Shuttle buses linking to Queens subway stops will run out of just three Long Island Rail Road stations if railroad workers go on strike next Thursday morning, and only during rush hours, MTA officials said yesterday. Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that a week removed from a potential shutdown of the nation’s largest commuter rail system, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials offered new details of their plan for dealing with nearly 300,000 displaced riders — the majority of whom, they hope, can work from home. "We couldn’t possibly replace the full service that the LIRR runs everyday," Shanifah Rieara, chief customer officer for the MTA said at a Penn Station news conference Thursday afternoon. "But we are trying our best to accommodate those essential workers in an effort not to leave anyone stranded."

In the event of a strike, which could commence by 12:01 a.m. Thursday, the LIRR would operate buses every 10 minutes during the weekday rush hours between three railroad stations — Bellmore to Howard Beach, JFK Airport A train station, and Hicksville and Ronkonkoma stations to the 7 train station at Mets-Willets Point. MTA officials also encouraged commuters to consider Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) Bus routes linking to Flushing and Jamaica, where they can connect to subway lines.

The threat of the first LIRR work stoppage since 1994 follows an impasse in contract negotiations between the MTA and five labor organizations representing just under half all LIRR union workers. The MTA wants the unions to accept the same three-year deal with 9.5% in raises already accepted by most LIRR workers. The unions say those raises don't keep up with inflation or with what other railroads throughout the United States are paying their workers.

In a statement yesterday, Kevin Sexton, vice president for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said the unions’ demands are "exceedingly reasonable, essentially the status quo when it comes to the cost of living."

Federal mediators last month declared that a voluntary settlement was out of reach, opening the door for a legal strike next week unless the White House intervenes by forcing both sides back into mediation. So far, neither the unions, the MTA nor New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have requested such intervention from the Trump administration.

***

Riverhead Town officials called for the return of national unity during a prayer service commemorating the 24th anniversary of the al-Qaeda Islamic terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the Americans who bravely responded. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Riverhead Town Clerk Jim Wooten led yesterday’s morning service with roughly 40 people gathered at World Trade Center Memorial Park in Calverton. Wooten reflected on how the attacks united the nation in grief. Nearly 3,000 people were killed…497 from Long Island…and more than 6,000 others were injured in the 9/11 attacks. “In the days that followed was shock, anger, disbelief, hysteria and the solidarity of the American people rarely seen in a lifetime,” Wooten said. “There was a common pride in mobilization of support groups and charity fundraising to do what we could to relieve the pain and the loss of our fellow Americans.” Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard echoed Wooten’s theme of unity.  “In the days following 9/11, our great country came together as one,” he said. “That feeling of ‘all for one, and one for all,’ desperately needs to be revisited.”

***

East End school board members, PTA leaders, parents, residents, and high school students who are newly serving this school year as ex-officio school board trustees are all invited to the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and North Fork’s free forum titled “School Boards, the Training Wheels of Democracy: What You Should Know and How to Get Involved.”

The event is scheduled for next Thursday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m., at the LTV Studios in Wainscott. The panel discussion will be moderated by the League’s Government Committee Chair Andrea Gabor, the Bloomberg Chair of Business Journalism at Baruch College/CUNY. 

Panelists include Robert Vecchio, the executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association overseeing the school boards on Long Island; Germain Smith, a current Southampton School Board trustee and member of the Shinnecock Nation; and Kate Rossi-Snook, a recent six-year Shelter Island School Board Trustee.

A Q&A session will follow the forum.

LTV is asking all to register for this free program on their website at www.ltveh.org. For those not able to attend in person, the forum will also be up for viewing within five business days afterward on LTV’s YouTube channel at:  https://youtube.com/c/LTVEastHampton

***

The Southampton Town Board this week agreed to spend $15 million from its Community Preservation Fund to buy a 2.5-acre waterfront parcel at the foot of the Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge in North Haven. Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that the property at 10 Ferry Road is owned by a limited liability corporation. It includes a small house and garage, a swimming pool, and approximately 200 feet of waterfront on Sag Harbor Bay just northwest of the bridge. North Haven Village Mayor Chris Fiore points out that the property overlooks Windmill Beach and Long Wharf as well as John Steinbeck Waterfront Park in Sag Harbor. Referring to three controversial glass-and-brick condominiums on the Sag Harbor side of the bridge, Fiore said the village wanted “to avoid another big glass cube” on the property. “I realize it’s a few bucks, but our real estate is valuable,” the North Haven Village mayor said, adding that the seller probably could have obtained a higher price if it sold the property for private development. Jacqueline Fenlon, the town’s CPF director, described the parcel as “a very valuable part of North Haven” because it is adjacent to land under the bridge owned by New York State and includes a stretch of bayfront. The Town of Southampton will classify the property as village/hamlet green parks and recreation open space, which will means it can be used to provide public access to the water. Mayor Fiore said he did not envision the property being improved beyond perhaps a walkway to the beach, but he said he would be open to suggestions for how it could be used by the public.

