There are a rapidly growing number of immigrants detained on Long Island and across the country who’ve successfully convinced judges the government jailed them illegally, bringing fresh attention to a centuries-old legal maneuver that’s become a lifeline for many swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Between Nov. 1 and Feb. 10, 108 people filed these petitions in the Eastern District — after only 19 in the first 10 months of last year, according to a Newsday analysis of federal court records.

Judges in the district, which covers Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, have freed the petitioner in 80 of the 95 cases where they have issued decisions, the analysis showed. The other cases are ongoing or were transferred to other courts.

Josefa Velásquez and Anastasia Valeeva report in NEWSDAY that nationwide, people have filed more than 19,000 habeas petitions since the start of 2025, more than three-quarters of them since November.

"The explosion of habeas cases is remarkable," said Peter Markowitz, an immigration law professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York City.

Habeas corpus, Latin for "produce the body," is one of the oldest tools in America’s legal system, giving judges the power to weigh whether someone’s detention is legal. So why the explosion?

The U.S. Justice Department last fall expanded use of a law allowing mandatory detention of immigrants without a bond hearing if they entered outside an official entry point, even if it was years or decades prior. Previous administrations, including during Trump’s first term, didn’t typically jail these people without additional reason, such as criminal charges against them.

More than 5,236 people had been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York City and surrounding suburbs, including Nassau and Suffolk counties, between Jan. 1 and Oct. 15, 2025, according to federal immigration data published by the Deportation Data Project research group and analyzed by Newsday.

ICE released data this month showing that 70,766 people were in detention nationwide, and have said nearly 3 million people had already been removed from the country. This means that fewer than 1% of people detained by ICE have been able to file petitions challenging their apprehension and jailing.

Immigrants targeted for deportation had cases heard in a dedicated immigration court, but the administration’s new policy effectively cut the judges there out of the bond hearing process. Lawyers for these men and women suddenly found themselves unable to protest their detentions in immigration court, so they turned to federal court.

Habeas corpus petitions have proved effective in federal court, experts told Newsday, since their sole intent is to challenge a person’s jailing by the government, and the administration is denying bond hearings or individual review of people’s cases.

***

Starting this afternoon, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend in-person, online and phone services for several days as it replaces its outdated technology systems. Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that as of 2 p.m. today, DMV locations across Long Island and the state will close their doors, according to a department news release.

Why is the DMV closing?

The DMV must halt services to install and test the new software that has been developed over the past two years, the department said. The upgraded system will make routine transactions at the DMV "more efficient for our staff and for customers alike," Walter McClure, the department's director of public information, told Newsday.

How will I be affected by the service shutdown?

New Yorkers must wait until Wednesday to perform any transaction at the DMV, such as renewing a license or registering a vehicle. Even completing a change of address, retrieving a driving record and other tasks drivers can routinely perform online from their home, will not be possible during the multiday closure.

When will services be restored?

All DMV locations are slated to reopen at the start of business Wednesday, according to the release. Online and phone services that allow New Yorkers to handle matters from home will also return Wednesday.

While DMV workers have trained for the upgrade, the department asked "for patience as we adjust to the new system in the days immediately after it launches," DMV commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said in the release.

***

At least three people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a trade parade car crash that closed County Road 39 in Southampton last night.

As reported on 27east.com, the crash occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, February 12, near the intersection of Dale Street and County Road 39, just to the east of North Sea Road.

Southampton Fire Department and Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance and Southampton Volunteer Ambulance crews responded to the accident and transported three people to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.

County Road 39 was closed for about 90 minutes, with motorists redirected around the accident scene between North Main Street and North Sea Road in Southampton between 7 and 8:45 p.m. last night.

***

President Trump yesterday announced he was erasing the scientific finding that climate change endangers human health and the environment, ending the federal government’s legal authority to control the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet. Lisa Friedman reports in THE NY TIMES that the action is a key step in removing limits on carbon dioxide, methane and four other greenhouse gases that scientists say are supercharging heat waves, droughts, wildfires and other extreme weather.

Led by a president who refers to climate change as a “hoax,” the administration is essentially saying that the vast majority of scientists around the world are wrong and that a hotter planet is not the menace that decades of research shows it to be.

It’s a rejection of fact that had been accepted for decades by presidents of both parties.

“This is about as big as it gets,” President Trump said at the White House as a smiling Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, stood by. “We are officially terminating the so-called ‘endangerment finding,’ a disastrous Obama-era policy,” said the president.

Mr. Zeldin…a Republican from Shirley, Long Island who for 8 years represented the 1st Congressional District including the East End… called it “the single largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States.” He accused Democrats of having launched an “ideological crusade” on climate change that “strangled entire sectors of the United States economy,” particularly the auto industry.

In discarding the endangerment finding, Administrator Zeldin is reversing positions he took as Congressman Zeldin from 2019 to 2023. During that time, he voted several times to address climate change, including a vote against an amendment to a spending bill that would have prohibited the E.P.A. from applying the endangerment finding. He even joined the Climate Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group of House members.

In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York on a pledge to allow and accelerate natural gas drilling. After becoming Mr. Trump’s E.P.A. administrator, Mr. Zeldin ridiculed climate change and said he hoped to “drive a dagger” through it by repealing the endangerment finding.

***

New York State Parks and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are planning a controlled burn of piles of trees killed by the southern pine beetle in Napeague State Park on several upcoming dates, beginning today between the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the state agencies announced the burn at a public meeting at Montauk Downs State Park Tuesday evening, at which they gave an overview of planned thinning and burning work to reduce the fuel load in the park. Those plans have been in the works for the past several years.

Long Island’s pitch pines are a fire-dependent ecosystem, and the devastation caused by southern pine beetle infestation of the trees over the past five years has made the woods a tinderbox.

A wildfire burned an area the size of a football field in the state park last summer, leading New York Governor Kathy Hochul to pledge $2.2 million in funding for the project. “Controlled burning of slash piles is a critical tool in wildfire risk reduction and ecological management,” according to the state agencies. “Southern pine beetle infestation has resulted in thousands of dead pitch pine trees on site, which has increased available fuels and impacted forest health. Branches from the dead pitch pine trees have been piled to safely burn these materials.” Roads and trails within the park may be closed during the burns, which are each expected to take about one day.

To get notifications on upcoming prescribed burns at state parks the agencies recommend downloading the NYS Parks Explorer app and saving “Hither Hills State Park.” The state will also post notifications approximately 24 hours before burns on its webpage for Hither Hills (there is no separate page for Napeague), and residents within a one-mile radius will receive reverse 911 alerts.

***

A powerful storm that hit Long Island in late January is still impacting the region’s natural world, helping some plants and animals but harming others. Effects include greater moisture retention for areas still blanketed by snow to changed feeding patterns for some animals, according to experts. Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that some individual animal deaths are possible because of disruptions to food sources but population-level effects are unlikely.

Sea turtles would be adversely affected by the freeze, but those that live in Long Island’s bays or in the L.I. Sound left in September or October for warmer territory, said Maxine Montello, executive director of New York Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead. Electronic trackers that center staff put on turtles show one in the Bahamas, she said. Others go to the Carolinas or into the relatively warm Gulf Stream.

Physiological adaptations, such as a seal’s blubber, or behavioral ones, like changes to a deer’s foraging patterns, help them survive a prolonged freeze like the one we just experienced.

"These animals evolved over thousands of years" and are "well-adapted to this kind of weather," said Robert Marsh, a natural resource supervisor with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. "Even in the last 20, 30 years, we’ve had winters as cold or colder than this."

During winter in general and over these recent frigid weeks, Long Island was not just cold but calorie-sparse, a particular problem for warm-blooded mammals and birds that need to eat to maintain body temperature.

***

Bonac is bracing for a tumultuous Democratic primary for the Town of East Hampton's top job as East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen mounts a challenge against incumbent East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that Larsen, 61, the mayor since September 2020 and a former village police chief, said Burke-Gonzalez has failed to make progress on a number of fronts. Affordable housing is still an acute issue in the region, he said, and the town's building department is slow to process applications, stifling development.

“There's a lot of mismanagement going on down there, and I'm just frustrated by watching it," said Larsen, who lives in East Hampton Village.

Burke-Gonzalez, 64, of Springs, has been town supervisor since 2024 and was a board member for a decade before that. She previously worked in advertising. Burke-Gonzalez is touting her record and experience in town government and has the backing of the East Hampton Town and Suffolk County Democratic Committees.

She points to accomplishments including beach renourishment and dredging projects, the transformation of the historic Montauk Playhouse into a community center, millions for land preservation, and upgrades to parks and beaches.

"There's still work we need to get done,” Burke-Gonzalez said. “We've got a great team in place … and we're getting good things done for our community.”

In East Hampton Town, Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-1, according to data from the State Board of Elections. As of November, there were 9,877 Democrats, 4,207 Republicans and 6,380 unaffiliated voters registered to vote in the town. East Hampton has not had a Republican supervisor since 2013, and Democrats have won supervisor races by double-digits margins since then.

Republicans have yet to name a candidate for supervisor. Manny Vilar, chair of the East Hampton Republican Committee, said the committee is screening candidates to run in November’s general election.

Regarding the intraparty feuding, Rich Schaffer, chair of the Suffolk Democratic Committee, said Larsen’s push to enroll more Democrats who will vote for him was akin to party-raiding. He likened the tactic to Conservatives and Republicans who, Democrats say, have hijacked the liberal Working Families Party ballot line in the towns of Huntington and Southampton. The tactic helps to siphon votes from Democratic tickets.

Larsen called the party-raiding accusation "ridiculous." Because of the Democrats' enrollment advantage, Larsen said, East Hampton Town residents have to vote in the primary to effectively influence the town supervisor's race.

"Just like in New York City, if you win the Democratic line here in East Hampton, you're almost guaranteed to win the general election," he said.

"Harsh winter riddles Long Island roads with potholes" is a NEWSDAY headline this morning. A particularly snowy winter, and repeated plowing by heavy trucks, has contributed to the common complaints resurfacing this year. A Brookhaven Town councilman counted 117 potholes last Friday along a 5-mile stretch of Route 25 between Selden and Lake Grove. The state plans to completely resurface Route 25 in Brookhaven, but officials wouldn't provide a timeline. Long-lasting pothole repairs generally require dry conditions and temperatures above 40 degrees. Also asphalt plants don’t generally open up before March.

New York State Department of Transportation spokesman Stephen Canzoneri said crews are "working aggressively" to address potholes caused by the harsh winter across Long Island. He said the agency plans to completely resurface Route 25 in Brookhaven, though he did not provide details on the timeline, adding that it "is engaged in the most aggressive road revitalization project in the Department’s history."

Peter Gill and Carl MacGowan report in NEWSDAY that in 2024, 61% of state-owned lane-miles were in good or excellent condition across New York, an improvement from 54% five years earlier, according to official reports, which do not break out data by region.

Long Island's local roads, however, are in worse condition than those of most state regions, according to the most recently available database of federal aid-eligible roads from 2021. A Newsday investigation found local governments in Nassau and Suffolk spend less on roads, per capita and per car, than those in other regions of the state. At the same time, Long Island's towns and counties receive less road aid through formulas determined by the state, relative to population and road mileage.

