The owner of a Riverhead shopping center that lost power during Saturday’s storms said their electricity wasn’t restored until late Tuesday afternoon, costing some businesses thousands of dollars.
Maureen Mullarkey reports in NEWSDAY that Joe Tosini, owner of River Center Shopping Center at Ostrander Avenue and Old Country Road in Riverhead, said full power was restored Tuesday around 5:40 p.m. after a "frustrating" experience of getting in contact with PSEG Long Island.
"These tenants here lost their livelihood, and I'm the owner, so my responsibility is to make sure that I help them get their power back on," Tosini said.
The Saturday night storm left thousands without power on Sunday and roads closed to traffic because of downed trees and utility lines.
Tosini said the power went out after a tree fell onto power and electric cables. The storm caused bricks to fall from the building’s corner onto the pavement.
A photo Tosini took afterward showed the tree blocking traffic in both directions on Ostrander Avenue, its branches taller than a PSEG worker standing in front of it.
By Wednesday morning, PSEG had removed the tree from the road, but Riverhead police closed Ostrander Avenue between the property’s entrance and an entrance of a neighboring shopping center due to exposed and downed wires.
PSEG Long Island released a statement yesterday saying it had "completed the work to repower the area on Monday. In order to reenergize the shopping center, the owners' electrician must be present to safely restore power. This coordination took place on Tuesday. Safety is a number one priority for PSEG Long Island and it recognizes that being without power for any length of time is a hardship for its customers."
More than 11,600 customers across Long Island had no electricity just before noon Sunday. By Monday night, PSEG Long Island reported more than 3,000 customers without power.
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Today at 12 Noon WLIW-FM’s Brian Cosgrove welcomes to our studio Anthony Mason - CBS news' Senior Culture Correspondent to talk about his new independent you tube show "Alchemy" - in depth conversations about the creative process which debuted in May. So far Anthony has spoken with Paul Simon, Hozier, Nile Rodgers & Brittany Howard with more shows to come. Anthony Mason is also a long time resident of Southampton. That’s today at 12 noon when Mr. Mason visits WLIW FM’s Brian Cosgrove right here on 88. 3 FM, 96.9 FM in western Suffolk, and 88.7 FM in Montauk. Also, on our WLIW FM app and on line at WLIWFM.org.
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Southampton Arts Center’s outdoor grounds and arboretum have been transformed into a vibrant oasis. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the grounds on the north side of Jobs Lane are now renamed the Paulson Family Gardens in honor of John Paulson, a hedge fund manager and Southampton Village resident who provided a $3.4 million gift to the center that paved the way for the renovations. The grounds go back to the final years of the 19th century, when they were initially designed in 1898 after being commissioned by Samuel Parrish, the future namesake of the Parrish Art Museum. Paulson explained at last Friday’s opening ceremony that two years ago, he and his wife, Alina de Almeida, were in the midst of another park renovation project and while they were walking through the village one day, she took note of the gardens at the center and suggested turning his attention there, telling him that the space needed “some local care and some refreshment.” When Paulson approached the center about the idea, Simone Levinson, the chairwoman of the center’s board of directors, was immediately receptive and began meeting with village officials to get the necessary approvals to do the work.
The Southampton Arts Center worked with landscape architect Chris LaGuardia of the LaGuardia Design Group to redesign the 2.7-acre grounds. Among the changes introduced are a new fountain on the west side, new flower plantings and moving certain trees to new areas.
Tish Rehill, the president of Gardeneering Inc., was brought in to work on specifics of the garden. She said she wanted to continue Parrish’s original mission of introducing new plants to the area and noted that “you can do color and texture with just leaves.”
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The Greenport Village Board is considering implementing resident parking permits in 2027 for the village parking lots that now require hourly payment near the center of the village.
The move came after backlash from residents over the expansion this summer of the village’s paid parking program.
The board discussed implementing the resident passes at a special meeting last evening.
Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that they received a smattering of mixed reaction from the public.
Greenport Village Treasurer Adam Brautigam told attendees at the meeting that if the village issued 1,430 parking passes at a rate of $40 per pass it would generate $57,000 in revenue in 2027.
He based those figures on the assumption that the village has 1,100 parcels of land, with two cars per parcel, and that 65 percent of residents would take advantage of the program.
He added that the Village of Greenport is making the assumption that 25 percent of people currently parking in paid parking areas are village residents.
The village had budgeted that it would receive $165,000 in paid parking revenue this year.
In 2025, the village had implemented a pilot paid parking program in the downtown areas of First and Main Street in which people pay online through a company called ParkMobile.
This year, the village expanded the program to include three parking lots on the north side of Adams Street, and began enforcing it in collaboration between a village parking violation officer and Southold Town Police.
Parking costs $3.50 per hour and payment is required between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The resident parking permits could only be used in the three lots on Adams Street.
Village board members said they can’t legally instate resident-only parking on state roads, including Front and Main Streets.
The expansion and the enforcement have been the subject of much public debate in recent weeks, with many residents pushing for a resident pass.
Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi said last night that Sag Harbor settled on its program after some pitfalls in its original rollout of paid parking.
