Over the past decade, Long Island’s dangerous roads have taken a steep toll — through crashes, injuries and deaths. Between 2014 and 2023, more than 2,100 people were killed and 16,000 seriously injured, according to a Newsday analysis. But beyond the personal devastation, there’s a staggering financial cost.

This burden includes everything from car repairs and replacements, to hospital and health care expenses to legal and administrative fees, lost time and wages, and bills insurance companies won’t cover, according to personal injury attorneys, accident survivors and researchers interviewed by Newsday.

The cost of car crashes can be devastating for victims and their families — but it doesn’t stop there. Communities also bear the cost. In 2023, crashes on Long Island generated at least $3.4 billion in losses, according to Ted Miller, a leading researcher in crash economics and principal research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, which is based in Beltsville, Maryland.

For Newsday’s Dangerous Roads series, Miller calculated Long Island’s crash-related costs based on fatalities, injury severity and vehicle damage. He adjusted for the region’s per capita income and New York’s cost of living. His estimates are conservative, drawn from publicly available data.

Rising costs of car ownership — especially insurance and repairs — have compounded the economic toll of crashes, experts said. High insurance rates are a key factor in the growing number of uninsured drivers in New York State, leaving crash victims financially exposed.

The greatest financial costs of crashes are those resulting in death. Each fatality typically costs society around $1.6 million, largely due to loss in work, household productivity and legal costs, according to Miller’s research for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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A push to establish a park district in East Quogue is being led by a hamlet resident and community organizations with a desire to help beautify Main Street and have more local control of the hamlet’s green spaces. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the initiative is being led by East Quogue resident Christian Connolly, along with the support of the East Quogue Civic Association, Beautification Committee, Civic Advisory Committee and Historical Society.

The main goal of the park district would be to rejuvenate the hamlet’s Main Street by having more consistent maintenance. Currently, the Southampton Town Parks and Recreation department is responsible for maintaining the Village Green, the plantings on Main Street and the hamlet’s other green spaces, though Connolly argues that their maintenance has fallen short, with the rest of the work falling to volunteers. In 2017 Southampton Town officials agreed to fund improvements for Main Street in East Quogue.

“Parks and Rec does a great job, but they’re spread thin,” he said. “They’ve got to open up the beach this time of year, they can’t pay attention to detail like we believe our parks group can do.”

The park district would be classified as a special improvement district, which would be supported by taxpayers who live within the district’s boundaries. Taxpayers would pay a yearly amount based on how much their property is assessed at. Based on a budget of $75,000, which is the amount Connolly is seeking, a property assessed at $500,000 would pay $16.30, a $750,000 property would pay $24.45 and a million dollar property would pay $32.60.

To form the district, the Southampton Town Board would hold public hearings to determine if it’s in the public’s best interest to approve the district. From there, the board would need to adopt a resolution that would include a map with the boundaries of the district, estimates of the cost of improvements and how these will be financed.

If a majority of voters within the East Quogue district boundaries vote against establishing the district, despite the decision of the Town Board, the district would not be formed.

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The Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton announces that the main library building will RE-OPEN to the public today!

You are invited to check out all the exciting changes at the Library (and maybe some books too, while you're at it). Plus a tech class, some earth friendly fun, the book shop sale and more.

The Rogers Memorial Library’s first home, a Victorian Gothic building on the corner of Job’s Lane and Main Street, was built in 1895, and opened to the public in March 1896.

100 years after the creation of the original Rogers Memorial Library - on November 3, 2000, the New Rogers Memorial Library opened at its current location, 91 Coopers Farm Road in Southampton Village.

In celebration of its silver anniversary the “new” R.M.L. is completing a major restoration.

Nowadays, the main library and Cooper Hall encompass 26,500 square feet, serve from 12,000 to 40,000 people year-round and its grand re-opening is today!

***

The Montauk School District must start again after voters last week shot down a plan for the district to take out a $38 million bond to fund school renovations. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the plan came about after school facilities received an “unsatisfactory” grade by New York State officials. If approved, the measure would have seen a new gymnasium, a new science classroom and designated spaces for elementary and middle school students, among other improvements. The gymnasium had the highest price tag at $12 million. In all, the planning process took about two years. However, in a vote on May 20 — which drew record turnout — Montauk voters rejected the measure, 361-318. Voters also shot down — in a vote of 342-334 — a proposition for $2.9 million for a new HVAC system, among other capital projects. Additionally, the Montauk district budget passed by a narrower margin than the surrounding districts, with the $24 million budget drawing a vote of 403-280. In the wake of the vote, the Montauk School Board of Education held a workshop for next steps and reevaluation.

Separately, on Friday, May 23, Montauk Superintendent Joshua Odom spoke out about the rejection to The Press Newspaper Group. In the future, the district will likely pursue another bond for renovations, “the size of which is yet to be determined,” Odom said. It’s up to the Montauk School Board to determine what projects will move forward and “what will be cut,” Odom said. Many parts of the project will need to be “reimagined” to move forward. As for whether the gymnasium will be included in future renovation plans, Odom said “that is the $12 million question.” “Our gym right now has a lot of character,” he said. “I love that space. Actually, it’s a gym-a-torium. It’s our gym, it’s our stage, it’s our performing arts center. It’s very much the community hub of our school. It is small. The ceilings are low. It’s not appropriate for all middle school sports. As it stands, Montauk School students eat in their classrooms. Constructing a new gym would have allowed students to eat in the old gym, he said.

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Every seven minutes on average, a crash causes death, injury, or significant damage on Long Island. As reported in NEWSDAY, a leading researcher places the tangible costs of medical care, work loss, property damage and more due to crashes on Long Island in 2023 at $3.4 billion. A national study measured the lifetime societal cost per crash fatality at $1.6 million. Personal injury attorney Michael Mosscrop of Franklin, Gringer & Cohen in Garden City said many Long Islanders also carry too little insurance coverage.

New York requires $50,000 in no-fault coverage and $25,000 in liability coverage. But many drivers do not raise those minimums. In serious crashes, that often leaves victims with no financial recourse beyond immediate medical costs — especially when the at-fault driver lacks additional coverage or assets.

But car crashes on Long Island don’t just affect the people involved in a wreck.

Ted Miller, the principal research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, found “society at-large absorbs” three-quarters of economic impact from the crashes — from taxes used to pay for emergency responses and rebuild roads to insurance premiums paid for by policyholders in the region, whose rates might go up even if they don’t get into crashes.

That's why Miller argues that residents should be concerned about the fiscal stakes around road safety even if they haven't crashed or lost someone.

“Because you’re paying for it,” Miller said. “It’s coming out of your pocket and you should care about that.”

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The Wainscott Heritage Project will hold several events designed to engage the community, preserve local history and celebrate the cultural character of Wainscott.

The first is this coming Sunday, June 1, at 4 p.m. titled “Historic Preservation Myth Busting.” It’s at LTV Studios. Tara Cubie, preservation director at Preservation Long Island will offer an informative look at the realities of preservation.

Sunday’s event is free and open to the public, with light refreshments and a Q&A to follow.

Reservations are encouraged.

That’s this Sunday at 4 p.m. in the LTV Studios in Wainscott.

For more information and reservations visit ltveh.org/preservationmythbusting

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The Quogue Wildlife Refuge holds a special place in the heart of so many East Enders who have taken their children there to see the birds that seek refuge on the Old Ice Pond or to quietly walk or snowshoe through the seven miles of trails into the heart of the Dwarf Pine Plains, or to practice yoga or hear nature presentations in the Charles Banks Belt Nature Center overlooking the pond. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that this year, the Wildlife Refuge is embarking on a campaign to renovate and expand the Nature Center, which is now crammed with work spaces for its growing staff, for care of animals, a gift shop and a large, wood-paneled community gathering space that juts over the pond, where visitors feel like they’ve traveled not just to the center of an ecosystem, but also back in time.

The Nature Center was built in 1970. Aside from a 1979 update adding handicapped-access bathrooms, a kitchen and a classroom, little about the building has changed since the 1970s, as the Refuge’s staff has burgeoned to nine full-time, year-round people.

Refuge’s Assistant Director, Marisa Nelson said the refuge hopes to “honor the history and maintain the coziness” of the first floor gathering space. “It has the most beautiful view, and feels like a lodge, with a stone fireplace and the great views of the Old Ice Pond. This room will structurally stay the same, but we will be taking down the 1970s paneling and updating it.”

The building is expected to be (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) LEED-certified.

Anyone can visit the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, which is open 365 days a year, free of charge, and it receives about 150,000 visitors each year.

The Quogue Wildlife Refuge has already raised or received pledges for more than $2.8 million toward the $3.5 million renovation, and is expecting to soon receive bids from local contractors, with the hopes of beginning construction this fall and finishing by the summer of 2026.

For more information, visit quoguewildliferefuge.org.

A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from killing New York’s congestion pricing toll or carrying out retaliatory threats to withhold transportation funding unless the state capitulates. Matthew Chayes reports in NEWSDAY that ruling from the bench, Judge Lewis J. Liman of U.S. District Court for the Southern District said his temporary restraining order is in effect until June 9 at 5 p.m. as he considers arguments in a lawsuit by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which he said the agency is likely to ultimately win. The suit challenges the Trump administration's efforts to revoke permission granted under President Joe Biden and end the congestion pricing program, the nation's first, which charges most drivers $9 to enter 60th Street or below in Manhattan.

The Trump administration had threatened to implement "compliance measures" — including withholding federal transportation funding and stopping approvals for state transportation projects — beginning as soon as today unless New York ends the program.

