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

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

Congestion pricing has faced opposition from the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation which rescinded federal approval for it earlier this year.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

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

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

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

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

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

Each date includes family activities preceding the concert.

Saturday:

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

Sunday:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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