As calls intensify for the Town of Southold to adopt guidelines for responding to immigration raids, its police department is weighing a new policy to deploy officers to reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions to keep residents safe.
Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that Police Chief Steven Grattan said the policy is still a draft and stemmed from discussions with the town’s public safety task force, a 12-member group formed in February to review legislation proposed by OLA (Organización Latino Americana) of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy group.
Under the policy, Southold Town officers would respond if alerted to immigration operations, Grattan said during a packed town board meeting on the topic yesterday. But he cautioned that outside law enforcement agencies don’t always alert the town to their presence.
“We take public safety very seriously, and these can be very contentious exchanges as we’ve all seen across this country,” he said. “Having members of law enforcement there for peacekeeping efforts is important to us.”
The chief said the internal policy could be implemented separately from official town board legislation.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Southold officials met with residents, first responders and advocates who overwhelmingly urged the board to adopt the legislation amid heightened immigration enforcement across the East End.
Five members of the public safety task force made specific recommendations for the town to consider, including reporting verified immigration actions to the town supervisor and village mayor, and circulating informational tools to help residents distinguish Southold police from ICE officers.
The group also recommended coordination with local schools and hospitals if ICE attempts to enter those properties, more de-escalation training for police and limiting ICE access to town facilities and license plate readers.
Supporters of the legislation said it would improve transparency, strengthen public safety and reassure immigrant communities, while opponents argued it would hinder federal law enforcement efforts and jeopardize discretionary federal funding.
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Meyer Merger Studies & Consulting will lead a merger feasibility study to collect information and provide facts to the Southampton Union Free School District and Tuckahoe Common School District and their communities regarding a potential merger.
Michelle Trauring reports on 27east.com that in a letter to the community, Southampton Board of Education President Zach Epley explained that the district is creating a community advisory committee for the study to provide representation “for all residents, taxpayers and stakeholders of each respective district in the study process.”
A similar committee will be formed in the Tuckahoe School District, he said.
“A goal of the committee is to enhance the flow of information to and from district staff and residents during the study process and ensure that the most accurate and up-to-date information is analyzed, easily available and widely communicated to school district stakeholders,” Epley wrote.
Meetings will be held on October 13, November 10, January 12, March 8, and April 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at a central site. Between meetings, committee members will be asked to review various documents and community concerns that have been raised, as well as provide ideas and insights electronically as necessary to the study consultant team.
To be considered for Southampton’s advisory committee, email Epley at [email protected]. The size of the committee is limited, so not everyone will be selected.
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Friends of the Rogers Memorial Library present SympaticoJazz in Concert this evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton.
SympaticoJazz performs a nostalgic blend of jazz, blues, and pop hits from the 1960s and 70s. The repertoire features music made famous by iconic artists such as Burt Bacharach, Sergio Mendes, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, and Etta James. The ensemble includes piano, upright bass, and percussion, fronted by vocalist Toni Washington.
Registration required.
That’s this evening starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton.
Register at Myrml.org
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A toxic plume linked to utility operations a century ago has reared its head again in downtown Sag Harbor as a developer advances a plan to demolish buildings, remove contamination and erect a 48-unit condo complex on an adjacent 1-acre site.
Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the plan, under review by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and several village agencies, faces sharp headwinds as Suffolk County this week vowed new tests in Sag Harbor to determine that plume's full scope and local preservation groups worry about disturbing buried toxins and the character of the neighborhood.
"We want to address these concerns before anything else happens there," Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said Tuesday about the Sag Harbor site. "We'll be out there testing groundwater and drinking wells to determine the extent of that problem."
One group long opposed to the development said toxins raise new concerns.
The DEC, which oversaw the voluntary cleanup of the adjacent site by National Grid more than a decade ago, has put a remediation plan out for public comment and in advance of a public meeting in Sag Harbor Village on Aug. 27 to discuss the findings and take feedback.
Developer Adam Potter has sought for four years to build the project, which includes just under half its residences billed as affordable housing. Potter told NEWSDAY that the new building will fit right in, will facilitate removal of toxins and provide less costly homes for people who live in the village.
"We're doing more than the requirement as it is," he said of his proposed cleanup. "We'll be taking every precaution to ensure public safety." He noted the three-floor residential building fits in with those around it, and has a brick and blue-trim design similar to the police station and hardware store. "It does work within the neighborhood of Sag Harbor," he said.
Potter has a 99-year lease with National Grid on the adjacent parking lot next to his proposed condos, a lot the village is subleasing for three years. He closed it last Thursday for unspecified "safety issues" unrelated to the toxins.
DEC reports show a long list of toxins, including PFAS forever chemicals "across the entire footprint of the site," which is now home to retail shops and a house. Tests to determine the extent of the contamination were commissioned by Potter, conducted by a firm he hired, filed with the DEC and are the basis of the state's report, Potter said. The site is part of the DEC's Brownfield Cleanup Program, which "encourages the voluntary cleanup of contaminated properties." Documents relating to the site can be found on the DEC's website.
Potter said National Grid will pay for the cleanup, which could cost up to $10 million.
