One of the longest running summer east end events that has steadily grown for 79 years is the Shinnecock Indian Powwow. And it returns this Friday through Monday in Southampton. David J. Criblez reports in NEWSDAY that the Native American Shinnecock tribe has lived on an 800-acre reservation maintaining its traditions and culture for centuries. Annually, the Shinnecocks open their federally recognized reservation grounds just west of Southampton Village to the public for the Powwow.

"People feel educated and enlightened with good spirits from the Powwow. We are a race of people that has lasted for so long and we are still strong in our culture," says Powwow master of ceremonies Charles K. Smith II, of Southampton, former sachem of the Shinnecock Nation council. "There are always warm feelings at the Powwow among everybody. People enjoy the food, the arts and crafts, the dancing and the singing. It’s a joyful occasion."

Thousands of attendees gather on the Shinnecock territory to witness more than 35 tribes from across the country competing in dance and drum competitions, cooking homemade dishes and selling handmade goods. Tribes include the Chickasaw Nation from the Midwest, the Cherokee Tribe from North Carolina, the Seneca Nation from upstate New York, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the Narragansett Tribe from Rhode Island, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe from Massachusetts, the Pequot Nation from Connecticut, the Navajo Tribe from Arizona and many more gather at this weekend’s 79th ANNUAL SHINNECOCK INDIAN POWWOW.

WHEN/WHERE Friday August 29 from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday August 30 and 31 from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Monday September 1 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

At 100 Montauk Highway, Southampton

COST $20, $10 ages 5-12

MORE INFO 631-745-7391, shinnecock-nsn.gov

***

A new committee created by the Riverhead school board will advise the district on community concerns and language access issues. Alek Lewis reports on RIVERHEADLOCAL.com that the district’s new Community Involvement and Language Access Advisory Committee will consist of 20 parents of students enrolled in Riverhead district schools, along with three school board members and two administrators. The committee will meet at least four times a year and make “solution-oriented” recommendations for consideration by the school board, according to the charter adopted by the board last week. “Amongst the concerns that the Committee will address includes, but is not limited to, access to student services and co-curricular programs and language access issues students and parents whose primary language is other than English are experiencing in school, and to develop recommendations to the Board to address such issues,” the charter states. Riverhead's Superintendent of Schools Robert Hagan said an application for committee membership will be published on the district’s website by the end of next week. Applicants must live within the school district, have at least one child attending district schools, and must have resided in the district for at least one year. Applications will be available in English and Spanish and translated into other languages upon request. According to state enrollment statistics for the 2023-24 school year, 38% of Riverhead’s students are English language learners, and 64% are Hispanic or Latino.

***

As the face of downtown Riverhead is expected to dramatically change with the imminent construction of the Town Square, the East End Arts community Art & Music School is in the process of moving from its East Main Street campus to a temporary location at 206 Griffing Avenue, where it will stay while the construction is underway.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the buildings at the East End Arts campus, which is owned by Riverhead Town, will be raised seven feet, out of the floodplain in concert with the Town Square construction, and the Carriage House, which contained the non-profit’s music studio, will be turned 90 degrees to face the interior of the campus.

East End Arts anticipates it will be using the Griffing Avenue location for at least three years, though it will also still be able to use its 133 East Main gallery and administrative space, which had been its headquarters since 1977, through next spring.

The temporary Arts & Music School, also owned by the town, is a brick office building adjacent to the new Riverhead Town Hall and shares a courtyard and entrance with Town Hall, on Second Street. EEA Executive Director Wendy Weiss envisions the courtyard as a space that can be augmented with public art and perhaps an outdoor piano.

The Town of Riverhead has recently resurfaced the concrete courtyard with a new pitch, to enable better access to the building for people with disabilities, and many of the practice rooms in the new building are accessible to people who may not be able to walk up stairs — a boon for the school’s Arts for All initiative.

***

The Village of Southampton has enacted a two-week minimum for prospective renters seeking a getaway. Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that an amendment to village code, which the board of trustees adopted earlier this month, restricts homeowners from handing over the keys to their rental properties for less than 14 days at a time.

The code change aligns the Village of Southampton with the Town of Southampton, the Town of East Hampton and other municipalities on Long Island.

It's also the "first effort" to address a "quality of life" concern villagers have expressed, especially since home rental sites like Airbnb bolstered the popularity of short-term rentals across the east end, said Southampton Village Trustee Roy Stevenson.

"Some of our residents found that their neighbors were renting out their houses basically every weekend to different people ... having parties," Stevenson told NEWSDAY last night. "The vast majority of villagers here in Southampton want to come out here and enjoy a nice, quiet ... environment. So I think we did the right thing."