***

A looming strike at the Long Island Rail Road could start as early as next Thursday morning, upending travel plans for more than 270,000 people who ride the trains each day.

Stefanos Chen and Winnie Hu report in THE NY TIMES that unions representing more than 3,000 employees — close to half of the railroad’s work force — have threatened to strike unless they receive raises that exceed those negotiated by other divisions of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that operates the railroad. Even if only some of the unions go on strike, the entire service would most likely be suspended, because the striking workers would include engineers, signalmen and ticket clerks, among other vital groups.

The strike would be the first to take place on the Long Island Rail Road, America’s busiest passenger rail service, since 1994, when a two-day suspension sent riders scrambling for alternatives.

Even as both sides brace for a work stoppage, there is still a chance that a contract agreement can be reached. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who controls the M.T.A., also has the option to seek a federal intervention, which could delay the strike for months. But it is unclear if Ms. Hochul will reach out to the Trump administration, which she has blamed for making the unusual decision to end mediation between the two sides and allow the strike to proceed.

If a deal can’t be reached, workers would go on strike just after midnight on Sept. 18, halting all train service to key stops in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as connections to the two major airports in Queens and all points east on Long Island.

(Long Island Rail Road workers whose unions have already agreed to contracts would still report to work, but train service would be suspended.)

In the event of a strike, the LIRR would operate buses every 10 minutes during the weekday rush hours between three railroad stations — Bellmore to Howard Beach, JFK Airport A train station, and Hicksville and Ronkonkoma stations to the 7 train station at Mets-Willets Point.

***

The San Gennaro Feast of the Hamptons is this Saturday and Sunday in Hampton Bays. The celebration is a reflection of a tradition that began in September 1926 when newly arrived immigrants from Naples congregated along Mulberry Street in New York City’s Little Italy to continue the tradition of celebrating San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples.

AND in Sag Harbor this weekend - Sag Harbor’s Harborfest on Saturday and Sunday, celebrates the village’s maritime heritage with whaleboat races, rowing demonstrations, music, street vendors and an arts & crafts fair in Marine Park.

***

Friday nights in Southampton can bring the usual weekend woes, like sitting in snarled traffic or trying to land a coveted reservation at a buzzy new restaurant. But for residents in Southampton Pointe, a 50-unit condominium complex on Tuckahoe Lane, Friday nights mean bracing for impact as a parade of Ubers begins, and thumping music pulses from the ULTRA nightclub across the street. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that housed in an old potato barn, the club has become a well of frustration for neighbors who say the rowdy scene has spun out of control. The disruptions have caused sleepless nights, property damage and a string of violent incidents that have put the community on edge, according to neighbors and police reports.

"Most people, come 10, 10:30 at night on the weekends, they dread what’s coming," said Jonathan Yedin, president of the condominium's homeowner’s association. "The sound and the bass truly carry and people’s houses shake. People’s windows shake."

Club representatives, however, say they were there first. Neighbors, they added, should have known they were buying across the street from a longtime nightclub property. The building at 125 Tuckahoe Lane on the south side of County Road 39 in Southampton, has hosted a slew of different nightclubs going back decades. The condo complex was completed in 2017 with units ranging from $795,000 to $1.25 million.

Southampton Town police records, obtained by Newsday through a Freedom of Information Law request, show nearly 200 related to ULTRA since 2022 that include complaints about noise, underage patrons, fights and disorderly conduct.

Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan said officers respond frequently to the club, most of the time to neighbors who want the music turned down, which can be difficult to enforce.

"You go and address the noise complaints, the staff turns it down for five minutes and turns it back up," Kiernan said in an interview.

Underage drinking is a bigger concern at the venue, Kiernan said.

"You’ll see kids that are clearly 15-year-olds," Kiernan said. "They’re not going to show us their fake ID, because that’s a crime. So they just run."

The future of the property remains in limbo. Its owners are considering holding on to the valuable nightclub property or replacing it with a cannabis dispensary.