Last year, while running for office, candidate Donald Trump vowed to "TERMINATE" congestion pricing” stating, "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD."

On Tuesday, Judge Liman likened the Trump administration's threats — made by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy — to a sword of Damocles. Duffy has said it's unfair to toll drivers to get around Manhattan and force commuters onto a mass transit system that he has used profanity to describe. New York says the toll is essential to reduce traffic congestion, to make the air less polluted and to raise money for mass transit…including the L.I.R.R.

In a statement issued by her office, Gov. Kathy Hochul said, "We’ve won — again." She called Judge Liman's ruling "a massive victory for New York commuters, vindicating our right as a State to make decisions regarding what’s best for our streets."

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The Southampton Youth Bureau’s 22nd annual Battle of the Bands competition is bringing the sound of local bands back to Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays on Friday, June 6. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the concert is one of the largest annual events for high school bands in the Town of Southampton to showcase their talents in front of a large crowd of friends, family and peers, complete with a professional sound and lighting system.

Southampton Youth Bureau Assistant Director Peter Strecker, who runs the event, called it “a great opportunity for them to get out on stage to express their creativity in front of a live audience in a safe and supervised setting.”

Gates open at 7 p.m., and those arriving early will be treated to a series of special guest opening acts for the first hour. This year will feature four local high schoolers who participated in “Hamptons Got Talent,” a talent show hosted in Hampton Bays by the Youth Bureau in April.

The main show begins at 8 p.m., as the bands take the stage.

This year, five bands will be competing, which is the most bands since 2018. Each band will have 20 minutes to perform a set of three to four songs. The winning band also gets to perform an encore at the end of the show.

The event will be emceed by Casey Farrell and Julianna Najdzion of the Youth Bureau’s Youth Advisory Committee.

For more information, visit southamptontownny.gov/youthbureau or call 631-702-2425.

***

The Wainscott Heritage Project will hold several events designed to engage the community, preserve local history and celebrate the cultural character of Wainscott.

The first is this coming Sunday, June 1, at 4 p.m. titled “Historic Preservation Myth Busting.” It will take place at LTV Studios. Tara Cubie, preservation director at Preservation Long Island, will present the talk that will debunk common misconceptions such as “historic designation means you can’t change anything about your house” and “preserving old buildings lowers property values.” Through real-life examples from East Hampton and beyond, Ms. Cubie will offer an informative look at the realities of preservation. Sunday’s event is free and open to the public, with light refreshments and a Q&A to follow. Reservations are encouraged.

For more information and reservations visit wainscottheritageproject.org.

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Businesses that pay manual workers biweekly, violating New York’s century-old weekly pay law, will no longer be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages under provisions in the state budget that provide flexibility for first-time offenders. Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that the law, which has roots in the Industrial Revolution era, aims to protect manual laborers. But in 2019, a midlevel state court decision opened the door for certain manual laborers to sue their employers for "liquidated damages" if they were being paid biweekly instead of weekly. Liquidated damages by law include up to 100% of the total amount of wages found to be due going back up to six years, as well as attorney’s fees.

The decision opened the floodgates to hundreds of cases across the state, costing businesses anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars and forcing some small businesses to close.

The $254 billion state budget passed this month included language championed by Gov. Kathy Hochul to limit the amount of damages employees who are paid in full on a biweekly basis are entitled to. For a first time violation, businesses will only be required to pay the interest the employee lost by not being paid weekly. Second violations would still be subject to full liquidated damages. The law applies to pending and future cases.

The change evoked concern from some worker advocates and attorneys who say manual workers have the right to not only be paid on time but to seek full damages if an employer violates the law.

Business groups applauded the move, saying the original law is not only ambiguous in how it defines manual laborers, but that businesses shouldn’t be so heavily penalized if they are fully paying their employees, just on a biweekly basis.

New York State law in 1890 required weekly pay for certain employees, including railroad, manufacturing and mining workers. The current version of the pay frequency law was put in place in 1966 and has been interpreted to mean individuals who spend more than 25% of working time engaged in "physical labor," according to the labor department.

***

The Suffolk County Water Authority is continuing a water main improvement project in Quogue by replacing approximately 3,420 feet of aging cast iron water main with new iron pipe. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the project started last year by replacing nearly 1,300 feet of cast iron water main that SCWA ruled had “reached the end of its useful life.” This is not limited to Quogue, as other water main breaks have been reported on Dune Road. The goal of the project is to lower the risk of future water main breaks on Dune Road, as well as to increase water flow in the system.

“This project is another example of our ongoing commitment to upgrading critical infrastructure to better serve our customers,” SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeff Szabo said in a recent press release. “By replacing aging cast iron with modern ductile iron pipe, we’re ensuring that residents and businesses in Quogue continue to receive reliable, high-quality water service for years to come.”

SCWA is currently working on performing these upgrades, and work is expected to continue over the next few weeks.

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At their latest work session Southampton Village Board members unanimously approved creating a new green energy fee.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the law essentially authorizes a variance with respect to sustainable building requirements, providing a way for certain homeowners, including those who live within the historic district, to comply with the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) requirements without needing to place solar panels on the roofs of their home or elsewhere on their property, if doing so would either not be logistically possible or aesthetically appropriate.

Homeowners who apply for and are then approved for the variance will now be able to comply with the HERS requirements by paying a fee to the village that is 1.5 times the normal cost of what the compliance would require, which would then go into a restricted fund that allows the village to use the money to further green energy initiatives. The law also states that money from the fund can also be used to help pay down bonds that were issued to pay for green energy initiatives in the Village of Southampton.

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In a bid to balance aesthetic concerns with environmental benefits, the North Haven Village Board on May 21 agreed to take up legislation governing the placement of solar panels on homes in the village.

Mayor Chris Fiore, who said he had heard from a resident whose proposal for solar panels had been denied by the village’s Architectural Review Board because they were visible from the street, polled board members about their feelings on the matter.

Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that the board was divided, with Trustees Dianne Skilbred and Claas Abraham arguing that the environmental benefits trumped aesthetic concerns.

“In my heart, I believe we should allow them,” Skilbred said. “I don’t think they are ugly.”

While Abraham and Skilbred agreed, as Abraham said, to favor “the environment over fossil fuels,” Trustee Peter Boody said he believed the ARB had a role to play even if the village wanted to encourage solar panels.

“It’s a small village. Everybody makes a big impression on the local scene when they do something,” he said. “And there’s a big potential for an aesthetic nightmare with these, although it’s not a problem now.”

Trustee Terie Diat, said she thought there could be a way to keep the ARB involved without making it “an onerous process” for applicants.

Although Diat said she found solar panels to be unattractive and would like to see the village encourage people to use solar shingles, Abraham said his research had shown that shingles are cost-prohibitive.

Fiore agreed with Boody and Diat that the ARB should “retain final approval,” but that it should know the Village of North Haven supports the use of clean energy whenever possible.

Abraham agreed to look into ways the Village Board could amend its code to take its members’ thoughts into consideration.

Dede Gotthelf has spent the past weeks preparing her Southampton Inn for the crucial summer season, which began on Memorial Day. But this year, her familiar routine has been interrupted by telephone calls from Canadians canceling their hotel bookings. "We had major, verbal cancellations from our Canadian tourists who come to Southampton year-in and year-out — with some vociferous explanations for the cancellations," she said, adding the calls started in April, with guests citing the current political climate as a reason for changing their plans. "We don't have many Canadian reservations on the books," Gotthelf said, adding that she will miss her regular clients.

James T. Madore and Lee Meyer report in NEWSDAY that the 90-room Southampton Inn also has lost reservations from European travelers, who usually account for more than $100,000 in revenue per year at the inn, Gotthelf said. So, like the owners of other tourism-related companies on Long Island, she is working to attract more business travelers and tourists from other parts of the United States.

"As a community, we need to work very hard to determine how to encourage [international tourism] and how to pivot," Gotthelf said.

The number of international visitors to the metropolitan area, including Long Island, and nationwide has dropped this spring compared with a year earlier, according to data from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the National Travel and Tourism office. The decline is largely from Canada and comes amid controversial statements by President Donald Trump about making Canada the 51st state and taking control of Greenland, as well as his crackdown on illegal immigration and higher tariffs on imported goods.

***

A celebration of local legends Howard and Kenny Wood, set to be inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame this Thursday, will take place at The Clubhouse at 174 Daniels Hole Road in Wainscott, the following day, Friday, May 30, from 5-7 p.m. Complimentary small bites will be served while all in attendance share their stories about the Woods. For more details, visit clubhousehamptons.com/event/howard-kenny-wood.

As reported on 27east.com, Howard and Kenny Wood led their respective East Hampton High School basketball teams to state championships in 1977 and 1989, respectively, then starred both collegiately and professionally. Howard Wood led East Hampton to a state basketball championship in 1977, and following a standout career at the University of Tennessee, played both in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and the premier leagues in Spain. He was named a Southeastern Conference (SEC) Legend in 2018. Kenny Wood led the Bonackers to a state championship during his senior year in 1989, played at the University of Richmond, where he’s a member of the hall of fame there and the Atlantic 10 Conference, and also went on to a professional career in Spain and South America. He scored 2,613 points in his high school career, which, at the time, was a public school state record.

Ken’s son is James Wood – a rising star on the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team.

***

The Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton announces that the main library building will RE-OPEN to the public this coming Thursday – May 29th! Both Cooper Hall and the main building will be closed today and tomorrow in preparation for Thursday’s re-opening.

You are invited to check out all the exciting changes at the Library (and maybe some books too, while you're at it). Plus a tech class, some earth friendly fun, the book shop sale and more.