Pothole complaints may be more common on state-owned thoroughfares than town or village roads because they get the most traffic, requiring more upkeep, according Daniel Loscalzo, a civil engineer with LiRo Group, which consults on roads for a dozen villages on Long Island.

Residents can report potholes they see to the appropriate state, county, town or village road department. An online map from the state can help determine who maintains the road in question here.

For state highways, one can call 800-POTHOLE (800-768-4653).

***

There was a time on the East End when one thought nothing about leaving your car unlocked with the keys in it.

No longer.

Southampton Town Police are searching for an organized group of would-be thieves who are believed to have swept through neighborhoods in Noyac and Hampton Bays this past weekend, rummaging through unlocked cars.

A Hampton Bays homeowner’s Ring security camera caught at least four people emerging from what appears to be a rented van before dawn on Monday morning, fanning out to various driveways in the neighborhood and searching unlocked cars — before racing back to the van and fleeing in the van when a resident spotted them and chased them from his driveway.

Southampton Town Police said that they have seen the video, which was also posted to the Neighbors app, and are trying to identify the band of thieves. Police also received a report of a similar type of incident in Noyac the night before.

“It’s a pattern that law enforcement has been seeing all over the region for some time now — sometimes it’s a rented car, sometimes a rented van, and they’re coming into a neighborhood and searching cars,” Town Police Detective Sergeant Gina LaFerrera said. Police have not received any reports from homeowners about any items or valuables having been stolen in the burglaries this weekend. Nonetheless, she said that homeowners should protect their property against being victims of this kind of theft scheme.

“We ask people to lock their cars and take their keys out of the car,” she said.

***

Shelter Island Friends of Music are presenting a free concert this coming Sunday afternoon, February 15 at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Performing is PubliQuartet, a chamber ensemble dedicated to bridging the gap between new and traditional repertoire. Known for their communicative presence and imaginative programming, they confront boundaries and form lasting connections with audiences.

The ensemble comprises four versatile musicians who have performed at major festivals and concert series across the U.S. and internationally.

PubliQuartet is committed to championing underrepresented composers, commissioning new works, and engaging audiences through multimedia presentations and contextual programming.

That Shelter Island Friends of Music free concert is this coming Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.

***

Relentless winter weather, a pattern of long-lasting weekend storms and frigid temperatures are pushing Long Island town snow budgets to their limits.

Several towns, including Brookhaven, East Hampton and Southold, have already surpassed their spending allocations for rock salt, sand and other snow fighting costs for 2026 — and there’s still six weeks until spring.

Those towns have dipped into reserves to keep their funds for storm expenses healthy, officials told Newsday.

On Tuesday, town boards in East Hampton and Southold signed off on more money for snow removal.

Tara Smith and Alek Lewis report in NEWSDAY that so far this winter, Long Island MacArthur Airport has recorded 28.6 inches of snowfall, Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Upton bureau, said yesterday. Last year, 10.6 inches of snowfall had accumulated at MacArthur through the same period.

Stephen Lynch, East Hampton Town's highway superintendent, said workers have used about 1,200 tons of sand and salt over the past few weeks. The department has about 1,000 tons left and will receive more shipments soon.

On Tuesday, the East Hampton Town Board approved moving $210,000 from reserves to restore depleted funds for snow contractors, as well as for salt and sand purchases. The town budgeted $65,000 for snow removal contractors and $195,000 for snow removal supplies this year, according to Town Administrator Becky Hansen.

Southold surpassed its $185,000 budget for salt and sand, according to Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin.

Also Tuesday, Southold's town board approved tapping $80,000 in surplus funds from prior, more mild winters to cover an additional $50,000 in rock salt and $30,000 in sand.

"That’ll refill our barn and keep us in a really good position for the foreseeable future," Goodwin told NEWSDAY. "It’s not an option to not treat the roads. These are the materials we need to do the job."

Goodwin said the most recent storm, on Feb. 7, was particularly challenging. Though most of Long Island got 1 to 3 inches of snow, about 5 inches accumulated in Southold. Fierce 50-mph winds created whiteout conditions and deep snowdrifts, some over 6 feet.

The department spent between $20,000 and $25,000 in materials to treat the roads for that one storm alone, Goodwin said.

***

The Riverhead Free Library is partnering with Long Island Cares for a food distribution event at the library this morning from 11 a.m. to 12 Noon. No identification is required to receive food. This is a walk-up service only and will take place in the Riverhead Library parking lot at 11 a.m. today.

Beth Young also reports in EAST END BEACON that the Riverhead Central School District hosts its 17th Annual Black History Month Celebration this evening at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Riverhead High School. The event includes performances by Riverhead music students and the Butterfly Effect Project, a poetry showcase and a preview of a new documentary about Riverhead’s only Medal of Honor recipient, Private First Class Garfield Langhorn, a U.S. Army radio operator who threw himself on a grenade to protect his platoon while under attack by the North Vietnamese in Pleiku Province during the Vietnam War. The community is welcome at this celebration tonight at 6 p.m. in the Riverhead High School auditorium. The event is free.

***

A Long Island school district will be able to hold onto its “Warriors” name an extra year — as it continues to fight a state ban on Native American imagery in mascots and logos. Alex Mitchell and Brandon Cruz report in THE NY POST that the Wantagh School District in Nassau County was granted an extension until June 2027 to come into compliance with the New York State ban, according to a letter sent by the board of education to district parents on Tuesday.

“We just really want to keep the name. It means a lot to the community, means a lot to the school,” Superintendent John McNamara told The NY Post yesterday.

McNamara claimed rebranding from Warriors to a potential replacement such as Wolves would cost the district upward of $700,000.

“We had done a district survey back when this issue first arose and well over 85% of the community wanted to keep the Warrior name,” he added.

In Suffolk County, the Connetquot School District initially agreed to drop its longtime “Thunderbirds” name and rebrand as the “T-Birds” as part of a settlement with the state to comply with the logo / mascot mandate.

But that compromise backfired when the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ruled the district had violated the law by eliminating the Native American-linked names while allowing mascots “derived from other racial or ethnic groups,” like Dutchmen.

Warriors is also suitable in cases like Chenango Valley near Binghamton for not having an indigenous affiliation, according to Superintendent McNamara.

“I think there’s some frustration on the part of the school, the board, the community, that there are other districts in the state that use the warrior nickname, but because it’s not associated with the Native American imagery, they’re allowed to keep it,” he said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state Democrats have previously defended the regulation as a necessary step to eliminate stereotypes and promote inclusion, maintaining that districts must retire Native American mascots unless they obtain approval from a federally recognized tribe.

***

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants the state to step in to help plug a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that Mamdani testified for several hours yesterday during the annual budget hearing for local governments, telling lawmakers New York City is facing a projected $7 billion budget gap. Mamdani blamed that largely on his predecessor, Eric Adams.

Lawmakers also questioned Mamdani on their own concerns in the city, from car break-ins to how he would deal with overcrowding in juvenile detention centers.

During his testimony, Mamdani tried to recast the relationship between the city and the state to one of cooperation. Past mayors, including Adams, Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg, often had contentious relationships with Albany, which they nonetheless relied on to fund signature agenda items.

Mayor Mamdani has proposed an ambitious agenda and is seeking to close the budget gap in part with an increase in the state’s corporate tax rate and a 2% increase on millionaires in the city.

Mamdani noted that New York is the only eligible city in the state to not receive direct state aid known as Aid and Incentives for Municipalities and advocated for a direct revenue stream for the city.

State Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) asked Mamdani how he would ensure his proposed tax increases wouldn’t chase businesses out of the city to other states and whether his plans would impact the city’s suburbs.

Mamdani, who represented Astoria in the Assembly for three terms, said his administration wants to ensure the city remains an economic engine.

"What we want to do is ensure that wealth can extend to the lives of everybody who calls the city home," he said.

Democratic legislative leaders have indicated some support for a tax hike in the state budget, but Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she does not support raising income taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.

A proposal to expand a luxury hotel in Southampton Village has won preliminary approval for $1.64 million in tax breaks.

The Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency gave an early go-ahead to the tax breaks for the proposed 40-room hotel on Hill Street. The project, which will have eight units of workforce housing, is next to the Southampton Inn, a 90-room hotel. The owners are the same.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the average nightly rate at the new hotel, which will feature a heated pool, is expected to peak at around $800 in July and August, according to a market analysis prepared by the property's owner. An office building on the property will be converted into eight one-bedroom workforce apartments. Another office building will be refurbished.

The $29 million project is expected to generate a “net public benefit” of $2.5 million over 15 years, said Kevin Gremse, of Grow America, a consulting firm that works for the IDA. Gremse cited a likely revenue boost from Suffolk County's 5.5% hotel occupancy tax.

"This is a shot in the arm for the village and the community, and the people who choose to live there on a year-round basis. They need it,” said Dede Gotthelf, owner of the Southampton Inn and managing partner of 71 Hill LLC, which owns the property, during a recent presentation to the IDA.

But the proposal has drawn some criticism from public officials. An IDA member who opposed the relief said locals will likely be priced out of the hotel. A Southampton Village trustee said the project should include more workforce apartments.

Josh Slaughter cast the lone vote against the preliminary tax breaks during the IDA's meeting on Jan. 29. The owner could hike room rates and not need the public assistance, Slaughter said at that meeting.

The Suffolk County IDA has scheduled a Feb. 20 hearing on the tax relief. A final vote is expected on Feb. 26.

***

Walmart is planning to convert its Riverhead store into a supercenter, the national retailer’s one-stop shopping destination, combining a full-service supermarket offering groceries, bakery, deli, meats and produce with a discount department store. Denise Civiletti reports in Riverheadlocal.com that Walmart representatives met yesterday with Riverhead Planning Department staff to discuss the company’s plans during a pre-submission conference at Riverhead Town Hall.

The footprint of the existing store, currently about 167,000 square feet including the outdoor garden center, would be expanded to about 180,000 square feet under the current plans, according to engineer Alek Kociski of Bohler Engineering.

The plan is to build an addition in the area presently occupied by the outdoor garden center and convert the tire center, which is not active, into retail space. The entire interior of the store will be redesigned to accommodate the new supermarket’s offerings.

The expansion will require the purchase of development rights to allow additional floor area in the shopping center, Riverhead Senior Planner Greg Bergman told the Walmart representatives. The developer in 2010 purchased 41 development rights to build the original center, to develop the Walmart store and the other buildings on the site.

The expansion plan will require no variances, Walmart attorney Brian Kennedy said.

Suffolk County DPW may ask for a traffic study, Bergman said.

Since the supercenter will have a deli and a bakery, grease traps are needed, so that requires health department approval, Senior Planner Matt Charters said.

Jason Klipa, Walmart’s director of public affairs for New York said he couldn’t estimate when the company will file its application for an amended site plan approval, but it will begin working on preparing the necessary documents. The “next closest thing” to the Riverhead supercenter would be the Yaphank Walmart, which opened about six or seven years ago, Kilpa said.

Walmart opened the current Riverhead store across from Tanger Outlets in 2014, relocating from its prior location in Riverhead Plaza, the Route 58 retail center just east of Ostrander Avenue.

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau has opened registration for its Winter Break programs during the February school recess. The free programs are open to students in kindergarten through grade four and will run from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday February 17, Wednesday February 18, and Thursday February 19.

Space is limited, and advance registration is required.