“We’re doing our best,” he said. “Whether it’s the right decision or not, we probably won’t know for five years or so.”
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This coming Saturday, the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton will celebrate two milestone achievements.
Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the library is reopening after a $2 million interior renovation — fully funded by gifts, donations and pledges — that gave the space a much-needed refresh and also reworked several spaces, including the young adult room, which is now double the size it used to be, and an expansion of the literacy room. Hampton Library, which is centrally located on the north side of Main Street in Bridgehampton, is also celebrating another milestone: 150 years since its founding.
Saturday afternoon’s celebration, open to the public, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. with a little something for library patrons and friends of all ages including live music, free food as well as giveaways and games.
Plus, Southampton Town historian Julie Greene will give a library history talk, sharing details about the rich tradition of the Hampton Library, and how it has evolved over the years. There will be a special book launch as well, by author Eva A. Petersen, whose picture book is based on a cat with a special relationship to the library. In keeping with that theme, ARF will be on hand with adoptable kittens.
Lisa Michne, the library’s executive director, spoke earlier this week about the renovation and the history of the library.
Hampton Library underwent an extensive renovation and expansion back in 2009. It was a major, $6 million addition designed by the architect Lee Pomeroy that doubled the library’s size, providing well-lit spaces overlooking the back lawn for library patrons to read or study and more room to store its growing collection of books and other media.
It’s been more than 15 years since that renovation, and while that may seem recent to some, Michne explained why the interior renovation and reworking of spaces was necessary.
“Libraries have changed even since then,” she said. “People use libraries in different ways now; they work here, and libraries are really community centers in a different way. So it was time.”
The entire inside got a refresh, with new paint and other touches. The project more than doubled the size of the young adult room and bumped out the literacy room, where the library hosts language classes and poetry workshops, and provides space for people who come in and want to work remotely. The children’s room and program room also both received a makeover.
Michne explained that Hampton Library is also working on a sustainable libraries initiative, so with that in mind, the project involved the use of sustainable materials and practices.
“Libraries are still so important,” she said. “They’re one of the most democratic institutions there is. It has changed in some ways, but it’s still about reading and literacy. There are a lot of challenges happening right now regarding books and literature, but I want to make sure everybody knows truly how important libraries are for communities, for individuals and for seniors.”
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You are invited to join Southold Historical Museum for “America’s Birthday Party,” a lively celebration of the nation’s founding era, during a Revolutionary War encampment from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM this coming Saturday, the 11th of July.
The grounds of the Maple Lane Campus, 55200 Main Road, Southold, will be transformed into a vibrant living-history setting by reenactors from the Third New York Regiment. Visitors can explore an authentic encampment and see the equipment and supplies soldiers carried as they traveled to join General Washington and the Continental Army.
Families can enjoy children’s games inside the Bayview Schoolhouse and on the lawn, a Hamilton sing-along in the barn, light refreshments, vendors, and special demonstrations and tastings. Diane Schwindt will be “Stirring Up History,” while Cassandra St. George prepares traditional open-hearth bread.
This festive presentation of America’s semi-quincentennial is free and open to the public.
That’s this coming Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Southold Historical Museum, Maple Lane Campus, 55200 Main Rd, Southold, NY 11971, U.S.A.
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Long Island home prices climbed to a record high during the spring, while the median price on the south fork…The Hamptons…cleared $2 million, according to new data released today. The median home price on Long Island, excluding the East End, rose 5% year over year to $761,250, eclipsing the previous high of $750,000 set last year, according to a report from real estate analyst Jonathan Miller and the Hamptons Real Estate Association.
Jonathan LaMantia reports in NEWSDAY that it was the eighth time in the last 12 quarters that home prices on Long Island, excluding the East End, have reached an all-time high, Miller said.
A shortage of houses on the market since the pandemic has led to intense competition for houses, Miller said, with more than half, 55.9%, of homes selling for above asking price during the second quarter.
In the Hamptons, the median price rose 16.1% to $2.2 million, with a surge of sales from $1 million to $5 million driving the market, Miller said. But the number of closings was down 10% in the second quarter, compared with the same period last year.
That was due in part to a 9.5% drop in the number of homes on the market as of the end of June.
"Sales are still underperforming," Miller said.
On the North Fork, the median price fell 10.4% to $979,000 compared with last year. Miller attributed the decline in the region, where 96 houses sold during the quarter, to a shift in the types of homes that sold.
"The median dropped because of more lower-priced sales," he said.
For the broader Long Island region, Miller doesn't anticipate the market easing much for buyers this year because the supply shortage is unlikely to improve anytime soon. That's because homeowners wedded to mortgage rates around 3% have been reluctant to move.
This year, with inflation climbing again, Miller doesn't expect mortgage rates to fall, incentivizing sellers to list their homes.
"Rates have to go down for inventory to really come into the market," Miller said.
Overall, today's report from Jonathan Miller and the Hamptons Real Estate Association indicates the median price of a home on Long Island, excluding the East End, has nearly doubled in the past decade. But prices have risen fastest in the Hamptons.