The founding of Rogers Memorial Library in 1893 was made possible due to a bequest made by Harriet Jones Rogers, upon her death in 1891. The library’s first home, a Victorian Gothic building on the corner of Job’s Lane and Main Street, was designed by R.H. Robertson, built in 1895, and opened to the public in March, 1896.

Just over 100 years after the creation of the Rogers Memorial Library, on November 3, 2000, the New Rogers Memorial Library opened at its current location, 91 Coopers Farm Road in Southampton Village.

In celebration of its silver anniversary the “new” R.M.L. is completing a major restoration.

Nowadays, the main library and Cooper Hall encompass 26,500 square feet, serve from 12,000 to 40,000 people year round.

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East End Food, which is working to build a hub for production and distribution of local food in Riverhead, received a major boost this month, winning a game-changing $5 million state grant that will allow them to purchase the former Homeside Florist property on the corner of Route 25 and Route 105.

The grant will also enable them to build a commercial kitchen there.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the non-profit organization was founded in 2010 as the Amagansett Food Institute, later becoming the East End Food Institute and now East End Food. Through the name changes, its mission has stayed focused on connecting farmers, food producers and institutions with food service programs and consumers of local food.

Its food processing operations had long been in a rented kitchen space at Stony Brook Southampton College until that arrangement was terminated last year. In 2021 the organization leased the building at the prominent intersection in Riverhead, with the hopes of eventually building the East End Food Hub there, bringing together all its operations on one property.

This new funding, the New York State Regional Food Infrastructure Grant, is a “lifeline and a launchpad,” according to East End Food’s announcement of the funding. “After years of fundraising hurdles and building delays, the organization finally has the means to secure the physical space it needs to operate and grow. And with that, the region gains more than just a building — it gains a future where farms thrive, students eat well, and local food stays local.”

The five-year grant is dedicated to the infrastructure of the East End Food Hub, and it will first be used to install the kitchen followed by the eventual purchase of the property according to East End Food Executive Director Marci Moreau.

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Canadian tourism is down on Long Island due to the Trump administration's calls for Canada to become the 51st State. James T. Madore and Lee Meyer report in NEWSDAY that European tourism numbers also have declined, leading tourism boards to find creative ways to promote New York and Long Island as a destination. Hotels on the East End have seen a decline in international tourism, specifically in the Hamptons.

Fewer international visitors would affect the U.S. and local economies because while their ranks are smaller than that of domestic tourists, they spend far more, said Dorothy Roberts, president of the Long Island Hospitality Association, which represents hotels, catering halls, restaurants and other hospitality businesses.

Among international visitors, Discover Long Island has found that Riverhead is the top destination in Suffolk because of its myriad hotels, the aquarium and Tanger factory outlets. From there visitors often take day trips to the Hamptons, Montauk and East End wineries.

Melissa Rockwell, president of Long Island Wine Country, which represents 57 producers, said, “Normally, we would see the majority of our international tourism between Memorial Day and Labor Day. We do have a very big bump from locals — Long Island and New York City — in the fall during the harvest time,” she said.

At Southampton Inn, Dede Gotthelf, the owner, said U.S. corporate bookings are up but visitors from Canada and Europe will be missed.

“We’re sad to lose [international tourists],” she said, “because those are the guests who do the most shopping, exploring and participating in the local economy.”

***

Beth Young in EAST END BEACON reports on 2 meetings tomorrow, each open to the public.

The Southold Town Board holds two public hearings at Wednesday’s meeting at 4:30 p.m. on issues related to a moratorium on hotel development. One is on extending the current moratorium, which expires in mid-June, by one year, and the other is a request for a waiver from the developers of a proposed hotel at the former Capital One Bank headquarters on the Main Road in Mattituck.

That’s tomorrow at 4:30pm in Southold Town Hall.

Then tomorrow evening, the Hampton Bays Civic Association meets at the Hampton Bays Senior Center at 25 Ponquogue Avenue. The guest speaker will be Southampton Town Director of Code Enforcement Ryan Murphy. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will be held at 7 p.m.

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Jose Medina and his wife, Anna Frias Medina, arrived at Calverton National Cemetery yesterday to visit the grave of his brother-in-law, Manford Wild, a Vietnam veteran.

It’s an annual rite for the Far Rockaway couple, both Army veterans who came to the United States five decades ago from the Dominican Republic.

"We learned to appreciate our country more," and politics plays no role, Anna Frias Medina said of her military service, which included a deployment in Iraq. Jose Medina, who served three years, added pride in service transcends politics and “any individual serves his country."

As reported in Newsday, the Medinas were among many Long Islanders who attended community parades or solemn ceremonies and visited military gravesites on Memorial Day 2025 to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The first national observance of Memorial Day occurred on May 30, 1868. Then known as Decoration Day and observed on May 30, the holiday was proclaimed to honor the more than 600,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed in the U.S. Civil War. World Wars I and II turned it into a day of remembrance for all members of the U.S. military who fought and died in service. In 1968, Congress changed its observance to the last Monday in May, and in 1971 standardized its name as "Memorial Day.”

Gerry Croce, of Islip Terrace, arrived at Calverton National Cemetery yesterday to not only honor his father, Eugene Croce, who served in the Korean War, but also his mother, Catherine, whom he described as a "strong woman from Queens," who raised four children largely on her own after her husband died.

Honoring the lives of loved ones, Croce said, provides "comfort" and "gives me a good feeling."

Rob and Cheryl Davis, of Oakdale, stood at the grave of his grandfather, Charles M. Davis, a World War II vet. In addition, Rob Davis' late father served in the Korean War and is also buried at Calverton.

"They were everything to me," Rob Davis said of his father and grandfather.

Honoring them, Cheryl Davis said, is itself an honor.

"When you see the true meaning of what it is, that’s when it actually hits you, what they did for us," she said.

In the wake of a traffic experiment that appeared to show at least some success at speeding up the typical crawl of westbound traffic through Southampton during the afternoon rush hour, the Town of Southampton plans to ask the New York State Department of Transportation to take a hard look at the possibilities for relieving one of the South Fork’s most notorious and problematic bottlenecks for eastbound traffic in Water Mill.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the traffic signal installed in the early 1990s in the center of Water Mill’s small business district has long been seen as the main cause of the bumper-to-bumper eastbound traffic that forms on Montauk Highway between Flying Point Road and the hamlet center, often well before sunrise. The chronic backup on the highway also causes traffic jams on residential back roads, as thousands of motorists try to find bypasses each morning.

A task force that examined traffic congestion problems throughout Southampton Town championed a years-old proposal by the state to construct two roundabouts at either end of the Water Mill hamlet business district, which would allow the traffic light in the center of the downtown to be eliminated.

The Southampton Town Board last week had offered a resolution that asked the state to conduct a study of the possibilities for addressing the traffic issue and spotlighted the roundabouts plan. But after Water Mill’s Citizens Advisory Committee voiced hesitation about the roundabouts approach, town officials said they would like the state to take a comprehensive look at the traffic patterns in the hamlet and would welcome any suggestions about how the chronic congestion could be addressed.

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The number of people going to emergency rooms this month in the Northeast for tick bites is the highest since 2019. Suffolk County chief entomologist Scott Campbell said more lone star ticks are being found in the western part of the county. Lyme disease remains the most common tick-borne disease on Long Island and health officials are warning residents to protect themselves against tick bites this season. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that lone star ticks gained their name from the white spot on the back of adult females. They are one of the first tick species to emerge in the spring, followed by black-legged ticks in late May and June. Black-legged ticks carry Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.

"The lone star ticks are out in full force," Campbell said. "The black-legged ticks are starting to come out."

In 2023, over 21,000 Lyme disease cases were reported in New York — including 3,299 in Suffolk County and 697 in Nassau County, according to the state Health Department. Experts said the actual number of cases is likely much higher since many people don’t recognize the symptoms, which can include fatigue, joint pain, headache, fever, a rash and sometimes temporary facial paralysis. Dr. Luis Marcos, an infectious disease specialist with Stony Brook Medicine who researches tick-borne illnesses, said another problem is many doctors are not educated on how to treat someone who may have symptoms of Lyme disease.

Knowing which ticks can carry viruses is vital, doctors said. For example, lone star ticks can also carry Bourbon virus disease and Heartland virus disease, two emerging tick-borne viruses. Both have only been detected at "extremely low levels" in Suffolk County ticks, according to the county Health Department.

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A replica of the glossy black Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall is on display at the American Legion in Amagansett this Memorial Day weekend. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the Amagansett “pop-up” is a replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C. The replica wall stands at three-fifths the size of its real counterpart. In total, it is 6 feet tall and stretches 300 feet from end to end. In Washington, D.C., the memorial is a glossy black granite wall completed in 1982. The names of all dead or missing service members who fought in the Vietnam War are inscribed into it. The number of names on the wall has expanded over the years, but currently, there are more than 58,000. Doc Russo, who travels the country with the wall, said his mission was to “give people that’ll never make it to D.C. a chance to start healing” from the conflict, whether they lost “a comrade,” “a buddy” or a “family member.”

A replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in D.C. is on display in Amagansett now through Monday.

***

The Long Island Power Authority board yesterday took the unprecedented step of canceling a yearlong search for a new grid manager, voting 6-0 with two abstentions and one recusal to cancel the request for proposals. The vote means LIPA will move to extend its existing contract with PSEG Long Island, whose contract expires at year's end. A group "to be determined by the board" will negotiate a contract extension with PSEG. LIPA OK’d the new deal and scrapped a competitive bidding process after LIPA interim chief executive John Rhodes and his wife were found to have financial ties to Quanta Services, the company lined up to replace PSE&G. Rhodes defended himself against the notion that his ownership of stock in the recommended contract winner influenced his assessment. He said that his stocks are managed by an outside financial adviser and that once he learned in December that he owned the stock, "I reported that fact and sold the stock immediately."