Activities begin next Tuesday with “Get Active at SYS.” Transportation from the Flanders Youth Center will be provided. Next Wednesday children are encouraged to dress up for Costume Day at the Youth Center in Flanders. The week concludes on Thursday, February 19, with “Get Creative at the Parrish Art Museum,” offering an engaging museum tour and hands-on art workshop at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, with transportation included.

All programs are offered at no cost, but preregistration is required due to limited availability. For more information or to register, families may call the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/YBpayment.

***

East Hampton Town officials moved forward with a new Latino Advisory Committee at the outset of the new year, and the committee met for the first time this past Saturday, with front-of-mind questions about what local police can and should do in the event of an ICE raid. Created in the shadow of Department of Homeland Security activity on the South Fork late last year, the bulk of the inaugural meeting, held over Zoom due to the weather on Saturday morning, covered introductions for the 15-person committee, but discussion did eventually morph into what local government can do in the face of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the answer, essentially, was that local police can observe, but they cannot interfere with ICE activity.

Kicking off the meeting was the introduction of the two co-chairs, Yesenia Quichimbo and East Hampton Town Democratic Committee Chairwoman Anna Skrenta, for what town officials have said is meant to be a nonpartisan committee.

Skrenta emphasized that mindset, “This is not a political group, but I do think that introducing or creating a bridge between local government and the community to help folks understand how it all works and how to get involved, I think is super important, and I'm excited for that aspect of this group.”

East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, who said she has worked closely with nonprofits like Ruta27 and Organización Latino Americana during her time in office, said she hopes the committee can work to build trust and safety in the community.

“We want to raise the voices of the Latino members of our community,” Burke-Gonzalez said. “I like to think of it as we are one community, not separate communities.”

***

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado announced yesterday that he was dropping his longshot primary campaign against his estranged boss, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Vaughn Golden reports in THE NY POST that Delgado announced the move in a post on X Tuesday morning, just days after Hochul pulled solid support at the state Democrats’ convention in Syracuse last week.

“I’ve concluded that there simply is no viable path forward,” Delgado wrote.

“Though my campaign has come to an end, I fully intend to do all I can in our effort to build a more humane, affordable, and equitable state that serves all New Yorkers,” added Delgado, a former congressman from the Hudson Valley.

“I will also support Democrats in our effort to hold the line against Trump and take back our democracy,” he wrote.

Delgado would’ve had to petition his way onto the ballot after only securing about 15% of the vote against Hochul at the party’s nominating convention in Syracuse last Friday.

Hochul appears to now face a clear path until November, when she’s likely to face Republican Bruce Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive.

Hochul campaign communications director Sarafina Chitika told THE NY POST yesterday, “Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership, our campaign and our party are strong and ready to defeat Donald Trump and his enablers up and down the ballot, take back the House, and hand Bruce Blakeman yet another loss this November.”

***

Shelter Island Friends of Music are presenting a free concert this coming Sunday afternoon, February 15 at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Performing is PubliQuartet, a chamber ensemble dedicated to bridging the gap between new and traditional repertoire. Known for their communicative presence and imaginative programming, they confront boundaries and form lasting connections with audiences.

The ensemble comprises four versatile musicians who have performed at major festivals and concert series across the U.S. and internationally.

PubliQuartet is committed to championing underrepresented composers, commissioning new works, and engaging audiences through multimedia presentations and contextual programming.

That free concert is this coming Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.

***

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Southold Town Board last night agreed to appoint a Public Safety Task Force to examine the health, safety and welfare concerns associated with federal immigration policy and to examine all proposed federal, state and local legislation.

Meanwhile, Lisa Finn reports on Patch.com that ICE has spoken out about the three men detained in Greenport last Wednesday.

In a statement to Patch on Monday, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman stated, "The fact is on Feb. 4, ICE New York City conducted operations targeting a known criminal illegal alien convicted of aggravated DWI with a child/passenger less than 16 — a felony in Greenport. During that operation, ICE officers arrested three illegal aliens, one who was previously removed in 1998 and illegally reentered, committing a felony, and all in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Violating immigration laws is a crime and carries consequences, which includes arrest, detention, and removal from the United States," the statement said.

According to ICE, "Martir Zambrano-Diaz, an illegal alien from Honduras, provided a false name to ICE officers in an attempt to obscure the fact that he committed a felony and is subject to federal prosecution for illegally re-entering the U.S. after removal."

Hugo Ardon-Osorio, "an illegal alien from Guatemala, and Alexandro Rivera-Magana, an illegal alien from El Salvador, both admitted they illegally crossed the border with Mexico in violation of U.S. immigration law," ICE said.

Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island {Organización Latino Americana} a Latino-focused advocacy group, responded to ICE's statement: "The two men that we have been focusing on have no criminal backgrounds," she said. "If ICE wants to use civil infractions as their definition of 'criminal,' that's up to them. What we see are caring, loving, contributing members of our community — taxpayers and great role models for our community."

In a major boost to its ongoing push for a sewer, Southampton Village announced its intention to purchase the Windmill Lane property where the Express News Group office is located as part of a plan to build a wastewater treatment facility. Once acquired using money from the Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund, the Express News Group building — located at 135 Windmill Lane — would be demolished in order to turn the site into a new dog park. Then, the treatment facility would be built behind the Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance’s building, while leaching fields will be built at the dog park’s current location at 205 Windmill Lane.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that The Express News Group, which publishes The Southampton Press, does not own 135 Windmill Lane but is the sole tenant of the building.

The Village of Southampton is using money from the Community Preservation Fund to acquire the property, though the village would be responsible for paying for the building’s demolition, according to Mayor Bill Manger.

The plan will be discussed at the Village Board’s meeting this coming Thursday, February 12, at the Southampton Cultural Center at 6 p.m., which will feature members of the village’s sewer district task force and an engineer from D&B Engineers & Architects. Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker will also be in attendance, as Manger said that the village is working with Suffolk County to secure funding to build the plant.

Installing a sewer has been a longtime goal for Southampton Village.

Building the facility is a key part of the sewer plan, as it would create opportunities to build new medical offices and restaurants, two “wet uses” currently barred by the Suffolk County Board of Health without a sewer system. It would also allow for apartments located on the second story of Main Street buildings to be used as such, which has also been barred, and prevent the flow of nitrogen and other harmful elements into groundwater and bodies of water.

“It means that the entire central business district of the village will eventually be hooked up to a treatment plant, thereby negating the need for antiquated septic tanks that are basically just polluting the groundwater and bodies of water like Lake Agawam,” Mayor Manger said.

***

Things have seemed a bit quiet lately at the East End Food Hub site at the gateway to Riverhead, but that’s about to change.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the non-profit East End Food received a temporary Certificate of Occupancy from the Riverhead Town Building Department in late January, according to Interim Executive Director Kayla Barthelme who said they’re planning to begin pop-up programming in the space next month.

The non-profit will be installing its commercial kitchen equipment this summer, she said, and will be putting in landscaping to enable it to receive its final Certificate of Occupancy this spring.

East End Food, founded in 2010 as the Amagansett Food Institute, is on a mission to connect farmers, food producers, consumers and institutions that have food service programs, to ensure that food grown on the east end isn’t wasted.

The non-profit, which for years had operated out of the kitchen at Stony Brook Southampton College, has been working on Phase 1 of an ambitious plan to renovate the former Homeside Florist at the corner of Route 25 and Route 105 in Riverhead.

The building will be used as a food processing site for fresh produce grown on the twin forks, and for an indoor sales space showcasing foods made by local producers.

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau will host an Open Mic Night for local youth on Friday, February 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hampton Coffee Company’s newest location, 31 Shinnecock Road in Hampton Bays.

This free event is open to students in grades five through 12 and is designed to provide a supportive, welcoming space for young performers of all experience levels. Acoustic musicians and bands, singers, spoken word artists, poets and comedians are all encouraged to take part.

Performance slots are limited to 20 participants; advance reservations are required. Youth interested in performing may reserve a time slot by emailing [email protected] or by registering online.

For additional information, contact the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/Activities

***

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman tapped a Utica-area sheriff to be his running mate in the race against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul — just hours after a previous pick supposedly got cold feet.

Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood accepted Blakeman’s offer to run for lieutenant governor yesterday, shortly after Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino was said to have declined an offer to jump into the race.

“Todd is a solid guy. We’ll make a good team together,” Blakeman said.

Carl Campanile and Vaughn Golden report in THE NY POST that Hood previously served 22 years in the Syracuse Police Department before serving in the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office. He became Madison County sheriff in 2018.

Giardino had said he decided to decline the offer over concerns about campaigning statewide while running his sheriff’s department.

Hood, who is a father of three, now serves as vice president of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association and Chairman of the National Sheriffs’ Association School Safety Committee.

Republicans are gathering this week for their convention in Garden City, where they are expected to designate Blakeman…the Nassau County Executive…to lead the ticket against Gov. Hochul, who was picked as the Democrats' designee at their convention last week.

Blakeman introduced the likely GOP ticket at a rally at the start of the party’s convention festivities on Long Island last night, calling Hood “a true New York hero.”

Regarding Bruce Blakeman…who was born in Oceanside and attended Valley Stream Central High School…no Long Island native has ever been elected governor of New York, a fact analysts attribute to New York City's dominance of the state Democratic party and the historical strength upstate of the Republicans according to NEWSDAY.

***

After weeks of subfreezing temperatures, many Long Island homeowners have had to cope with burst or frozen pipes. Temperatures should rise this week, but the thaw could bring another set of problems. John Asbury reports in NEWSDAY that as the mercury goes up and down, pipes expand, contract and sometimes burst.

Experts say prevention is key, along with fixing problems permanently when they occur.

“If you survived this storm, you’re probably doing pretty good,” said Richard Kern, director of operations at Liberty Utilities New York Water, which serves 125,000 customers on Long Island. “When pipes freeze, we try to find out why and try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Water in pipes can freeze in cold weather when they are in areas that are not heated or when they are generally not used, experts said.

The National Weather Service urges residents to check their pipes during extreme temperatures. Pipes at risk are most often found in garages, basements, crawl spaces, and in kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

The icy temperatures can cause a loss of water service or a flooded mess when pipes burst.

“Water is unique when it freezes because it expands,” Kern said. “Water has no place to go in wall piping and it’s so powerful it breaks the pipe open. The pipe is not strong enough . . . [and] wherever the weak spot is . . . it succumbs to internal pressure.”

The same deep freeze can cause water mains to burst, causing multiple homes to lose water service, Kern said.

What do you do when pipes are frozen?

If pipes are frozen, homeowners should turn on the faucet and it will eventually drip as the pipes are thawed, according to the weather service. Pipes can be warmed with a hair dryer, heating pad or a cloth soaked in hot water until water pressure returns.

All pipes, including metal, polyvinyl chloride and high-density polyethylene pipes, are subject to freezing. PVC pipes can be more brittle and subject to bursting, while HDPE may be slightly more forgiving, Kern said.

If a pipe bursts, experts suggest calling a plumber and their water company to identify weak spots and areas that need to be better insulated or heated.

***

Every Minute Matters: Recognizing and Responding to Stroke with Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library is a free presentation tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Join Dr. Lawrence Schiff for an important discussion at the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library on how to recognize and respond to stroke.

