry are currently seeing higher demand and could use extra support. If you are able, a monetary donation to any of our local pantries can make an immediate and meaningful impact. Pantries can buy in bulk, allowing every dollar to stretch further and feed more neighbors.

Montauk: montaukfoodpantry.org

Springs: springsfoodpantry.com

East Hampton: easthamptonfoodpantry.org

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If you ask Long Island police where shoplifters strike most often, they won’t point you to a corner convenience store or a small boutique. Instead, they’ll steer you to the aisles of the nation's largest, most heavily monitored retailers. In Suffolk County, Target dominates the shoplifting charts, making up nine of the 10 most-hit locations reported to the county police department last year. Nassau County’s list is more mixed, with four big-name retailers — Macy’s, JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Nordstrom — at Roosevelt Field mall in Uniondale, as well as four Target stores. Tory N. Parrish reports in NEWSDAY that complaints in both counties have dipped in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2024, but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. Police credit stepped-up enforcement and closer cooperation with retailers for the recent declines.

“There was a time years ago when these big-box stores were just throwing up their arms and they weren’t even reporting it anymore because it was so prevalent. We’re way past that,” Suffolk County Police Department Commissioner Kevin Catalina told Newsday this summer.

The stakes go beyond missing merchandise.

Retailers say shoplifting drives up their costs and slows down shoppers with more locked cases and security checks.

Meanwhile, some analysts say that retailers are exaggerating the extent of store thefts.

At the same time, police argue that bail reform has made it tougher to curb repeat offenders — a point that remains hotly contested.

The annual number of shoplifting incidents reported to the Nassau County Police Department has risen since at least 2022. In Suffolk County, the trend has moved in the opposite direction. The Suffolk County Police Department received complaints about 6,724 shoplifting incidents last year, a 4.8% decline from the 7,060 in 2023. In the first half of this year, the department logged 3,188 complaints, down 3% from 3,285 in the same six-month period in 2024.

Nassau and Suffolk counties’ police departments are the third- and fourth-largest law enforcement agencies, respectively, in the state, but they are only part of a much broader enforcement network.

Across the two counties, 39 village, city, town and college police departments also respond to shoplifting complaints. Most of those departments do not count shoplifting separately from overall larceny, and no agency compiles statewide shoplifting statistics.