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the board’s latest actions come amid a state inspector general’s investigation of the utility, and LIPA’s hiring of an outside law firm to handle issues surrounding the solicitation of a new grid manager. No one at LIPA discussed the IG’s probe, but Anthony LaPinta, LIPA’s newest board member, said it was he who "advocated for the board to hire counsel to help us navigate this complicated and highly sensitive process moving forward."

"To attempt to cast the board in a negative light because of our decision to hire prominent outside and independent counsel is disappointing and wrong," said LaPinta, a prominent defense attorney.

***

Coopers Beach in Southampton Village was named the best beach in the United States, and East Hampton Main Beach the fifth-best, by the Florida scientist known as “Dr. Beach” in his annual “Top 10 Beaches” list.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Dr. Stephen Leatherman ranks America’s beaches each year by scoring them on 50 separate criteria, from the width of the beach to the concessions, amenities, color and softness of the grains of sand, the “smell” of the beach, and the ease of access or cost of parking permits.

Both Coopers and Main Beach have held the top spot in years past but had fallen in Leatherman’s rankings because of the cost of parking permits, the challenges of access due to traffic, and aging facilities.

But improvements to the concessions offerings and facilities for beachgoers and free shuttle service between the Southampton Village and East Hampton Village downtowns have bumped them back up the list.

Coopers was ranked second by Leatherman last year, behind Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Hawaii.

“Coopers Beach is hundreds of yards wide, made of grainy white quartz sand,” Dr. Leatherman writes in his 2025 Top 10 Beaches assessment. “This year’s number one beach is backed by large sand dunes covered by American beach grass interspersed with extravagant mansions.”

Regarding the “Number 5 U.S.A. Beach” Leatherman says, “East Hampton’s Main Beach provides the perfect blend of nature and the built environment. Wealthy summertime residents flock to the beaches protected by a conservation easement that dates back over 300 years… the wide sandy beach, composed of grainy quartz grains, has towering sand dunes and beautiful clean and clear blue water.”

***

As reported 27east.com, the Commission on Veterans Patriotic Events will host a Memorial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. this Monday, May 26, at Agawam Park, in Southampton Village following a parade starting at the First Presbyterian Church parking lot at 10:45 a.m. All veterans are invited to participate and asked to be at the church parking lot by 10:30 a.m. Cars will be available for those who cannot march. All are invited to Veterans Memorial Hall for refreshments after the Southampton service.

In Hampton Bays on Monday a ceremony at the Hampton Bays American Legion Memorial Park, 55 Ponquogue Avenue, next to Hand-Aldrich Post 924 will begin at 10 a.m. The guest speaker will be Jordan Isaac, a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the owner of Cornucopia Consulting.

***

At 10 a.m. yesterday, the Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department opened to receive patients at 400 Pantigo Place in East Hampton, becoming one of a very few number of stand-alone Emergency Departments in the state. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the new, 22,000-square-foot facility was designed to provide vital healthcare services to people in the Town of East Hampton, including Montauk, Amagansett, and Springs. Previously, anyone facing a serious medical emergency in East Hampton, and the ambulances that carry those patients, would have to fight crushing traffic to get to the Emergency Room at Southampton Hospital.

Local volunteer ambulances returning from calls would also face long delays, without lights and sirens, returning in traffic to go back into service in their home districts.

The off-campus facility was built using funds from a 2017 grant of $10 million from New York State and more than $32 million in donations through the Southampton Hospital Association’s East Hampton Emergency Department Campaign Committee.

The East Hampton Emergency Department is now open and operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year, including holidays.

It is equipped with advanced diagnostic technologies and life-saving treatments including a dedicated resuscitation room; cardiac monitoring capabilities in every exam room; an on-site ambulance for hospital transport plus eco-friendly innovations including rooftop solar panels, a rain garden and native plantings.

“The East Hampton Emergency Department is staffed by Stony Brook Medicine specialists and board-certified emergency room physicians, nurses and professionals,” said Carol Gomes, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Stony Brook University Hospital. “

“At Stony Brook Medicine, we are committed to expanding access to high-quality healthcare where it is needed most,” said Stony Brook Medicine Executive Vice President Dr. William Wertheim. “The new Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department represents a significant step in ensuring that residents and visitors on the East End have timely access to expert emergency care, reinforcing our mission to deliver world-class healthcare closer to home.”

Residents and school officials reacted with a mixture of disappointment and resignation after budgets or special propositions were voted down in their districts Tuesday, bucking the trend of decisive approvals across Long Island. Maura McDermott reports in NEWSDAY that overall, voters green-lit spending plans and propositions by wide margins. Of Long Island’s 124 school districts, 122 saw their budgets approved by voters Tuesday. The majority of districts’ 100-plus special propositions also were OK'd.

Those results “show that the voting public clearly supports public education on Long Island and are satisfied with the quality of the education that is being delivered and value what public education brings to our communities and our economy,” said Robert Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. Long Island school budgets earned the approval of about 69% of voters on average, roughly even with last year’s 70% average, Vecchio said.

However, voters in two Suffolk County school districts — Shelter Island and Elwood — rejected proposed 2025-26 budgets that would have pierced state-imposed tax caps. The two proposed spending plans would have exceeded state limits on property tax increases, so they needed the approval of at least 60% of voters.

Districts whose budgets fail can put new spending plans before voters in June.

***

Voters in the Shelter Island School District rejected a proposed 2025-26 budget that would have pierced state-imposed tax caps. On Tuesday, Shelter Island’s school district sought approval for a budget of $13,855,325, up 5.77% from this year’s nearly $13.1 million spending plan. Maura McDermott reports in NEWSDAY that the measure would have increased school property taxes by 6.97%, more than three times the district's 2.13% tax cap. The measure earned the support of almost 55% of voters but fell short of the 60% minimum.

Shelter Island resident Jeanne Woods said she voted for the budget, but she understood why some of her neighbors did not. The cost of living has soared on Shelter Island due to inflation and a spike in housing costs that is “pricing out” many longtime residents, she said.

“Frankly, it's overwhelming to somebody who's on a fixed income,” said Woods, 84, who volunteers with Meals on Wheels and other charities.

The defeat of the school budget was a blow to many parents, including Victoria Shields, 46, who has three children in the district and previously served for about eight years on the PTSA, including as president. Shields said she worried the district would need to cut “vital” services.

School officials “work very hard to walk the line between providing the services that they know our children need and deserve and also not burdening the taxpayers with onerous taxes,” she said. The Shelter Island district had 176 students last year, per state figures.

Districts whose budgets fail can put new spending plans before voters in June.

***

A short Memorial Day “Lost at Sea” service will be held at Main Beach in East Hampton Village at 9 a.m. on Memorial Day Monday, May 26, hosted by the Everit Albert Herter VFW Post 550 and American Legion Post 419. Afterward, a parade will start at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church at 10 a.m. and make its way to Memorial Park at the Hook Mill for a ceremony. The day before members of the legion and the VFW will visit each cemetery in their area to honor deceased veterans.

***

Pekin ducks are being brought back to Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the first group of about 900 12-week-old ducks were transported from their temporary home at Miloski’s Poultry Farm in Calverton back to the more than century-old family farm early Monday morning, a week after a U.S. Department of Agriculture avian-flu quarantine was officially lifted, Crescent Duck Farm President Doug Corwin said Tuesday night.

Another 1,800 ducks will be brought to the farm in about a month, after samples of the new residents test negative for avian flu for three weeks.

“It would be highly, highly doubtful that these healthy ducks would be positive, but this is USDA protocol,” Corwin said.

An avian flu outbreak in January shuttered the farm’s operations and forced the euthanization of some 99,000 ducks, leaving the future of Long Island’s last remaining duck farm in jeopardy.

The farm has been testing for the virus since it completed a massive farm-wide cleanup following the outbreak. Most recently, 25 samples were taken in 20 barns on April 28, Corwin said. USDA determined all of the 500 samples were negative, he said. The quarantine was lifted May 12.

The ducks being brought to the farm now were hatched offsite from sanitized eggs laid by Crescent’s hens before the bird flu outbreak.

Corwin said he expects to have around 1,700 females laying eggs by summer. He needs some 8,000 to 10,000 females regularly laying eggs to begin larger scale operations. He won’t begin raising, processing and selling duck meat until next year.

***

The U.S. House of Representatives this morning narrowly passed a wide-ranging bill to deliver President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda, after Speaker Mike Johnson put down several mini-rebellions in Republican ranks to muscle the legislation to its first major victory over unified Democratic opposition.

The early morning vote was 215 to 214, mostly along party lines. The legislation would slash taxes, steer more money to the military and border security, and pay for some of this with cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, education and clean energy programs, adding significantly to federal deficits and to the ranks of the uninsured.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) in an e-mail to his 1st Congressional District constituents called passage of the legislation “a significant win for Long Island taxpayers following successful negotiations to quadruple the cap on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction. The change, included in the House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill, now heads to the Senate and awaits the President’s signature. If enacted, the measure would provide long-overdue relief—saving many Suffolk County families as much as $8,000 on their 2026 federal tax returns,” per a statement issued today by Congressman Nick LaLota who further states that, ”The deal raises the SALT deduction cap to $40,000 for households earning under $500,000, with both thresholds indexed to grow by about 1% annually—reaching roughly $44,000 and $552,000 by year ten. A household earning $333,000 and paying $20,000 in property taxes would now be fully covered under the new cap. The provision is valued at $344 billion over ten years.” That’s from an e-mailed statement issued this morning by Rep. Nick LaLota (NY-01).