Learn how to spot the warning signs using the B.E. F.A.S.T. method: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, and Time, and why quick action saves lives. Dr. Schiff will also share how Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital is nearing Primary Stroke Center designation, further strengthening access to expert, lifesaving stroke care close to home.

Call (631) 477-5164 to Register

Tomorrow’s event is Free at 2 p.m. in the

Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library

27550 Main Road

Cutchogue, NY 11935United States

631.734.6360

***

Around 40 percent of the southern pine beetle population on the South Fork will die during the ongoing cold snap, but, according to a local expert, the insect will quickly bounce back and the frigid temperatures won’t have lasting impacts. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that first detected in Hampton Bays in 2014, the southern pine beetle is an invasive insect that has carved up local pitch pine forests. Since the initial detection, the pine beetle has marched east, making itself known in the Town of East Hampton, where its impacts can be seen at Napeague State Park, which is lined with dead and downed trees — and now, burn piles.

For weeks, the South Fork has been beset with frigid temperatures as snow has piled up, with air temperatures dipping into the single digits and strong winds compounding the already extreme weather.

But these freezing temperatures are unlikely to have lasting impacts on the southern pine beetle, as the cold will not eradicate the population completely and those that survive will recover quickly, likely in a matter of months.

“Cold temps affect southern pine beetle {SPB} mortality, but not as much as you would probably think and hope,” said East Hampton Town Senior Environmental Analyst Andy Drake. “Since their habitat is insulated under tree bark, the temps they get are slightly higher than outside. This is a reason why when felling trees for suppression purposes, we always score the bark to introduce dormant beetles to the outside elements.”

Recent years have seen state and local officials shift from actively trying to suppress the pine beetle to looking to mitigate the impacts when it does pop up. This has involved thinning infested forests and reducing fire fuel density.

East Hampton Town officials have sought to mitigate the impacts of the pine beetle on town lands by hiring a contractor to clear fire roads and reduce the fuel load in areas like Buckskill Meadow.

Aside from its natural tolerance to the cold, southern pine beetles also rebound quickly because the insect produces multiple generations per year, meaning a new generation typically emerges in the spring, jumps to a neighboring tree and begins reproducing right away. Typically, three generations spawn per year in New York.

“Anything above 80 percent is a great reduction in population, but the problem is they are able to rebound quite quickly, reproducing multiple generations in a single season,” Drake said.

The Town of Brookhaven joined Southampton and Riverhead town governments in a lawsuit filed on Friday in Albany that claims New York State has handcuffed local towns’ ability to choose where dispensaries are placed and illegally limited their “home rule” rights to oversight of basic commercial development requirements. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the lawsuit asks a state court to nullify the component of the state’s Cannabis Law that limits local governments to only very narrow power to regulate cannabis dispensaries as far as their hours of operation, parking and traffic flow arrangements and nuisances like noise or smell.

Southampton, Riverhead, and Brookhaven Towns say in their lawsuit that when their respective legislative bodies chose not to “opt out” of allowing retail cannabis sales — as all counties, towns and villages were given the chance to do prior to December 31, 2021 — they did so on the basis of assurances from state officials that they would be allowed to determine where within their boundaries the shops would be allowed.

But the suing towns say that in September 2023, months or years after the three towns had adopted their own new regulations that allowed dispensaries to operate under a set of standard requirements similar to how other commercial businesses are regulated, the state adopted new guidelines that, if interpreted literally, greatly limit the towns’ authority to constrain cannabis stores.

Since that time, the state Office of Cannabis Management has issued several “advisory opinions” regarding regulations adopted by the towns, saying that the towns’ respective cannabis codes were “unreasonable and impracticable” and had limited cannabis business in ways it did not have the authority to under the superseding state law.

While the advisory opinions issued by the Cannabis Control Board do not carry actual legal authority, they have been instrumental in at least three court rulings in the last year that struck down local constraints in Southampton and Riverhead.

“I think I can speak for all of the towns involved in that we are forced to take this action to protect the towns’ Home Rule authority and our ability to control the regulation of land use within our respective towns,” Southampton Town Attorney James Burke said on Friday.

Critics from within the cannabis industry have said that the state’s claim to stringent limits on local authority will discourage other towns from opting into allowing cannabis sales in the future, and will further hamstring the already slow growth of the industry on Long Island.

There are more than 580 state-licensed dispensaries open statewide, but fewer than a dozen on Long Island — not counting the 10 on the Shinnecock Nation territory in Southampton, which are not state regulated.

***

Icy conditions and blowing snow continued to make travel difficult Sunday morning, after a Saturday night that saw dozens of vehicles disabled across town due to drifting snow, Riverhead Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that snow accumulations since Saturday morning were in the 2-to-4-inch range, but sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph caused drifts of 7 to 10 feet in some areas, Zaleski said yesterday. Reeves Avenue and the eastern portion of Peconic Bay Boulevard had the worst drifting, and there was significant drifting on Sound Avenue as well, he said.

Riverhead Town Police Chief Ed Frost said, “Several roadways needed to be shut down due to wind-driven snow drifts, which can cover a roadway very quickly.” The blowing snow caused “very tough conditions,” he said.

“This one was a crippling storm,” Zaleski said. “The winds killed us.”

“There were lots of vehicles on the roads, lots of vehicles getting stuck all throughout the night,” Zaleski said. That hampered highway department operations as they fought to keep drifts under control, he said.

Stranded motorists were a big problem.

Zaleski estimated that highway crews and police pulled about 50 vehicles out of drifts Saturday night and during the early morning hours Sunday.

“A car stuck in the middle of the road stops us from plowing,” he said.

“The team work between the Highway Department, Buildings & Grounds Division and the police department was excellent and led to a successful outcome,” Frost said. He thanked all personnel for their work.

Zaleski also had praise and gratitude for the workers and the job they did.

“These guys takes such pride in keeping these roads open,” he said “I can’t thank them enough.”

***

Every Minute Matters: Recognizing and Responding to Stroke with Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library is a free presentation this coming Wednesday, February 11 at 2 p.m.

Join Lawrence Schiff, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, Vice Service Chief, Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, for an important discussion at the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library on how to recognize and respond to stroke.

Learn how to spot the warning signs using the B.E. F.A.S.T. method: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, and Time, and why quick action saves lives. Dr. Schiff will also share how Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital {SBELIH} is nearing Primary Stroke Center designation, further strengthening access to expert, lifesaving stroke care close to home.

Call (631) 477-5164 to Register

This Free event is on Wednesday; February 11, 2026 at 2 p.m.

In the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library

27550 Main Road

Cutchogue, NY 11935United States

631.734.6360

***

More than 100 people gathered on Front Street in Greenport yesterday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after federal agents last week arrested three longtime Latino residents. Bahar Ostadan reports in NEWSDAY that bracing extreme wind chills, protesters bundled in ski suits, hugged one another and discussed the week’s events. One small group arrived by ferry from Shelter Island, and nearly every passing driver in the village of 2,200 honked to show support.

As music from Bad Bunny blasted, Rosa Valladares stood among the crowd holding a protest sign in Spanish that read, "Kids need protection. Not trauma, not fear."

"I feel so sad," Valladares, 39, who immigrated to Greenport 14 years ago with two children, said through tears. "I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. ... We have to be strong together and pray."

Federal immigration agents early Wednesday arrested three immigrant men who have lived in Greenport for more than 20 years and have not committed a crime since they entered the United States according to community leaders. The whereabouts of the three men remain unclear.

The immigration status of the three men — Alexandro Rivera Magaña, Martir Zambrano Diaz and Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio has also not been reported.

ICE officials have not yet responded as to why these men were arrested.

More than half of the Greenport Village population is Latino, Mayor Kevin Stuessi said, with many immigrants working in vineyards, restaurants, local hospitals and the Peconic Landing retirement community.

The Greenport school district is more than 65% Latino.

Also Sunday, about 50 people responded to a parking lot at a Suffolk Credit Union in Riverhead after reports of ICE agents apparently photographing a man, according to Amy Kurtz, who told NEWSDAY that she witnessed the incident. A crowd of protesters were yelling and blowing whistles at a vehicle with ICE agents inside as local and state police officers looked on, Kurtz said.

Bahar Ostadan reports in NEWSDAY that about 45% of Suffolk County immigrants without permanent legal status — at least 30,000 people — have been in the United States for 20 or more years, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The same is true for 50% of immigrants without permanent legal status in Nassau.

"What has been happening in the United States over the past year is one of the darkest times in modern history," said NYS Assemb. Tommy John Schiavoni (D-Sag Harbor). "It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better."

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, will oversee a key congressional hearing this week with top immigration officials expected to testify. He’s pushed back on the Trump administration limiting congressional oversight, including when officials banned impromptu visits to ICE jails.

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau will host an Open Mic Night for local youth on Friday, February 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hampton Coffee Company’s newest location, 31 Shinnecock Road in Hampton Bays.

This free event is open to students in grades five through 12 and is designed to provide a supportive, welcoming space for young performers of all experience levels. Acoustic musicians and bands, singers, spoken word artists, poets and comedians are all encouraged to take part.

Performance slots are limited to 20 participants; advance reservations are required. Youth interested in performing may reserve a time slot by emailing [email protected] or by registering online.

For additional information, contact the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 or visit southamptontownny.gov/Activities

***

Republicans are slamming Gov. Kathy Hochul’s running mate Adrienne Adams for championing legislation to allow non-citizens to vote in New York City municipal elections.

Carl Campanile reports in THE NY POST that Adams, who is now the Democratic Party candidate seeking election as lieutenant governor in the state of New York on Hochul’s ticket, was a Queens councilwoman who voted for the controversial law in 2021. She defended the measure after she became speaker in 2022.

The legislation, which would have allowed 800,000 non-citizen NYC residents such as legal green-card holders to vote in city elections, was eventually struck down by the state’s highest court as unconstitutional.

“Anyone trying to dilute the voices of American citizens and pushing for non-citizens to vote in our elections has no business statewide or any elected office,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn).

New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox said Adams’ extensive overall voting record in the council will be scrutinized, including bills she supported to rein in the Police Department.

“Non-citizen voting is way out there,” Cox said.

Former Staten Island GOP city Councilman Joe Borelli predicted that the issue will only fuel Hochul’s Republican gubernatorial foe, Bruce Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive on Long Island.

Blakeman is set to tap upstate Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino — known for his tough-on-crime and pro-gun stances — as his running mate, sources told The Post yesterday.

“If immigration remains an issue, which by all likelihood it will, Blakeman will surely point to this non-citizens bill as a validation of broader GOP points on illegal immigration and voter ID,” Borelli said. Adams not only voted for the non-citizens bill, as council speaker, she also supported a city appeal after a Staten Island Supreme Court judge declared the measure unconstitutional. “We stand firm in our commitment to empowering immigrant New Yorkers to participate in our local democratic process,” Adams said at the time.

A Long Island man is among a group of plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit this week challenging the Trump administration’s recent ban on issuing visas to people from 75 countries.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday by a group that includes American citizens, immigration nonprofits and legal organizations, accuses the administration of seeking to "eviscerate decades of settled immigration law."

The government last month suspended the approval of visas from 75 countries, most of them non-European and with large non-white populations.

Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that one plaintiff, Cesar Andred Aguirre, of Shirley, Long Island is a U.S. citizen and a warehouse supervisor who pays taxes, according to the lawsuit. His wife and 2-year-old daughter are now stuck in Guatemala, one of the 75 countries, after she was told she could not receive a visa.

The State Department said a "pause" was necessary to prevent immigrants from coming here to become "public charges" collecting welfare and other benefits.

In response to the lawsuit, Tommy Pigott, a spokesman for the State Department, said in a statement that a visa was a privilege and not a right, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated immigrants should be financially "self-sufficient."

"Such a requirement prevents billions in waste, fraud, and abuse and protects public benefits for Americans," Pigott said. "The Department is pausing issuance to evaluate and enhance screening and vetting procedures — but we will never stop fighting for American citizens first."

Most people applying for immigrant visas are not eligible for cash welfare for years, the lawsuit states.

Anna Gallagher, executive director of CLINIC, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit, said in a statement that "this administration is trying to shut down lawful immigration from nearly half the countries in the world without legal authority or justification.”

Aguirre's wife, Dania Mariela Escobar Carranza, lived in Shirley with Aguirre and their two children, ages 7 and 2. In January, the family traveled to Escobar Carranza’s native Guatemala for her scheduled consular interview, the lawsuit states. Her visa had already been approved and the fees paid.

She went to the U.S. consulate on Jan. 20 and handed in her documents but was told her interview was actually the next day. When she came back, she was told she could not receive her visa because of the pause, which had gone into effect the same day, the lawsuit states.

***

New York Democrats are gathering today for their state convention with the momentum on their side and three established leaders seeking reelection and party endorsement: Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, political observers told Newsday.

Whether they can sustain the effort and avoid self-destruction remains to be seen.

"The only thing, barring something unimaginable, that can reverse this momentum is that there is an open civil war between progressives and moderates," said Larry Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University.

Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have recently declined over issues including the economy and his immigration policy, which has helped the proverbial winds at Democrats' backs "blow harder" than they might normally, according to Levy. Democrats also picked up a state Senate seat in a major upset in Texas last week, further encouraging the party.

Over 400 delegates from around the state are attending today’s one-day convention in Syracuse. Democrats in New York have a more than 2 to 1 enrollment advantage, but party leaders are gearing up for a tough election cycle, State Democratic Committee chairman Jay Jacobs told Newsday. Few surprises are expected, with Hochul anticipated to receive the lion’s share of votes, James running unopposed and DiNapoli, who has held the position since 2007, expected to do well, Jacobs said.

***

The Town of East Hampton announced yesterday that the town is taking emergency action to remove the storm-damaged “stilt house” on Mulford Lane in Lazy Point, an iconic much-photographed building that had long stood on pilings in the water as coastal erosion took its toll on the shoreline. The house collapsed into the water after ice heaves cracked the pilings during the freeze this past weekend. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that after a heavy freeze in late January, the pressure of the ice caused the pilings to buckle, “causing the structure to collapse and creating an imminent risk to public safety, navigation, and nearby coastal resources,” according to a February 5 statement from East Hampton Town. The town said the house had been seaward of the shoreline for “approximately two decades, has been uninhabitable and disconnected from utilities for many years.”

On Feb. 3, The East Hampton Town Building Department placed a placard on the property deeming the site unsafe under the New York State Property Maintenance Code, at which time the Building Department determined the building “posed a serious risk of further breakup and debris dispersal into Gardiners Bay and surrounding wetlands.”

***

Proposed changes to New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, dominated the discussion during NYS Sen. Anthony Palumbo’s annual “environmental roundtable” Monday at Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts Center in Riverhead.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the proposed SEQRA amendments drew skepticism from environmental advocates and several elected officials at the roundtable. The proposed changes are part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s push to streamline development in the name of housing affordability, but multiple participants at the roundtable argued the changes risk weakening one of the state’s core environmental review and public-participation laws — while failing to ensure any resulting housing is actually affordable.

For example, Bob DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End, responded that SEQRA’s central value is not just the environmental analysis itself but the process. SEQRA “guarantees transparency, public participation and a hard look,” he said noting that if a municipality believes a particular large project has such public benefit and, in the balancing of equities in the project —the environmental, community and economic impacts — the municipality can decide not to require an in-depth environmental review. It can issue a negative declaration, or a conditioned negative declaration, and allow the project to proceed without an environmental impact statement.

First District Assembly Member Tommy John Schiavoni of Sag Harbor voiced his concern, telling the room he was “disappointed” the issue was being framed as a fight between environmental and housing interests, adding that his staff was reviewing the details and that the “majority conference” — fellow Democrats in the NYS Assembly — would be hearing from them. 

NYS Senator Palumbo’s environmental roundtable, initiated by his predecessor in the First Senate District, longtime state senator Ken LaValle, is held annually and allows environmental and community groups and local elected officials to discuss issues of concern with state lawmakers.

Anthony H. Palumbo is a Republican who represents the 1st Senate District, which includes the northern portion of the Town of Brookhaven, and the Towns of Riverhead, Southold, East Hampton, Southampton and Shelter Island.

***

At last week’s Express Sessions event, “The Evolution and Preservation of Downtown Sag Harbor,” held at The Church on Madison Street, the panel of Sag Harbor Village officials and other community stakeholders discussed steps the village could take to help preserve the character of the downtown shopping district, at a time when development and market forces threaten many of its most beloved small businesses. Making updates to village code have long been a tool in the toolbox for the Village of Sag Harbor when it comes to that effort among other approaches.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that a new possible strategy garnered some attention — and is in the early stages of being explored as another option. The idea of engaging a new kind of public/private partnership to safeguard mom-and-pop retailers that have given the village its distinct quirky appeal over the decades was discussed. Earlier this week, Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella and former New York State Assemblyman and lifetime Sag Harbor resident Fred Thiele discussed in more depth what that could look like.

The key ingredients in this new recipe, so to speak, would be the Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund; private funds, available through either a new or existing nonprofit; and owners of key downtown real estate that would be willing to sell to those entities.

It would be similar to the effort that was used to revive the Sag Harbor Cinema, where the $4 million from the CPF was used to purchase a historic preservation easement, and the Sag Harbor Partnership secured the necessary donations to purchase the building itself.

“What we’re looking at is to see if the CPF could partner with a nonprofit or public entity to preserve what we consider to be part of the community,” Mayor Gardella said. “We’re just in the beginning discussions about this, to see if it’s even possible.”

***

Sag Harbor’s HarborFrost is tomorrow, and the festivities begin this evening at 5:30 p.m. with the Taste of Sag Harbor Kick-Off Celebration at the Sag Harbor Cinema.

On Saturday, Sag Harbor transforms into a walkable winter wonderland filled with art, music, and seasonal celebration throughout the downtown. A signature element of HarborFrost is the return of Ice Memories’ Richard Daly, who will present live ice carving demonstrations by Long Wharf and at the southern end of Main Street. Live music will echo from several locations along Main Street, while Sag Harbor Chamber member businesses throughout the Village will offer special promotions and seasonal menus. Then tomorrow evening HarborFrost concludes with World Famous Fireworks by Grucci, launched from the end of Long Wharf at approximately 5:45 p.m. in Sag Harbor, U.S.A.

***

An ICE-OUT demonstration on the north fork is being organized for this coming Sunday afternoon at Mitchell Park in Greenport from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. A posting reads, “Community Members, Not Targets Protest. Wear white in solidarity and peace.”

Meanwhile, on the west end of Long Island, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman…the likely Republican nominee in this year’s gubernatorial race…fired at state and local Democrats over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to blow up the county’s cooperation deal with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that the legislation, unveiled by Hochul last week and praised by her fellow local Democrats, would essentially shred Nassau’s current partnership with ICE — something Republican Blakeman warned could backfire. “Hochul’s attempt to end that cooperation won’t make ICE disappear — it will put more federal agents on our streets, operating without local partnership or oversight, all while setting dangerous criminals free,” he told The Post. “Cooperation with ICE has allowed Nassau County to target and remove violent offenders through coordinated, accountable law enforcement,” added Blakeman. Blakeman was one of New York’s first local leaders to sign what is often touted as the most comprehensive and controversial “287(g) agreement” with ICE last year. Hochul, under the proposed Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, effectively wants to bar and eliminate all such agreements throughout the state, by blocking local police departments from helping the feds with civil immigration arrests and prohibiting ICE from using county detention facilities. The governor’s office responded this week that Blakeman’s claims were unfounded and accused the Long Island leader of fearmongering. “There is no evidence to support the claim that ending 287(g) agreements would trigger an increase in ICE activity,” Hochul spokesman Gordon Tepper told The Post. “More than 50 New York counties do not participate in these arrangements, and nothing suggests public safety suffers as a result.” Five counties across the state, including Nassau, currently have such agreements that are at risk of being voided under the proposed bill.

One-quarter of students in the Greenport school district stayed out of school yesterday as reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests swept through the community, creating fear, chaos and anger, according to officials and advocates.

Three longtime area residents with no criminal records reportedly since their arrival in the U.S. were arrested by federal agents as part of President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign, Latino community leaders said. They identified them as Alexandro Rivera Magaña, Martir Zambrano Diaz and Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio.

Bart Jones and Randee Daddona report in NEWSDAY that the ICE enforcement action, one of the most visible on the East End in months, stirred panic and frustration across Greenport Village as advocates called it a troubling escalation after weeks of anti-ICE demonstrations across Suffolk County.

Southold Town Police Chief Steve Grattan confirmed ICE was in Greenport on Wednesday but said he had not received information from the agency about arrests. Greenport Superintendent of Schools Beth Doyle said many families kept their children home, most likely out of fear of the agents’ presence. The district decided to keep all students on campus throughout the day and not allow seventh through 12th graders to leave for lunch as they typically can, she said.

Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi denounced the raids. "It's a tragedy to see parents being separated from children, and then doubly troubling to see all the fear with local students and families as federal agents were swarming the village this morning," he said.

Residents described early morning scenes of chaos as agents barreled down village streets in pursuit of migrants. Some residents came out blowing whistles, filming the agents and telling them to get out of the community.

***

Some bus stops in Nassau and Suffolk counties remain buried in snow and inaccessible to riders nearly two weeks after a major storm hit Long Island.

Nicholas Spangler reports in NEWSDAY that Long Island’s bus passengers are far outnumbered by its rail passengers, who make the Long Island Rail Road the busiest commuter railroad on the continent, but they still total in the tens of thousands each weekday.

Some of them now face streetside shelters that are filled with snow or offer limited or no access to the street because of snow or ice…including several bus stops here on the east end where riders have been seen standing dangerously in the road while awaiting the S-92 Greenport to East Hampton bus. Meteorologists say temperatures warm enough to melt the snow and ice won't come until next Wednesday at the earliest.

Suffolk County spokesperson Michael Martino said for 2,224 bus stops, "crews continue to clear snow from bus stops across the county. If there is a location that needs to be addressed, residents are asked to call the county’s 311 line to report the issue."

But responsibility is complicated for the 302 stops with shelters. Of those, 136 are owned by Suffolk County, 95 by advertisers contracted by the towns where they are located, 19 by the New York State Department of Transportation and 51 by private companies. They, not the county, are responsible for clearing the snow from their shelters, Martino said.

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau is offering teens a chance to gain valuable skills and confidence through The Babysitters Club, a free program designed to help participants become responsible, capable, and professional babysitters.