The two Sag Harbor structures and a garage on Bridge Street behind Main Street in the village are directly adjacent to a site that once manufactured vaporized gas for lighting and heating by boiling coal in liquid fuel — leaving a toxic legacy of coal tar 60 feet below the surface, Newsday has reported.
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About 50 residents packed into the basement meeting room of the Southold Town Hall Annex early yesterday to air their concerns about public safety during immigration raids. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Southold Town Police said they are considering department policy to play a peacekeeping role during federal immigration enforcement efforts on the north fork. The conversation is expected to continue at the Southold Town Board’s Aug. 11 work session.
Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that supporters of legislation proposed by OLA (Organización Latino Americana) of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy group, have said it would improve transparency, strengthen public safety and reassure immigrant communities, while opponents argue it would hinder federal law enforcement efforts and jeopardize discretionary federal funding.
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) has warned he would not support funding requests in 1st Congressional District towns and villages that restrict cooperation with federal immigration officials.
Earlier this month, LaLota visited the North Fork, presenting giant checks for local projects, including $1 million for police cars and equipment in Southold.
In a statement yesterday Congressman LaLota wrote, "Like the leaders of 108 of Long Island's 110 towns and villages, I understand that enforcing federal immigration laws is safest for the community, law enforcement officers, and those being arrested when every level of law enforcement works together.” He encouraged Southold's leaders to reject proposed legislation restricting cooperation, "and I will continue fighting for their earmarks if they do."
At yesterday's meeting, Southold Town Task force member Magda Rodriguez said I.C.E. arrests in Greenport this past February had far-reaching effects, describing an “economic and social ghost town” that left Main Street businesses and churches vacant as families withdrew out of fear.
Rodriguez, 22, who teaches at an elementary school in New Suffolk, said roughly 60% of her students are Latino.
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Town of Southampton residents will have an opportunity to safely dispose of household hazardous waste during the next Stop Throwing Out Pollutants (STOP) collection event this coming Saturday, August 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Westhampton Recycling Center, 66 Old Country Road.
The STOP program, partially funded through a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, provides residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of hazardous household materials that should not be placed in regular trash.
As reported on 27east.com, accepted materials include pesticides, corrosives, pool chemicals, driveway sealers, hazardous paints and stains, polishes and waxes, adhesives, solvents, hazardous cleaning products, antifreeze, vehicle fluids, fluorescent light tubes, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and ballasts, photography chemicals, products containing mercury (excluding thermostats), and propane cylinders that still contain propane.
Improper disposal of household hazardous waste is prohibited under state and federal environmental regulations.
The Southampton Town Recycling Office encourages residents to take advantage of the scheduled collection events, which are held only three times each year. The final collection of 2026 will take place Saturday, November 7, at the Hampton Bays Recycling Center.
The next Stop Throwing Out Pollutants (STOP) collection event is this coming Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Westhampton Recycling Center, 66 Old Country Road.
For more information about the STOP program, call the Town of Southampton Recycling Office at 631-283-5210.
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The Town of Southampton is planning to spend $11.6 million to buy and tear down a waterfront home in Water Mill in the hopes of protecting wetlands and expanding access to Mecox Bay.
Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the proposal calls for the purchase of a 2.37-acre property on Flying Point Road using Community Preservation Fund money. The existing home would be demolished before closing under the terms of the contract, CPF Director Jacqueline Fenlon told Newsday.
“This is a very unique and rare opportunity where we can provide residents, and especially the Water Mill community, with some passive access to the water,” Fenlon said. The purchase would also prevent the property from being developed into a larger home, she added.
If approved by the Southampton Town Board, the deal would be the town's second purchase of a multimillion-dollar waterfront home for similar purposes.
In January, the town authorized the $25.8 million purchase of a three-story, 11-bedroom oceanfront home on Meadow Lane in Southampton Village, an area nicknamed “Billionaire Lane.” That home is slated for demolition and conversion into a public beach access point. During that process, town board members asked Fenlon to prioritize purchasing waterfront properties for public access.
Southampton Town has been working on a deal to acquire the Flying Point Road property since last year, Fenlon said.
The parcel sits adjacent to county-owned land purchased for open space, Fenlon said. The purchase will further protect the waterfront from development.
The proposed purchase price exceeds the property’s assessed fair market value. According to the property's 2025 tax bill, the property was valued at about $7 million.
Fenlon said the higher price point is supported by independent appraisals and reflects the site’s development potential.
The property is owned by 658 Flying Point LLC. Peter Marullo.
Money for the purchase would come from the Community Preservation Fund, which generates revenue for land preservation and water quality projects through a 2% real estate transfer tax. The fund can be used to purchase properties for a variety of purposes, including open-space and parkland preservation.
Southampton Town generates more CPF revenue than the other 3 East End towns that participate in the program. (Riverhead does not.)
Since 1999, Southampton has generated more than $1.3 billion, according to town records. The town generated $20.6 million for the fund in the first quarter of this year alone, according to the office of NYS Assemb. Tommy John Schiavoni (D-Sag Harbor).