***

The Sag Harbor American Legion Chelberg and Battle Post and Veterans of Foreign Wars will observe Memorial Day with their annual parade on Monday, May 26. The parade will step off at 9 a.m. from the World War I Memorial at Otter Pond by the corner of Main Street and Jermain Avenue, will proceed north through the village, stopping at war memorials, the Main Street Firehouse, and the Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge, where wreaths will be laid, before concluding at Marine Park. The Sag Harbor Community Band will perform. Veterans, scouts, the American Legion Auxiliary and public officials are expected to participate. The guest speaker will be Carl Browngart. A reception will follow at the American Legion on Bay Street in Sag Harbor this coming Monday.

***

The Shinnecock Indian Nation yesterday celebrated the purchase of a parcel of land adjacent to its Westwoods property in Hampton Bays, saying it’s the first time the tribe has been able to acquire a privately held parcel in 400 years. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the 7.88-acre property sits adjacent to an 80-acre parcel the Shinnecock Nation is partly developing for a travel plaza-gas station, a plan begun last year that has pitted the Shinnecock Nation against the Town of Southampton, which has sued to block construction. The tribe has said the town’s suit is costing it about $22,000 a day amid a stop-work order by a Suffolk Supreme Court judge.

The newly purchased parcel, at 13 Indian Rd., is undeveloped and had been privately owned by Diane and Harold Holzman, county records show.

Amid the pounding of drums and song on the ancestral parcel, Shinnecock leaders said at a tribal ceremony marking the occasion that the purchase was the fulfillment of a long tribal ambition and the first of many such acquisitions.

Trustee Seneca Bowen credited the Shinnecock Sovereign Holdings tribal holding company which worked with tribal and bank funds to pay for the land.

Shinnecock Nation spokeswoman Rebekah Wise said the tribe has no plan to develop the property at present. She called the acquisition a "beautiful moment" in the nation’s "land-back" push, spearheaded by tribal lawyer Tela Troge — an effort that seeks to reclaim parcels of land it previously held that were “illegally” annexed by developers and others.

The ceremony at the parcel Wednesday included a traditional "smudging," with cleansing smoke, song and prayer to "welcome the land back home to its rightful stewardship," the nation said. Unkechaug Nation Chief Harry Wallace and Shinnecock tribal member Shane Weeks led the ceremony.

"This powerful gathering was not only a spiritual event, but a reaffirmation of the Shinnecock Nation’s enduring connection to their ancestral territory, which is vital to the community’s spirit, strength and resiliency," the Nation said.

At least 118 Long Island school budgets won voter approval in early returns last night, while Elwood and Shelter Island lost their attempts to pierce state-imposed tax caps. Most budget approvals were by lopsided margins. “Overall, very very positive results,” said Robert Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. He described the results as evidence of public support for what he called high-quality education on Long Island. John Hildebrand reports in NEWSDAY that Shelter Island, Hicksville and Elwood had sought to pierce their tax caps, which required approval of a 60% voter majority. Shelter Island’s majority was 54.8%; Elwood’s was 54.2%. Meanwhile, Hicksville did succeed in its cap-override effort, with a 65.3% margin. Hicksville had proposed tax levy increases of 2.54% in 2025-26, 3.31% in 2026-27 and 2.97% in 2027-28.

District spending proposals on Long Island for the 2025-26 school year totaled a combined $16.36 billion — up 3.68% from the current year — as many districts pushed for expanded career training and other instruction, while also providing for renovation of classrooms, gyms and other aging facilities.

A total of 335 school board candidates were also on the ballot in Long Island’s 124 districts, as were more than 100 special propositions.

If all budgets had been approved, property taxes across the Nassau-Suffolk region would have risen to $10 billion, or an average increase of 2.3%, with state financial aid picking up a larger share of educational costs.

Montauk voters rejected a move to take out a bond intended for a school renovation project that would have ultimately cost $38 million through taxes over the next 20 to 25 years. As reported on 27east.com, the vote wound up tallying 318 to 361 for the project, which would have ended with an improved gymnasium after the district received an “unsatisfactory” grade from New York State on its current facilities. Outside the new gymnasium, the bond would have funded a new science classroom, designated areas for middle and elementary school students and an outdoor classroom. By an even narrower margin — 334 to 342 — voters rejected a $2.9 million capital project that would have authorized an upgrade to the school’s HVAC system. The Montauk School District’s $24,564,115 budget passed by a tally of 403 to 280. A renewed five-year tuition agreement with East Hampton School District also passed, 470 to 210.

***

The Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center proudly announces The Center Honors, a heartfelt ceremony recognizing the outstanding service and leadership of Black and Brown fire chiefs—past and present—from East Hampton to Southampton.

The event is scheduled for this coming Saturday, May 24 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at The Center, located at 551 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton, NY. This special gathering will bring together honorees, their families, elected officials, fellow firefighters, and community members to celebrate the legacy and impact of these trailblazing public servants.

This year, The Center is proud to honor Alex Verdugo, Dudley Hayes, and Jamalia Hayes of the East Hampton Fire Department; Anthony Stevens, Emmanuel Escobar, and Polis Walker of the Southampton Fire Department; and Nicholas Hemby and Thomas Jenkins of the Bridgehampton Fire Department.

Bonnie Cannon of Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center states, “The Center is privileged to be able to gather, honor and properly thank our local fire chiefs for their vital service to our community. We live in gratitude every day that they keep us just a bit safer. Please support your local volunteers fire department and offer your services yourself if able.”

The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. RSVP by emailing [email protected].

***

It’s back to the drawing board for Shelter Island School District officials after falling 40 votes short of the 60% needed to pass the $13.85 million budget yesterday, which would have gone above the state-imposed tax cap. The tally was 424 votes in favor of the spending plan for the 2025-26 school year, to 329 against.

“While this outcome was not what the district had hoped for, we respect and appreciate the voice of our community,” said Superintendent Brian Doelger, Ed.D. “We will carefully evaluate the results and begin developing a thoughtful plan for the re-vote. Our goal is to present a revised budget that reflects community priorities while continuing to support the educational needs of or students,” he said.

Shelter Island’s majority was 54.8%.

Shelter Island School Board President Kathleen Lynch said she’s “terribly disappointed, but the incredible team that crafted this budget I have faith will craft another budget” she believes will gain approval in a re-vote.

Julie Lane in Shelter Island Reporter reports that by a wide margin, a $275,000 proposition to support the Shelter Island History Museum failed to pass. That vote was 536 against to 239 in favor.

When the Shelter Island Historical Society transitioned to become a museum, it came under the New York State Department of Education, moving its proposition to yesterday’s ballot. Had the proposition passed, it would have added $43.30 for the year to tax bills for those with property valued at $1 million.

***

Members of the Southampton Town Board, Westhampton VFW Post 5350, local military organizations and friends and family celebrated local veterans with the “Hometown Heroes” banner program at Good Ground Park in Hamptons Bays on Monday.

As reported by 27east.com, the program, spearheaded by Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara, aims to recognize and honor local military men and women by displaying personalized banners with their picture and military service information. The program will run from Memorial Day through Veterans Day.

***

House Republican leaders labored this morning to win over holdouts for their sweeping domestic policy bill to deliver President Donald Trump’s agenda, slogging through a marathon overnight committee session to prepare the measure for a floor vote. As reported in THE NY TIMES, the powerful Rules Committee began meeting around 1 a.m. and continued debating the measure as morning broke, while Republicans worked behind the scenes to hammer out enough concessions to cobble together the votes in their fractious ranks to push it through the House. But as the session dragged into its eighth hour, they had yet to release any new language and the panel had yet to vote to send the legislation to the floor.

Meanwhile, yesterday, President Trump distanced himself from his full-throated campaign pledge of "restoring the SALT deduction," as he pressed New York Republicans to vote for a sweeping budget bill despite their objections that the proposed deduction cap offers little relief.

Laura Figueroa Hernandez reports in NEWSDAY that Trump, in a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill, urged the group to quickly pass his “big, beautiful bill,” stacked with his legislative priorities, even if it means outstanding issues including a higher SALT deduction cap pitched by Long Island’s House Republicans are dealt with later.

Hours after the meeting, Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), and a coalition of blue-state Republicans appeared to reach a tentative deal with House Speaker Mike Johnson that would raise the SALT deduction cap to $40,000 for households earning $500,000 or less, sources familiar with the deal told Newsday. The deal to raise the current $10,000 cap came after the New York lawmakers announced they would continue to withhold their support from the mega bill unless there was a bigger cap beyond the $30,000 limit approved by the House Ways and Means Committee last week.

Congressman LaLota...who represents the East End...said that discussions with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson had yielded significant progress on SALT...the state and local tax deduction...which Republicans from high-tax states have been pressing to raise considerably.

“They presented numbers that were the reality of what we could possibly sell back home,” Mr. LaLota said of talks on Tuesday afternoon. “Numbers prior to that were just simply unsellable.”

A Newsday survey of Long Island school districts holding budget votes today found that the largest number of respondents remain optimistic about their finances over the next several years, but that a growing number are uncertain or pessimistic.

Across Nassau and Suffolk counties, residents of 124 school districts are going to polls today to vote on proposed school budgets totaling more than $16 billion. Some polls are already open across Long Island. Voting hours vary among local school districts.