Running on Thursdays from February 26 through April 2, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hampton Bays Community Center, the program is open to youth ages 14 to 18. Space is limited to 20 participants, so early registration is encouraged.

Throughout the six-week program, teens will learn essential child safety practices, explore the stages of child development, and develop fun, age-appropriate activities for children. The curriculum also includes basic CPR and first aid-training, along with job readiness and leadership skills aimed at building confidence, responsibility, and professionalism.

To register, visit southamptontownny.gov/ybactivities or call the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 for more information.

***

Brothers Josue and Jose Trejo Lopez spent more than nine years in Georgia and Central Islip living all-American lives: earning high school diplomas, teaching Sunday school, joining the Air Force Junior ROTC, and eating New York pizza. Their slightly accented English is peppered with American slang. Now, a decade after their mother brought them to the United States as kids, Josue, 20, and Jose, 21, spend most of their time in a small cinderblock house in El Salvador, thousands of miles from their mother, brother, other relatives and friends, in a country where they were born but feel like foreigners. David Olson reports in NEWSDAY that the brothers returned to El Salvador in shackles last May, grasping only white plastic bags with the clothes and legal documents they had when immigration agents arrested them, along with two Bibles they got at an upstate detention center. Their years growing up in the United States didn’t prevent their deportation, nor did their lack of criminal records after entering the U.S. nor a finding from a Suffolk County judge that they should not be sent away.

They and their mother, Alma Lopez, 38, crossed the border on foot into Texas in 2016, when Josue was 10 and Jose was 11.

Regarding this case an ICE spokesperson said in a statement, "All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removed from the U.S." The Trejo Lopez brothers were twice ordered removed from the country, and in 2019, they lost an appeal, leaving them with a standing deportation order, ICE said.

Nearly three in four people — including Josue and Jose — in ICE detention have no criminal convictions reported after arriving in the U.S. Arrests of immigrants when they show up for ICE check-ins were rare until the second Trump administration, experts said.

***

Three east end residents were reportedly apprehended by agents of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Greenport Wednesday morning. Minerva Perez, Executive Director of OLA of Eastern Long Island said a Rapid Response network documented yesterday's raids. Ms. Perez is working with Southold Town officials on a resolution regarding public safety in the wake of this and other raids. Ms. Perez said the three men arrested yesterday had all lived in the area for more than 20 years and had no criminal record. One has a newborn baby, she added. An OLA press alert sent last night identified the three men as Alexandro Rivera Magaña, Martir Zambrano Diaz and Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio. "It's a terrible feeling to see a community that is a healthy, peaceful community broken apart like this," stated the OLA director. “At this point we know they have no criminal background, have been here for 20+ years, and we have no idea of their whereabouts,” Ms. Perez said. “Most importantly, we need to bring these men home.”

OLA (Organización Latino Americana) serves immigrant and US-born Latinos working and/or living in the villages and hamlets of the Towns of East Hampton, Southampton, Riverhead, Southold, and Shelter Island.

***

The East Hampton Healthcare Foundation will sponsor a free community Health Fair at the St. Luke’s Church, 18 James Lane, East Hampton, this coming Friday…that’s tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Highlights will include flu shots, glucose exams, blood pressure screenings, and applications for colorectal screenings. Also available will be appointments for no-cost mammogram and pap smear tests for uninsured women over the age of 40.

Representatives and information will be on hand from health insurance and local community organizations.

All residents are invited to attend.

That’s tomorrow at 11 a.m. in St. Luke’s Church in East Hampton.

***

The United States Golf Association will begin construction this month on the infrastructure for the 126th U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, with work steadily ramping up into the spring ahead of the June 15 start of the tournament. The final day is Sunday, June 21st. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the USGA says it expects as many as 150,000 people to stroll back and forth through the tournament grounds over the course of tournament week. The championship’s manager, John Ryan Celiberti, said last week the challenges in getting those people onto the South Fork and into the tournament grounds, with as little impact on the everyday lives of those not visiting the club, is the top priority for organizers. Parking and transportation, as usual, will be the biggest hurdles. The tournament again will use the Elks Club property on County Road 39, the Stony Brook Southampton campus and — unlike in 2018 — areas of the Shinnecock Territory as part of its logistics scheme.

However, the main offsite parking area for this year’s tournament will be at the EPCAL industrial park at the former Grumman aircraft plant in Calverton.

In 2018, the USGA used Gabreski Airport in Westhampton as the main parking site, but extensive new development at the airport in the years since has eaten up most of the open areas used for parking.

“We know that is going to add travel time for fans coming to the championships,” Celiberti said of the Calverton site.

In 2018, shuttle buses from the offsite parking in Westhampton were caught in snarled traffic on Sunrise Highway and County Road 39 on the first two days of tournament play, which fall on regular workdays — leaving the USGA course managers and many vendors shorthanded, as volunteers and employees were sometimes hours late for shifts.

Celiberti did not offer a clear path to how similar issues will be avoided this time around but said, “We are going to get creative.”

The USGA will again build a temporary train station at the former Southampton College station and is working with the Long Island Rail Road to add more trains to the tournament from New York City and western Long Island, and to add cars to the trains they do run to maximize the number of people who can reach the property without having to worry about clogged roadways.

The tournament will erect the steel pedestrian bridge over County Road 39 that it has used for the 1986, 1995, 2004, and 2018 U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills Golf Clu. It will be erected during a weekend overnight sometime in late May.

The Town of East Hampton plans to hike landing fees at its airport in Wainscott by 15% to generate revenue to repair and replace aging infrastructure at the facility. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the town also wants to hike fuel fees at the airport, which are currently 30 cents per gallon, by 2 cents.

The public airport serves a mix of private pilots, charter flights, commercial businesses and seasonal visitors.

The town is increasing fees at a “sweet spot” that lets it pay off the roughly $4.6 million it seeks to borrow for capital improvements, East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said during a work session yesterday. The increases in landing and fuel fees are expected to generate more than $350,000 in additional yearly revenue.

“We're not building VIP rooms or expanding any type of amenity at the airport. Everything that's on this list is critical for airport safety, and I don't think those are negotiable,” Councilwoman Cate Rogers said.

Board members said they agreed to the fee increases and plan to vote on them in March — giving time for aviation industry representatives to weigh in. The rate hikes would take effect on May 1, when flights pick up due to the influx of seasonal visitors.

This year’s big-ticket item is the resurfacing of one of two runways, which is estimated to cost $2.7 million, airport director Jim Brundige told board members. While the town has repaired cracks in the runway over the years, it now “needs to be completely milled out and repaved,” he said.

The town has not raised landing fees since 2016. Fuel prices were last hiked in 2014.

East Hampton-based aviation businesses, many of which have leases at the airport, are exempt from landing fees, but not from the fuel charge, said Katie van Heuven, outside counsel for the town. Last year, 3,033 of the 12,674 landings at the airport were exempt from the fees, according to town data.

East Hampton Town officials said they will revisit the airport’s fees in 2027 and possibly increase them again to finance future projects. The town wants to ensure the airport remains self-sustaining and is not financed by tax revenue, Burke-Gonzalez said. The airport relies on the fees to operate.

***

The Riverhead Town Police Department closed out 2025 with a lower number of criminal incidents in December than in November, according to the department’s monthly activity reports presented to the Town Board by Police Chief Ed Frost at the board’s Jan. 22 work session. The reports also include year-end totals and a full-year breakdown of criminal offenses recorded in 2025. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Chief Frost presented two months of reports at the work session because the November report had not been delivered previously. He told board members the department logged 2,604 total incidents in December, including 106 criminal incidents — “a significant drop from even November,” he said.

He told the board that “simple assault was down” and that shoplifting was down as well, saying the department recorded 24 shoplifting incidents during the month.

Board members praised the trend. Supervisor Jerry Halpin said it was notable to see shoplifting going down even as the Route 58 retail corridor continues to add businesses.

Frost attributed at least part of the month-to-month results to both policing strategy and store policy. He said some stores have internal thresholds and “do not call us if it’s under a certain amount of money,” even though, he said, the department will respond. The chief also described a visible holiday-season deployment in shopping areas: in the weeks before Christmas, he said, the department assigned extra patrol cars to shopping plaza parking lots. Police coordinated with loss control personnel at various stores that wanted to participate. The stores had extra loss control people on site on a particular date or dates, coordinated with the police department’s crime control and COPE units, Frost said. Measuring the effectiveness of the tactic is difficult, the chief acknowledged, but it will likely be a deterrent.

***

The East Hampton Healthcare Foundation will sponsor a free community Health Fair at the St. Luke’s Church, 18 James Lane, East Hampton, this coming Friday, February 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Highlights will include flu shots, glucose exams, blood pressure screenings, and applications for colorectal screenings. Also available will be appointments for no-cost mammogram and pap smear tests for uninsured women over the age of 40.

Representatives and information will be on hand from health insurance organizations, Sun River Health Care, OLA of Eastern Long Island, The Retreat, SNAP (food stamp information and applications), mental health resources for children and adolescents (via YES COMPHS, Youth Enrichment Services Community Mental Health and Support), Meals on Wheels (information and applications), the Town of East Hampton Human Services department, and Cornell Cooperative Extension (family wellness and nutrition educator).

Healthy refreshments will be served. All residents are invited to attend. For more information, call 631-329-2425.

***

Jackie Dunphy, a real estate agent with The Corcoran Group in East Hampton, converted her two-car garage into a living space for her mother 15 years ago. After applying for a permit with the building department, hiring a contractor and completing her periodic check-ins with the Town of East Hampton, she was able to move her mother into the accessory dwelling unit.

Interest in properties like this has spiked on Long Island.

Rachel Weiss reports in NEWSDAY that an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is an additional, smaller living space on the same property as a primary residence, that can either be its own separate structure, attached to the home or converted from a garage, basement or attic. Hopeful buyers are starting to search for properties with ADUs (or the potential to build one) while house-hunting on Long Island, experts say.

This trend has traveled nationwide, according to the Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report of 2025.

As for East Hampton, ADUs are a "highly desirable product in a low inventory," said Dunphy, who lives and works in East Hampton.

Making ADUs even more accessible in the area would help keep residents there, she added, because "like everywhere else, we're in a real critical situation out here with the lack of affordable housing."

Dunphy said there has been an increase in demand for properties like this in East Hampton ever since prices shot up during COVID.

The Plus One ADU Program is described as "an initiative to create and improve ADUs across the state," according to the New York State Homes and Community Renewal website. The Long Island Housing Partnership assists in the application process for the grants, which are offered in Towns such as Huntington and Riverhead. The grants aim to help low and middle-income families, and go up to $125,000.

***

A 2024 proposal to issue permits for short-term rentals and to cap their number at 1 percent of the housing stock in Southold Town could soon go before the community for a public hearing, as the town works to regulate an industry the town believes generates $25 million in revenue for property owners here each year. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that short-term rentals of less than 14 days have been illegal in Southold Town since 2015, but the town has since found the ban difficult to enforce.

In 2024, the Southold Town Board convened a Short-Term Rental Task Force, which recommended the town change the definition of short-term rentals to fewer than 30 days and allow permits to be awarded through a lottery.