In recent weeks, Newsday asked districts to describe their financial outlook for the next three years, as part of a questionnaire that also covered budgets and taxes for the 2025-26 school year. One big question raised by district officials in interviews was whether Washington, D.C., might impose cuts in federal funding in coming months that would have an impact on public schools here.

John Hildebrand reports in NEWSDAY that of 114 systems responding to the survey – up from 104 last year – 50% expressed optimism about their future finances, 32% uncertainty and 18% pessimism. Comparable figures from polling last year were 56%, 28% and 16%, respectively.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers have approved an aid increase of more than $1.7 billion for schools statewide next year, while adding a caveat that has some school officials worried. An inserted budgetary "superpower" rule would allow the state to withhold aid, in the event it finds itself facing a fiscal deficit of $2 billion or more.

On Long Island, some longtime school leaders said the budgetary language reminded them of what happened in 1990, when the state got caught up in a nationwide economic slump. At the time, then-Gov. Mario Cuomo and legislators imposed midyear school aid cuts of $190 million.

***

The Town of Riverhead will end its effort to seize a blighted building on East Main Street from the Long Island Science Center, clearing the way for the nonprofit to build a new museum on the town square. The Riverhead Town Board will vote to cancel the hearing scheduled for tomorrow on whether to use eminent domain to acquire the Riverhead-based nonprofit’s building at 111 East Main Street, Supervisor Tim Hubbard said during a press conference yesterday. Riverhead Town officials had said the building is severely damaged and poses a “danger to the public;” the town planned to buy the building and sell it to a private developer for demolition and redevelopment of the former Swezey’s Department Store property. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that last month, science center officials, working with new architects, presented a revised two-phase plan for the museum during the Town Board’s work session. The plan is both “feasible” and “fundable,” Hubbard said; it “focuses on addressing the most glaring issues in the existing building and allows them to open as soon as possible.” Science center officials said they hope to complete the first phase of renovations — allowing it to open the museum — by this fall. “I’m very happy,” Long Island Science Center President Larry Oxman said after Hubbard’s announcement…which was applauded by a small group of residents and local business owners who had gathered downtown to hear the news on Monday afternoon. “I’m really happy that the Science Center is going to be on Main Street again. I’m just really pleased,” said Cindy Clifford, president of the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association. The civic group had organized a letter writing campaign and circulated an online petition urging the Town Board to drop the eminent domain action.

***

Members of the Southampton Town Board, Westhampton VFW Post 5350, local military organizations and friends and family celebrated local veterans with the “Hometown Heroes” banner program at Good Ground Park in Hamptons Bays yesterday. As reported on 27east.com, the program, spearheaded by Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara, aims to recognize and honor local military men and women by displaying personalized banners with their picture and military service information. The program will run from Memorial Day through Veterans Day.

***

A developer that built ground satellite antennaes in Calverton without proper approvals — part of a bid to boost internet connection on the North Fork — is seeking permits from Riverhead a year after officials ordered a stop to the project. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the developer plans to build 40 "satellite earth station" antennas on the property that communicate to Starlink satellites orbiting in space. Roughly half of them, which resemble domed white orbs, were installed without an initial approval, Riverhead Town officials have said.

Starlink is SpaceX’s internet network that speaks to a constellation of satellites orbiting Earth. The company was founded by billionaire Elon Musk.

Terra Connect, a telecommunications firm based in Parsippany, New Jersey, began construction on a field of satellites last year on industrial land in the Enterprise Park at Calverton. Riverhead Town issued a stop work order in May 2024 because, officials said, the developer had not secured site plan approvals or building permits.

At the time, the town’s zoning code did not reference the emerging technology that's used as an intermediary between satellites in orbit and local internet networks. Since then, the town has approved new laws that allow satellite stations by special permit. Riverhead set a June 3 hearing on the proposal.

“Unfortunately they did start it without the permits, but they’ve been very cooperative since,” said Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard. In the application, Terra Connect officials noted that Starlink provides service to more than 1 million customers in the United States, particularly in rural areas.

“The Satellite Earth Station will improve the overall performance and capacity of the Starlink system, including to the local area,” the company said in the application.

A Starlink report from February says the company has more than 6,750 satellites in orbit and millions of customers globally.

***

Riverhead officials marked National EMS Week last night at Town Hall with an awards ceremony recognizing Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Stony Brook EMS and Riverhead Police Department members for five CPR saves made this year so far. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Supervisor Tim Hubbard welcomed the first responders, their family and friends who filled the Town Hall meeting room for the ceremony, congratulating the award recipients for their “incredible work” to save lives in the community. “It’s just really a great thing that Riverhead has such good coverage from all of our public services, with our fire departments, EMS and police,” Supervisor Hubbard said. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps President Garrett Lake described the saves and called out the names of the EMS and police department officers who worked together to make them.

Lake spoke of the importance of “teamwork between the police department, EMS and fire.” The public is often unaware of the critical role of police in lifesaving EMS work, Lake said. “Without police getting on scene, starting CPR, starting that chain of survival, updating us to what we have there. That is what saves lives,” Lake said. Lake read a brief narrative about each save. RVAC Chief Jacob Phillips and Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost distributed the award certificates. Riverhead Town Council Members Ken Rothwell, Joann Waski and Bob Kern were on hand for the Monday evening ceremony, along with RVAC District Manager Patrick Gugliotta.

***

The Hampton Bays and Southampton school districts have been honored with a Best Communities for Music Education designation from the nonprofit NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. The districts are two of 935 school districts from across the nation to earn the award.

To receive the recognition, the districts demonstrated outstanding achievement in their efforts to provide music access and education to all students. The districts were required to answer detailed questions about their programs, including funding, music class participation, instruction time and support.

As reported on 27east.com, this is the sixth year in a row that Hampton Bays has been recognized and the 10th year that Southampton has earned the distinction.

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is a not-for-profit global trade association dedicated to the music products industry. Originally founded in 1901, NAMM is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and represents 15,000 global member companies and individual professionals.

***

Island Harvest, one of Long Island’s largest food banks, could lose up to 4 million pounds of food annually for lower income families, seniors and veterans, if $300 billion in SNAP benefits are cut in the proposed federal budget, organizers said.

Advocacy groups gathered yesterday at the food bank’s warehouse in Melville with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to warn of potential cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provides food to about 150,000 Long Islanders and 1.7 million people in New York City, Schumer said.

John Asbury reports in NEWSDAY that Island Harvest provides 20 million pounds of food annually for more than 108,000 people in Suffolk County and more than 41,000 people in Nassau County in the SNAP program, according to the food bank. Food banks, including the Hauppauge-based Long Island Cares Harry Chapin Food Bank, said the demand for food and SNAP assistance has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposed budget would cut more than $1 million to Long Island’s emergency food programs, which could pay for about 3 million pounds of food, under the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Island Harvest provides food boxes monthly to 5,500 seniors on Long Island who make less than $1,900 per month, said Island Harvest president Randi Shubin Dresner.

The U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee voted Sunday, along party lines by a vote of 17-16, to advance the budget bill to a vote before the full House later this week. The committee did not include any representatives from Long Island.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) in a prepared statement last night said the budget bill wasn’t ready for a vote yet with key provisions on SALT, Medicaid, and SNAP still being negotiated.

“Senator Schumer’s criticism is premature, and he knows it. I’ve had numerous meetings with organizations like Island Harvest and Long Island Cares, and I understand and support the vital work they do,” LaLota said.

School budget and board of education voting is tomorrow, May 20th.

School budgets on Long Island could rise 3.68% on average to a total of $16.36 billion in 2025-26, as districts step up career-oriented training and other instruction, while also providing for renovation of classrooms, gyms and other aging facilities. John Hildebrand and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that budget voting is scheduled for tomorrow in 124 districts regionwide, with a total of 335 school-board candidates on ballots, together with more than 100 special propositions. The great majority of districts are keeping within the state’s strict tax caps, while Elwood, Hicksville and Shelter Island will seek cap overrides.

If the budgets put forward by school districts in Nassau and Suffolk are approved tomorrow, property taxes would increase to a total of $10 billion, or an average of 2.3%, with a continued flow of state financial aid picking up a larger share of educational costs. Revenue growth would push costs next year to more than $39,700 per student, among the highest figures in the nation.

Questions remain around federal aid, in part due to a dispute between the Trump administration and state authorities over the use of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools.

Regional finance experts say federal funding represents about 4.5% of school revenues on Long Island, while state funding is more than 30%.

According to the latest state records from the 2023-24 school year, school districts in the region receive nearly $700 million annually in federal funding. That figure covers assistance for educational purposes, and does not include funding for school meals, which is handled separately.

Districts have proposed additions ranging from advanced college-level coursework to sports to student security. Other school districts, meanwhile, plan cutbacks in staffing and services.

Lars Clemensen, superintendent of Hampton Bays schools, tells NEWSDAY that the variety of goals embedded in districts' spending plans reflects the fact schools these days are being called on to provide a growing number of services. Clemensen is also president on the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

"Long gone are the days when the 3Rs were the sole focus," said Clemensen, referring to the basic subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic. "It strikes me how powerful the idea of local control is on Long Island, because each district is responsive to what local residents say is important to them."

Voting hours tomorrow vary across Long Island’s 124 school districts.

Robert Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said in a prepared statement, "School districts over the past several years have had to deal with the challenges of sustained inflation that has exceeded allowable tax caps…We applaud the work of boards of education, together with their administrative teams, in sustaining a level of excellence in public education."