The town has since begun using new software, Rentalscape by Deckard Technologies, which enables it to know the length and price of rentals booked on short-term rental websites, and find out in real time when short-term tenants are arriving and leaving the properties, enabling town code enforcement officers to better document and issue citations for the illegal use.

Town officials say this software will be crucial to its enforcement of the new code when it is adopted.

The Southold Town Board got a first look at the proposed code at a Jan. 29 code committee meeting.

“The way we look at it is, it’s really a quality of life issue,” Deputy Town Supervisor John Stype, who chaired the task force, told the Town Board. “We’re concerned with the people who live here full-time and their particular quality of life.”

He added that rapidly declining enrollment in local schools has been driven in part by a real estate market inflated by speculation.

“The cost of homes makes it harder and harder for local people to stay here,” he said. “That’s what we should be concerned with.”

Mr. Stype said the soonest the town could realistically implement the code would be January of 2027 — town staff and the board are still working on a draft of the code, which would then have to be put before the public at hearings.

Councilman Brian Mealy asked where members of the public can turn to air their concerns and questions about this proposal.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said they can contact the Town Supervisor’s office. The phone number there is 631 -765 - 1889.

***

Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara has announced the launch of the 2026 “Hometown Heroes Banner Program.” The initiative, spearheaded in 2023 by Councilwoman McNamara and Westhampton VFW Post 5350, aims to recognize and honor our local military men and women by displaying personalized banners with their picture and military service information in Good Ground Park in Hampton Bays. Over 50 local heroes have been honored since the launch of the program, from WWII veterans to current active military.

2026 Banner applications are open on a first-come, first-served basis, with one banner per sponsor. To qualify, honorees or sponsors must be a former or current resident of the Town of Southampton, and honorees must be serving or have served in the United States Armed Forces. The cost of the eighteen by thirty-six-inch banner will be $150, with a portion of the proceeds to be administered by Westhampton VFW Post 5350 to benefit local veterans’ organizations or to assist families with a banner purchase.

The program will run from Memorial Day through Veterans Day.

For more information about the “Hometown Heroes Banner Program” contact Jamie Bowden at [email protected]

Or contact Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara. (631) 287-5745

***

New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced yesterday that her office would deploy legal observers to document raids conducted by federal immigration authorities across the state. The observers, outfitted with purple vests, could be sent to where immigration raids are unfolding to serve as “neutral witnesses on the ground,” her office said in a release, adding that they would be instructed not to interfere with enforcement activity. Luis Ferré-Sadurní reports in THE NY TIMES that the initiative, after criticism over the aggressive tactics used by immigration officers in Minneapolis, is aimed at collecting real-time information on immigration enforcement activity and identifying whether federal agents are acting lawfully, her office said.

The effort, which will be staffed by lawyers and other state employees, is the first of its kind by an attorney general’s office, according to Sophie Hamlin, a spokeswoman for Ms. James.

“We have seen in Minnesota how quickly and tragically federal operations can escalate in the absence of transparency and accountability,” Ms. James, a Democrat, said in a statement. “My office is launching the Legal Observation Project to examine federal enforcement activity in New York and whether it remains within the bounds of the law.”

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, accused Ms. James of backing so-called sanctuary laws that prohibit cooperation between immigration authorities and local jails and police forces in certain parts of New York. (While Ms. James is broadly supportive of sanctuary laws, the policies are enacted by city and county officials, not the attorney general’s office).

“ICE law enforcement wouldn’t have to be in the field in New York if we had state and local cooperation,” she said in a statement. “Letitia James is not letting that happen, which puts New Yorkers in danger.”

In New York and elsewhere, federal agents have clashed with activists showing up to record, protest and, at times, confront Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carrying out raids.

Mountains of snow have sprung up across Long Island after a major winter storm hit two weekends ago. Municipal and state highway workers made the mounds after moving snow from downtown business districts and highway areas like bridges and ramps. While New York City is using mechanical “hot tubs” to melt some of its snow, common practice on Long Island is to let the snow melt naturally – even if it takes weeks.

For example, piles of snow stand in the Hampton Bays fire department parking lot nine days after a foot fell on the east end. Nicholas Spangler and Nicholas Grasso report in NEWSDAY that there are more mountains alongside some state highways, where about 380 highway maintenance workers used loaders and dump trucks to haul "tons" of snow from shoulders, bridges and ramps, according to Stephen Canzoneri, a state Department of Transportation spokesman.

There are mountains in Southold, where crews removed a few hundreds truckloads of snow from Love Lane in Mattituck and Main Road in Cutchogue "just to get passable sidewalks and on-street parking reestablished" Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin said. The mounds went up at Strawberry Fields fair grounds in Mattituck and on Highway Department land in Peconic.

In East Hampton, the mountains occupy parking lots that will be used in warmer months by surfers and swimmers at Atlantic Avenue and Ditch Plains beaches. Stephen Lynch, East Hampton’s highway superintendent, said town workers will use road sweepers to clear snow treatments or gravel after the snow melts.

In Southampton, aside from the piles at Hampton Bays depot, most snow is simply pushed into the 10- or 15-foot strip of right of way on each side of the road, Highway Superintendent Charles McArdle said. Eventually, as in East Hampton, workers will use street sweepers to clean whatever sediment they can collect from the melted snow, the key word being melted.

"That’ll be when?" McArdle said. "July?"

***

U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota…the Republican from Amityville who represents the east end in the U.S. House of Representatives…has announced a pair of initiatives that will see a total of $440 million in federal investments make their way to Suffolk County to support clean water, coastal resilience and public safety.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the first initiative is $429 million for research institutions, strengthening coastal protection and water-quality programs, and expanding support for law enforcement and public safety. After Congress passed three appropriations bills on January 8, President Donald Trump signed the funding package into law on January 23.

Meanwhile, the second, also signed into law on January 23, will provide more than $11 million for 10 community projects throughout the 1st Congressional District, including $782,100 for upgrades to the technology in the Southampton Town Police Department mobile command center. This will see the Southampton Town Police Department’s 23-year-old mobile command unit be modernized with dual-band radios, computers, cameras, dispatch equipment and monitors.

“The money is focused on public safety; it's focused on infrastructure; it's focused on water quality, all three of which are important to my constituents and me,” LaLota told The Express News Group.

Included in the measures is $40 million for the National Estuary Program — of which the Peconic Estuary Partnership is a part — which will go toward water quality preservation.

Another $40 million will ensure critical dredging projects remain in place across the East Coast, like the one that has been ongoing for the past two months or so at Lake Montauk.

Congressman LaLota also highlighted the $155 million that will go toward Brookhaven National Laboratory.

***

A federal judge has allowed offshore work to resume at Sunrise Wind’s offshore wind farm about 30 miles off the coast of Montauk, the fifth of five projects allowed to continue work by the courts after they were blocked by the Trump administration and U.S. Department of the Interior in December.

“Purportedly new classified information does not constitute a sufficient explanation for the bureau’s decision to entirely stop work on the Sunrise Wind project,” Judge Royce Lamberth stated when making his decision yesterday.

The Sunrise Wind project offshore of Smith Point County Park in Shirley, Long Island is presently about 45% complete with its 84-turbine wind farm. Last month, The City reported that Ørsted lost approximately $1 million per day while the project was halted.

“Today’s court decision allowing Sunrise Wind to immediately resume construction is a win for New York’s working families and our economy,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand {D-N.Y.}in a statement. “As energy costs continue to soar, the Trump administration’s ridiculous attempts to halt this project would have killed good-paying jobs and raised energy costs on New Yorkers.”

***

Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to increase access to universal pre-kindergarten would send millions of dollars to school districts across New York and require every district to have a full-day program for 4-year-olds by the 2028-29 school year.

Lawmakers, education leaders and advocates say it's a "step in the right direction."

They also fear it may not be enough to make pre-kindergarten truly universal.

Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that the Democrat’s $260 billion state budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 boosts spending on child care and pre-kindergarten by $1.7 billion — allocating $10,000 per pupil to school districts to expand current prekindergarten programs or start new ones. The executive budget, if approved by the New York State Legislature, would require every school district to have enough seats for all eligible primarily 4-year-olds whose parents apply by 2028-29. Programs can be located in a school building, or districts can partner with a community-based organization to run the program.

After years of sporadic funding, lawmakers, education leaders and advocates applauded the proposed increase in aid, which could be used largely for instruction. But more money may be necessary to address the need for additional space, transportation and qualified staff, they told Newsday.

Education advocates and lawmakers expressed concern that the mandate could become an issue if underfunded and become a burden local taxpayers would have to shoulder, particularly in high-wealth but expensive areas like on Long Island that typically receive less state aid under the school aid formula.

Statewide, 624 of the 673 school districts have some form of prekindergarten program, also known as pre-K, according to the State Education Department.

Research has shown that pre-K programs can help prepare children for kindergarten and help them have greater success in their school career, making them more likely to graduate high school, graduate college and get high-paying jobs, said Marina Marcou-O’Malley, co-executive director for the Alliance for Quality Education, an advocacy group. “The return on investment is huge.”

Universal pre-kindergarten is not child care, “it’s an early childhood education program,” said Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, the state’s largest teachers union representing nearly 700,000 members. It’s important to align what’s taught in prekindergarten with K-12 educational programming and to have certified teachers, Person said.

***

Southampton Town’s recent creation of new floating “Community Housing Overlay Districts” has paved the way forward for four housing developments already under consideration, and for an expansion of one of the town’s first community housing success stories — the Sandy Hollow Cove apartment complex — with a new development of single family townhouses next door. A total of up to 68 units, of a variety of designs ranging from houses for first-time homebuyers to apartments and senior cottages are currently being considered for changes of zoning to the new “Community Housing Overlay Districts.”

Each of the proposals will have a separate public hearing before the Southampton Town Board at a future date, after the board elected at its Jan. 29 work session to consider the applications.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Town planners, housing officials and a representative from the affordable housing developer Georgica Green Ventures gave an overview of the proposals at last week’s work session.

The projects include a complex that could have between 20 and 30 units at 99 Montauk Highway in Water Mill, 10 senior rental units at the former Easterner Motel in Shinnecock Hills, nine single-family homes at 90 North Sea-Mecox Road, four single-family homes at 205 North Sea-Mecox Road and 15 single family townhouses at 147 Sandy Hollow Road, adjacent to the existing Sandy Hollow Cove complex.

Georgica Green Ventures would be co-developing the Montauk Highway, Water Mill project and the Sandy Hollow Cove 2 project with the Town of Southampton Housing Authority.

Southampton Town has already used Community Housing Fund money to purchase the first four properties for use as community housing.

***

Saks Off Fifth, one of the largest stores in the Tanger Outlets mall in Riverhead, shut its doors yesterday.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the store’s financially troubled parent company, Saks Global, announced last week it is closing the majority of its Off Fifth stores, including two on Long Island. The Off Fifth store at Tanger Outlets in Deer Park is also closing. The Garden City location will remain open, according to a list posted on the Saks Global website.

The closings come after Saks Global voluntarily filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in Texas Jan. 14.

Saks Off Fifth, in addition to having one of the largest footprints in the Riverhead outlet mall, was, after 28 years of operation, one of the mall’s oldest tenants. Saks Off Fifth in 1997 was one of the first stores to open in Tanger II, a major expansion that more than doubled the size of the three-year-old outlet mall. After the completion of Tanger II in 1998, the center consisted of 735,000 square feet and was home to 200 stores— one of the largest in the country at the time.