The cost squeeze is just one reason why many districts are making cuts. Another factor is dwindling enrollments.

A Newsday analysis last year found the region's student population dropped 7.3% over the prior decade, from 455,384 students to 421,990. District projections for next year, compiled by the state, show a continued decline to 412,465.

The status of next year's federal aid to schools also remains a question mark, partly due to a highly-publicized legal dispute between the Trump administration and New York State authorities over the use of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools.

***

The Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center will host a ceremony recognizing the service and leadership of fire chiefs of color — past and present — representing departments from East Hampton to Southampton. The event will take place this coming Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to noon, at The Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center, 551 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton.

This gathering will bring together honorees, their families, elected officials, fellow firefighters, and community members to celebrate the legacy and impact of these trailblazing local public servants.

To be honored are Alex Verdugo, Dudley Hayes, and Jamalia Hayes of the East Hampton Fire Department; Anthony Stevens, Emmanuel Escobar, and Polis Walker of the Southampton Fire Department; and Nicholas Hemby and Thomas Jenkins of the Bridgehampton Fire Department.

“The Center is privileged to be able to gather, honor and properly thank our local fire chiefs for their vital service to our community. We live in gratitude every day that they keep us just a bit safer. Please support your local volunteer fire department and offer your services yourself if able,” said Bonnie Michelle Cannon, executive director of the center.

The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. RSVP by emailing [email protected].

***

As Southold considers extending its moratorium on new hotels and inns for another year, the developer of a proposed hotel in Mattituck is asking the Town of Southold to make an exception with the pitch it will improve a long blighted area.

Developer D'Wayne Prieto is seeking to build an 81-room hotel at 9025 Main Rd., a 77,000-square-foot property which formerly housed a bank headquarters. It's been vacant since 2011. The application was frozen by a yearlong moratorium on hotels that took effect last June.

With that moratorium set to expire on June 18, the town set a May 28 hearing to continue the pause for another year.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that Southold enacted the moratorium in response to an influx of hotel proposals while the town launched plans for a sweeping overhaul of its zoning code, which was last updated in 1989.

Now, Southold Town must weigh the reuse of the vacant building against its long range planning goals. The developer’s request has sparked a divide as residents urge town officials to heed their warnings that an exception could jeopardize the town’s zoning plan.

Southold Supervisor Al Krupski said the town is under pressure from developers to build hotels, which drive tourism but can strain municipal resources and worsen traffic.

Southold currently has 337 hotel and motel rooms, with another 142 in the Village of Greenport. There are five proposed new hotels. If all of them are approved, that would bring the total number of rooms to 515, according to a Suffolk County Planning Commission report.

The Town of Southold must first decide whether the application can proceed through the review process, not whether the hotel is approved. The board has not made a decision and will continue the public hearing on May 28.

***

Due to inclement weather, the final paving work for the Snake Hollow railroad crossing originally scheduled for this past Friday has been rescheduled for tomorrow when Snake Hollow Road in Bridgehampton will be closed to all except local traffic. Work will take place tomorrow during the daytime hours, from 7 a.m. until approximately 5 p.m., according to the Long Island Rail Road, which states that this paving marks the final step in the grade crossing renewal project at Snake Hollow Road intended to enhance safety and service quality.

MTA Police will be onsite to support the closure. The LIRR suggests Butter Lane as an alternate route.

***

Many agents agree that, while there may be less inventory as time gets closer to Memorial Day, there might also be some deals to be had for seasonal rentals on the East End for Summer 2025.

Stacey Altherr reports in NEWSDAY that on the south fork - “The Hamptons” - spans many communities, but the most notable summer destinations are from Southampton east to Montauk Point. Vacationers come back year after year to the pristine beaches, high-end shopping, upscale restaurants and the general ambience. For nature lovers, hiking at public parks, touring wineries and kayaking on the bay bring them back, as well.

High-end rentals are being snapped up, but those in the $50,000 to $125,000 price range for the summer season — usually Memorial Day to Labor Day — are available, said James Keogh, an agent with Douglas Elliman's Atlantic Team.

"In general, the rental season's high-end got swept up early," he said. "Then it cooled off a bit," referring to full season rentals in the $250,000 to $1 million budget that feature prime locations, tennis courts and large pools.

Prices have settled into a price point for the past two or so years following the pandemic.

Tom Friedman, an agent with Rosehip Partners LLC in East Hampton, a boutique real estate firm said, "Since Covid, [prices] went up dramatically because of the great demand to be out of the city," Friedman said. "Since then, it has come down a little, and it seems very steady one year to another."

On the East End, laws limit the amount of unrelated people who can rent in one home, affecting the nostalgic "shares" where people rent bedrooms for a set number of days within one rental. Currently, the law says no more than four unrelated people can rent one home, said Friedman, although he said about 75% of his rentals are to families.

Rentals need not be for an entire season. In fact, there are many weekly or monthly rentals as well.

Next Tuesday, voters across Long Island will go to the polls to determine how much their school districts can spend in the 2025-26 school year and who will sit on their school boards.

In all, about $16.36 billion in school spending is being proposed across Long Island, an increase of 3.68% from the current year. As reported in NEWSDAY, the amount collected in school property taxes is projected to rise by $224.65 million, or 2.3%. Many districts will also have propositions on their ballots, as they seek approval for infrastructure projects, property purchases and other initiatives. Some would raise taxes if approved. New York’s cap law took effect in 2012-13 to limit growth in property taxes. Under the cap, annual growth is limited to a baseline of 2% or the inflation rate, whichever is lower. Actual tax increases in individual districts can run higher or lower, however, depending on local financial circumstances.

In Nassau and Suffolk, school taxation accounts on average for about two-thirds of homeowners’ tax bills.

Dozens of school districts across Long Island are asking voters to approve multimillion-dollar propositions for items such as roof repairs, bathroom upgrades and the purchasing of property, among other improvement projects.

***

Residents across New York State will vote on their local school district's spending plans this coming Tuesday. About $16.36 billion in school spending is being proposed on Long Island for the 2025-26 school year, up 3.68% from the current year. Three districts are seeking approval to pierce their tax cap including Shelter Island which is calling for a 6.97% tax increase About 1 in 4 districts across Nassau and Suffolk have proposed cutting staff, citing declining student enrollment and rising costs.

As reported in NEWSDAY, many districts will also have propositions on their ballots.

In Montauk, the district is asking residents to consider a $38.4 million renovation proposal that would tackle the school’s aging infrastructure and outdated portable classrooms, while expanding its facilities. The plan would add a gymnasium, a science lab and outdoor classrooms, while also renovating rooms and other parts of the building.

“We developed this project to not only repair the issues we have in the building but be proactive in our facilities management to set the district up for success for the future,” Montauk Superintendent Joshua Odom said.

Odom said the overhaul was prompted after the district received a New York State designation of “unsatisfactory” in a required building condition survey.

If the proposition is approved, the district will use $2.9 million from a reserve fund and issue a bond for the rest of the funding that will be financed for 20 to 25 years. The average homeowner would see an increase of about $37 a month in school property taxes, officials said.

7:33am - 7:34am

Southampton Rotary Club's annual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser is at Edgewater Restaurant in Hampton Bays from 4pm - 9pm this coming Monday; May 19, 2025.

Contact a Rotary member or call for further info regarding this event to benefit the Rotary scholarship and endowment fund.

631-723-2323

***

Most Long Island towns and villages saw modest population growth between 2023 and 2024, helping to reverse years of declining trends in the Northeast, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau released today. Tiffany Cusaac-Smith and Arielle Martinez report in NEWSDAY that experts say what’s fueling the estimated population growth is a confluence of factors that includes a modest rise in housing stock and an uptick in immigrants flocking to Northeast communities. But they warn that more housing is key for the trend to continue and expand and that changes in federal immigration policies might impact where people move.

Southampton saw the highest jump among Long Island towns between July 1, 2023, and the following July, with a 0.93% growth in population estimates from 69,995 in 2023 to 70,646 the following year, the data showed. East Hampton — the town with the third-largest estimated population growth — saw a 0.80% increase by adding 230 residents to its 2023 population estimate of 28,860. The second-highest rise was in Shelter Island, which saw an 0.88% increase or about 30 people. Newsday reported in March that Nassau and Suffolk counties each saw a roughly 0.44% increase in population between July 2023 and the following July.

There was also a modest spike in the number of housing units on Long Island.

In Suffolk County, the estimated housing unit growth was 0.17% from 2023 to 2024, or adding roughly 1,000 units, the bureau data showed.

***

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday announced it is delaying by two years the deadline by which water systems must comply with maximum contaminant levels for PFOA and PFOS, two of the “forever chemicals” the agency set national standards for last year. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the EPA also announced it intends to rescind and reconsider the maximum contaminant levels it set last year for three additional PFAS chemicals known as “GenX” PFAS. It will also rescind and reconsider the “hazard index” combined standard for the “GenX” chemicals and a fourth PFAS chemical, PFBS. The agency adopted drinking water regulations for six PFAS chemicals in April 2024, setting maximum contaminant levels of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS and 10 parts per trillion for the “GenX” chemicals, and the “hazard index” combined standard. Under the regulations adopted last year, water systems had until 2029 to comply with the new standards. That deadline is now pushed back to 2031.

PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” are harmful substances linked to deadly cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children, the EPA said in a press release announcing the rule.

PFAS contamination of drinking water on Long Island is widespread.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin of Shirley, Long Island, stated on Wednesday, “The work to protect Americans from PFAS in drinking water started under the first Trump Administration and will continue under my leadership,” the former congressman said in a press release announcing the changes.

***

The public is invited to the 48th annual meeting of the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and North Fork, this coming Sunday, May 18, at 2 p.m. in the East Hampton Library, 159 Main Street in East Hampton Village.

The guest speaker is Emily Mastaler, the new chief administrative officer of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, who will speak about the hospital and its new emergency services building in East Hampton. She will be introduced by Valerie King, Ph.D., of East Hampton, chair of the League’s Health Committee.

Refreshments are also on the agenda.

Reservations may be made by calling 631-324-4637 or the East Hampton Library at 631-324-0222, ext. 3.

***

The Trump administration yesterday announced plans to delay or rescind federal limits on PFAS chemicals in drinking water. Public health advocates said the rollbacks of the standards set by the Biden administration would threaten public health and that legal challenges should be expected.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that clean-water advocate Adrienne Esposito of Citizens Campaign for the Environment denounced the EPA’s decision.

“This is a broken promise, betrayal of public trust and adds a significant threat to public health,” Esposito responded after yesterday’s announcement.

“The two-year delay is unnecessary and risky. Water suppliers were given five full years to comply, and billions of dollars were made available to help communities invest in the necessary drinking water treatment technology,” Esposito said. The longer remedial action is delayed, the worse the problem will get, and the more expensive the solutions will become, she said.

“Peer-reviewed science has made clear that there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS in drinking water, and delays in acting puts public health at risk to serious health impacts, including cancer and liver damage. This is clearly a decision that prioritizes saving money over saving lives.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the former U.S. Congressman from Shirley, Long Island said he remains “a staunch advocate for protecting Long Islanders and all Americans from contaminated drinking water. ”

The EPA press release Wednesday noted that Zeldin was a founding member of the PFAS Congressional Taskforce and supported the PFAS Action Act, legislation to provide funding to support local communities cleaning up PFAS-contaminated water systems. The PFAS Action Act passed the House in 2021, but died in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where it did not gain enough Republican support to overcome a filibuster.

Suffolk County has collected $3.8 million earmarked for a new fund to pay for countywide wastewater improvement projects since a sales tax hike took effect March 1, according to County Executive Edward P. Romaine. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the total generated through an eighth of a percentage point increase in sales tax, approved by voters in November, will help fund projects that officials say will improve water quality and drive economic growth.

“We’re depending on that because state and federal funding has not come through,” Romaine said yesterday.

Last month, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously adopted a resolution to appoint 21 members to the new Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Board of Trustees, which is tasked with overseeing the fund and recommending projects for approval.

That board will prepare a Subwatersheds Wastewater Implementation Plan that lists proposed projects eligible for funding and outlines how each project would improve water quality, according to county code. While the code lists a May 1, 2025, deadline for the plan to be submitted to the county executive, Romaine said Tuesday that has been extended into July and possibly August.

Funds would be available to use for water quality projects in 2026, officials previously said.

The tax could generate an estimated $3 billion by 2060 when the fund expires.

The number of outdated septic systems in Suffolk County totals about 380,000, Newsday previously reported.

***

In a show of unified opposition to the even-year elections law, dozens of Long Island elected officials gathered outside Farmingdale Village Hall yesterday to slam the law and New York State for enacting it. Nassau and Suffolk counties, joined many other municipalities in the state in a lawsuit to block the law, enacted by the state in 2023, intended to force all local elections outside of New York City to take place in even-numbered years.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the stated purpose of the law was to increase voter participation in local elections, which are almost always held in odd-numbered years and see significantly lower turnout. Proponents of the law argue that aligning local elections with contests for president, Congress, and the state legislature are on the ballot will draw more attention—and more voters—to local issues.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine were joined by officials from Long Island towns and villages - nearly all Republicans — to slam the law as a politically motivated power grab by a state government run amuck under Democratic one-party rule and domination by New York City.

The officials who spoke Tuesday afternoon decried the law as overreach. They said moving local elections to even years would result in local issues being eclipsed by federal and state issues and local candidates essentially getting lost on a very lengthy ballot that will overwhelm many voters.

***

The public is invited to the 48th annual meeting of the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and North Fork, this coming Sunday, May 18, at 2 p.m. in the East Hampton Library, 159 Main Street in East Hampton Village. The guest speaker is Emily Mastaler, the new chief administrative officer of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, who will speak about the hospital and its new emergency services building in East Hampton. She will be introduced by Valerie King, Ph.D., of East Hampton, chair of the League’s Health Committee. Refreshments are also on the agenda. Reservations may be made by calling 631-324-4637 or the East Hampton Library at 631-324-0222, ext. 3.

***

Consumer prices on Long Island and the N.Y.C. metropolitan area edged up last month as the higher costs of meat, eggs and residential rent were only partially offset by plummeting gasoline prices. James T. Madore reports in NEWSDAY that the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday that its consumer price index for the 25-county region that includes Nassau and Suffolk, rose 3.9% in April compared with a year earlier. That year-over-year increase was a bit faster than March’s 3.8% but slower than February’s rate of 4.2%. The price index is a measure of inflation. The cost of meat, poultry, eggs and fish climbed 6.3% last month compared with April 2024. But grocery prices overall rose 1.1% because of declines in the cost of cereal and baked goods, dairy products and fruits and vegetables. The latter was down 2.6%, year over year. Residential rents were up 5.5%, which mirrored rises seen in recent months. The higher costs of food and housing in the metro area were mitigated by a 13.2% decline in gasoline prices between last month and April 2024. Besides groceries and rent, the commodities with the biggest price increases in the metro area in April compared with a year earlier were recreation, up 9.3%; restaurant meals, up 3%; and medical care, up 2.3%, the statistics bureau reported. Besides gasoline, the commodities with the biggest price declines were clothing, down 1.9%, and new automobiles, down 0.2%.

Nationwide, consumer prices grew more slowly in April than in March. The national price index climbed 2.3% last month, year over year, compared with March's rate of 2.4%

John A. Rizzo, an economist and Stony Brook University professor, said the price indexes for the nation and metro area moved in opposite directions because of the latter's expensive housing and recreation.

"With the cost of living already substantially above national levels, further increases in prices pose significant challenges, especially for low- and middle-income families on Long Island," he told Newsday. "And persistently high housing costs are particularly burdensome for first-time homebuyers."

***

​The New York State Inspector General’s office has opened an inquiry into the Long Island Power Authority and its primary contractor, PSEG Long Island, according to people with knowledge of the probe. The people include some who have been contacted by the state watchdog, whose purview includes LIPA. Michael Cook, a spokesman for Inspector General Lucy Lang, said office policy is not to confirm or deny the existence of investigations. He noted "LIPA is under our jurisdiction and we would investigate if there were any complaints brought to us" concerning the authority.

People familiar with the probe say the agency appears to be examining potential influence brought to bear as LIPA considered a range of options about its future.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that LIPA, which owns the Long Island electric grid, and PSEG, which operates it under a 10-year contract, had seen early years of some harmony followed by periods of acrimony, heightened following PSEG’s acknowledged failures during Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020.

In the years since the storm, LIPA’s board and top executives have openly challenged and publicly criticized PSEG for its performance failures and transparency.

The most recent turmoil at LIPA came earlier this month when six LIPA trustees, most appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul, voted to reject the advice of LIPA’s most senior executives who had recommended they award the grid-management contract to Houston-based Quanta Services. Former LIPA trustees said such a rejection has never happened in the past, and three of them, including former vice chairman Mark Fischl, in a statement read at the LIPA board meeting, called the vote the "height of arrogance."

LIPA could opt to extend its existing contract with PSEG Long Island, if only because the utility has no other options. LIPA’s $80 million a year contract with PSEG already has a clause for a five-year extension and finding a new bidder other than Quanta could take months.

***

Learn about skin cancer risks and prevention with Dr. Steven Ouzounian, Peconic Bay Medical Center’s Cancer Committee chairman, this coming Saturday, May 17 at the Riverhead VFW Post 2476 in Riverhead. The event starts at 10 a.m. It is free and open to the public. Riverhead VFW will provide light refreshments.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Dr. Ouzounian’s presentation will include photos of the different types of skin cancer and detailed descriptions of the lesions. He will also provide information for self-exams.

That’s this Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Riverhead VFW Post 2476, 620 Parkway St, Riverhead, NY 11901

***

The first public forum on Southold Town’s new Zoning Update was the hottest ticket in Peconic this past Monday evening. Nearly 100 members of the community turned out to give feedback on a long-anticipated project to completely overhaul a code that has been updated on a piecemeal basis through the last 50 years. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that while Southold Planning Director Heather Lanza worked to encapsulate the 190-page document into a two-hour long presentation, members of the public asked pointed questions about the decision to not address coastal erosion in the update, the need for affordable housing, and the new code’s method of dealing with pre-existing, non-conforming uses.

Residents and business owners also shared concerns about how hotels are treated in the code, and on whether the residential lot coverage restrictions proposed were too severe.

Those changes would include pavement and patios, including gravel driveways, in calculations of lot coverage. Only buildings are included now.

The new code would change and consolidate some of Southold Town’s many zoning use districts, and also provide new tables of uses allowed in each district - "Comprehensive Use Permissions" - with the goal of making the code more user-friendly.

A Zoom-only repeat of Monday’s forum will be held this evening at 6:30 p.m. https://southoldzoningupdate.com/get-involved

Monday’s forum was also taped by students from Southold High School, and will be posted to the town’s zoning update website in the near future.

The complete proposed zoning code, along with details on upcoming, hamlet-specific in-person meetings and maps of the proposed zoning, can also be found online at southoldplanningupdate.com.