The flagship Saks Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan (611 Fifth Ave) remains open despite recent bankruptcy filings by its parent company, Saks Global.

***

More than 40% of New Yorkers support deporting people who are in the United States illegally – but overwhelmingly are souring on the Trump administration’s tactics and ICE operations in Minneapolis, per a poll released today. Vaughn Golden reports in THE NY POST that 61% of respondents told Siena University pollsters they disagreed with how ICE was operating amid the surge in Minneapolis – including 81% of Democrats and 54% of Independents – while 61% of Republicans supported the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s tactics.

Suburban voters in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Orange and Putnam Counties have also largely soured on the immigration enforcement agency’s operation, with 61% opposed.

However, 43% of voters supported deporting migrants who are in the U.S. illegally, versus 35% against deportations and 20% “in the middle,” roughly the same as when Siena asked the question last May. 80% of Siena’s respondents said they supported deporting migrants with a criminal background in a poll about a year ago, including 71% of Latinos.

The poll, conducted last week, also shows the highest ever favorability for Gov. Kathy Hochul — at 49%. With 40% of respondents rating her unfavorably in the latest poll, she now has a net favorability rating of +9%.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is still largely unknown statewide, with 60% of those surveyed saying they don’t know the likely GOP challenger to Hochul. At this point, Blakeman would lose to the incumbent Democrat 54% to 28% in a head-to-head gubernatorial matchup according to the survey.

A majority of voters, 51%, did, however, tell Siena they would rather someone other than Hochul be governor, with only 42% saying they’d vote to re-elect the New York leader.

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who is waging a primary challenge against Hochul from the left, is also unknown to 61% of those surveyed. As such, he gets beaten in a head-to-head matchup with Hochul, 64% to 11%.

Abandoned office buildings at Grumman Aerospace's former Calverton plant could be redeveloped into an indoor cannabis cultivation facility, but the Central Pine Barrens Commission must first give approvals. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the 20-acre property on the south side of Grumman Boulevard includes three buildings that were built between 1960 and 1988. They have been vacant since Grumman closed the facility, where the U.S. Navy once assembled and tested fighter jets, in 1996.

Signature Partners, a Manhattan commercial real estate firm, is the site's new owner. Fenced in by barbed wire, the campus of former office buildings recently sold for $750,000, according to a deed filed with the Suffolk County Clerk's office in early January. The property was previously owned by TJ Enterprises LLC.

Signature officials outlined preliminary plans to redevelop the property as an indoor cannabis grow facility during a meeting of the Central Pine Barrens Commission Jan. 21 meeting. The company needs a hardship waiver because the property is in the Central Pine Barrens Core Preservation Area and is considered new development, officials said.

Development is not typically allowed in the environmentally sensitive area so as to protect the environment and groundwater, according to the commission's land use plan.

In a Jan. 7 letter to the Pine Barrens Commission, the developers said a hardship waiver was unnecessary. The applicant seeks an “adaptive reuse” of existing buildings, rather than an entirely new development, the letter said.

“We are not going to change the envelope of any of the buildings,” Signature Partners' CEO, Andrew M. Weiss Jr., said at the meeting. “It’s a restoration type of project.”

Under the proposal, the existing buildings would be reused for cannabis cultivation following interior renovations, parking lot resurfacing, landscaping upgrades and improvements to septic systems, fire sprinklers and other utility connections, according to documents filed with the commission. Ten wooded acres would remain untouched, according to a concept presented to the commission. “We will do nothing to injure or impair the existing majestic pine trees,” the letter states.

The property is in Riverhead Town’s “Natural Resources Protection” zoning district, which allows agricultural production. Cannabis is considered an agricultural crop under state law.

Town site plan approval would also be required, though no official plans have been filed yet.

“At this early stage, we are focused on making our application to the Central Pine Barrens Board. Once that is complete, we look forward to working with the Town of Riverhead to ensure that this long abandoned property is restored and can once again become a significant employer and taxpayer,” Weiss said in a statement.

Weiss added that they plan to make a formal application to the Central Pine Barrens Commission for a hardship waiver. A public hearing would be held before the commission decides.

***

New York's gubernatorial front-runners, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, are using well-known political figures as proxies to attack each other, with Hochul linking Blakeman to President Donald Trump and Blakeman associating Hochul with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that this strategy looks to leverage the high negativity ratings of these proxies outside their own parties to energize voter bases, despite the risk that voters may not connect the intended dots. Analysts suggest that while using a bogeyman can be effective, it often results in low-information voting, ultimately disadvantaging voters.

"Gov. Hochul blasted Bruce Blakeman for putting his loyalty to Donald Trump ahead of New Yorkers" begins a recent Hochul campaign release.

"Donald Trump saying [Blakeman is] 100% MAGA. Pretty much the kiss of death here in New York," Hochul herself said in a recent television interview.

Blakeman, for his part, keeps trying to tie Hochul to Mamdani, the freshly elected democratic socialist mayor. It’s not new: he used Mamdani as a foil in his 2025 reelection campaign for Nassau County executive.

"When you see what’s going on in the city of New York, they’re basically in turmoil right now with an administration that is antithetical to the values that we have here on Long Island," Blakeman said not long after his reelection in November.

"These proxies, or foils as I like to call them, are so deeply etched in people’s minds, politically, that there is no danger of confusing someone or not being clear of the criticism you are trying to make," Grant Reeher, a Syracuse University political scientist, said. "Every campaign wants to define their opponent before they can define themselves" to the public. However, even if using a foil works, Reeher said, in the end "the problem is the loser in all this is the voters."

"To the degree you are swayed by this approach, you are motivated to vote against someone who isn’t even the person you are voting against," Reeher said. "You [campaigns] are trying to get them to vote in a very low information way."

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau is offering teens a chance to gain valuable skills and confidence through The Babysitters Club, a free program designed to help participants become responsible, capable, and professional babysitters.

Running on Thursdays from February 26 through April 2, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hampton Bays Community Center, the program is open to youth ages 14 to 18. Space is limited to 20 participants, so early registration is encouraged.

Throughout the six-week program, teens will learn essential child safety practices, explore the stages of child development, and develop fun, age-appropriate activities for children. The curriculum also includes basic CPR and first aid-training, along with job readiness and leadership skills aimed at building confidence, responsibility, and professionalism.

To register, visit southamptontownny.gov/ybactivities or call the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 for more information.

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Beneath frozen ground and snow-covered grass, cesspool piping quietly cracks amid the pressure of expansion. Sewer and water lines are under increased stress as the ground shifts, said cesspool professional Salvatore Motta.

"In many cases, we're forced to bring in excavators just to dig through the frost before any repair can even begin," according to Motta, CEO of Melville-based Quick Drain. "This lack of access is a major reason winter repairs cost so much more."

Arielle Dollinger reports in NEWSDAY that amid a stretch of extreme cold, homeowners on Long Island have been confronted with frozen pipes and cesspool backups — realities experts said could impact both home inspections and wallets because of emergency pricing.

"We're seeing flooded homes and broken lines nonstop with this cold, and a big reason is what's happening underground," Motta said. The winter usually brings more opportunity for various plumbing issues to expose themselves, said Phil DePaul, CEO of Farmingdale-based 1-Tom-Plumber.

Plumbers handle hot water heating systems, he said, so winter generally comes with "a certain cadence or flow of weather-related calls."

Frozen pipes, through which water is not flowing, often lead to burst or broken pipes, he added. The volume of calls about these issues has been above average of late because of the low temperatures and wind chill, he said. But when a homeowner calls about a frozen pipe, "Truth be told, there's only so much a professional can do when a pipe is actually frozen," DePaul said.

Motta estimated a repair that could cost $2,500 in the springtime could cost $3,500 or more in the winter. He attributed this cost increase to frozen ground, longer repair times and additional labor and equipment.

"The combination of frost-related pipe failures, buried tanks and limited access is why winter plumbing emergencies are not only happening more frequently — but are far more disruptive and expensive for homeowners," Motta said.

For this reason, Motta said preventative maintenance and knowing where the cesspool or sewer system is located before temperatures drop and snow falls can have a significant impact.

***

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday said that she would push to bar police departments in New York from forming partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the latest in a recent effort by Democratic leaders to limit cooperation with President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Maia Coleman and Grace Ashford report in THE NY TIMES that the proposed legislation, called the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, would ban participation in so-called 287(g) agreements, which allow ICE to deputize local police to enforce civil immigration law. Though police officers in New York City are prohibited from collaborating with federal agents on civil immigration matters under the city’s sanctuary policies, a handful of counties in the state have passed such agreements.

Last fall, the federal government announced that ICE would begin reimbursing local agencies that participate in the agreements, including by paying the annual salary and benefits of eligible officers.

“We’re sending a strong message to ICE,” Ms. Hochul said during a news conference at her offices in Manhattan on Friday morning. “You will not weaponize local police officers against their own communities in the state of New York.”

She was flanked by Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, and an array of district attorneys and other police officials.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, condemned the legislation on Friday. “Governor Hochul would make New Yorkers less safe as a direct result of this policy,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a statement. “When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with D.H.S., our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence.”

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement that ICE agents were protecting American communities. “Local officials should work with them, not against them,” she said.

***

The Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton invites you to visit them this coming Friday, February 6, and spend a leisurely morning in conversation, while enjoying a cup of joe…as the Bookmark Café hosts another Coffee Social from 10 am to 12 noon.

Then stick around for Word Game Palooza, a casual afternoon of Scrabble, Boggle, and other word games! Word Game Palooza starts at 1 pm…Coffee Social at 10 a.m. this coming Friday, February 6 in Southampton’s Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Rd, Southampton, NY 11968.

***

The Village of Southampton is moving toward a referendum to lengthen the terms of mayor and trustee from two to four years, reviving a divisive proposal. Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the board of trustees recently voted 4-1 to schedule a public hearing on a law which, if adopted, would be placed on the ballot in June as part of the village’s annual election.

Under the current system, Southampton Village elections are staggered annually. Two trustees are elected one year, followed the next year by the election of two trustees and the mayor.

The proposed law would keep staggered elections but shift them to four-year terms.

If approved, the shift would begin with the 2028 cycle. That year, trustees would be elected to three-year terms. Then, in 2029, the other two trustees and mayor would be elected to four-year terms. In 2031, the two trustee seats would be up for four-year terms.

Trustee Ed Simioni cast the lone dissenting vote during the board's work session on Jan. 20. He said two-year terms are important for holding elected officials accountable. He pointed out that a similar village proposal in late 2023 was shelved after resident opposition.

Mayor Bill Manger said Simioni was being “undemocratic by not letting the people of this village vote” on term lengths.

According to the Southampton Village planning commission, more than half of Suffolk County towns have four-year terms for supervisor, and all of them have four-year terms for council members. Twelve villages in the county have four-year terms for trustees and mayor, the report noted.

It also notes that Suffolk County voters in November approved a referendum expanding terms of legislators from two years to four.

Southampton Village is not “the only place that’s doing this,” Manger said.

Last October, the New York State Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a 2023 state law moving many county and town elections outside of New York City from odd to even-numbered years. Beginning in 2026, voters across the state will cast their ballots in several local elections at the same time that they vote in state and federal contests.