Along with Stevenson, Village Mayor Bill Manger and trustees Robert Coburn and Leonard Zinnanti voted to adopt the new short-term rental policy. Trustee Edward Simioni cast the sole dissenting vote.

Stevenson said the new amendment, which allows homeowners to rent their home for one-week stays twice during the year, has been received positively among folks in town. As a business owner (Stevenson's Toys & Games in both Southampton and East Hampton), the trustee said he does not think the new restriction will affect the Southampton economy.

"You think there will be less people coming out because they can't rent for the weekend?" Stevenson said. "I don't know if that's true."

***

Over the objections of several residents who showed up for a public hearing on the matter, the North Haven Village Board last Wednesday adopted a code change that will prohibit property owners from using either underwater land or land that extends under the street as part of their gross lot area when attempting to calculate how large a house they can build. Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that Mayor Chris Fiore said the board’s decision to move forward with the change had less to do with trying to regulate house sizes than with bringing the Village of North Haven into line with other municipalities in Suffolk County that don’t allow underwater land or under-street land to be included in lot area. He said it was not fair for those whose deeds include land that is below the mean water mark to benefit from what is essentially unusable property. And while he acknowledged that they still must pay taxes on the land, he suggested that they could successfully file a tax grievance and have their assessments reduced. Mayor Fiore said the board took up the issue at the request of its planning and zoning board chairs as well as on the advice of its attorney, Scott Middleton, and planning consultant, Billy Hajack. He added that North Haven Village officials had reviewed 25 different properties and found that most of them would lose very little in the way of building rights if their underwater land was excluded from size calculations. He said the village would begin a review of its floor area ratio law, which limits the size of a house to its lot size, next month.

***

Travel costs will be slightly lower over Labor Day weekend 2025 than they were last year, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

John Valenti reports in NEWSDAY that domestic flights, hotels, gas and car rental prices are on average all down over the prior year, per AAA, citing booking data.

Round-trip flights are 6% lower, the auto club said. Hotel rates are 11% lower on average in the United States than they were a year ago, while gas prices are down an average of 37 cents per gallon and rental car rates have dropped about 3%, according to AAA.

But the AAA said anyone planning a last-minute road trip should keep in mind that the best departure time often is before lunch.

For Thursday, the best travel time will be before 1 p.m., while the worst figures to be between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., according to the AAA.

On Friday, the best travel time will be before noon, while on Saturday it will be between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. On Sunday, you should plan to be on the road before 11 a.m., the AAA said, while on Monday the best advice is to get going before noon.

***

In a 4-1 vote, with Trustee Ed Simioni casting the lone “no” vote, the Southampton Village Board passed new rental restrictions at its meeting last week, requiring a two-week minimum stay for home rentals. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger said the restrictions were proposed because several residents had complained about noise from short-term, weekend renters who were being loud late into the evening, while renting what amounted to “party houses.” Deputy Mayor Len Zinnanti said he had experienced that kind of disruption personally, living next to a house that was often rented for short periods or weekends, until the house was recently sold. He called it a “quality of life” issue.

Meanwhile, THE NY POST is characterizing the issue from a class warfare perspective. Brandon Cruz, Jennifer Gould and Alex Oliveira report in THE NY POST that “tony” Southampton has banned short-term home rentals after crabby locals complained that weekend warriors’ all-night “ragers” were keeping them up too late and making the ritzy beachside village unbearable. That means Hamptons trips — which already cost between $900 and $2,000 for a weekend stay — could now cost anything from $10,000 to $15,000 and up for a two-week rental. But Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger tells THE NY POST that it’s short-term renters’ own fault for partying too hard and losing their weekend privileges…explaining locals have been calling cops with relentless noise complaints “every weekend” for months.

As reported on 27east.com, Manger said that residents would still not be required to obtain a rental permit. When Trustee Roy Stevenson asked how it would be enforced, Manger said that he spoke with Mayor Jerry Larsen of East Hampton Village, which has a similar restriction — Manger pointed out that Southampton Village was the only municipality on the East End without such restrictions — and that Larsen said that when the police receive a noise complaint, they inform the homeowners about the two-week minimum, and that typically does the job.

Trustee Simioni objected to the new restrictions on the grounds of taking away homeowner rights and also added he thought it would be difficult to enforce.

The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation has been there for the Southampton Town community for more than 15 years, providing homes and care for thousands of dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals in need. Now, it is hoping the community can return that favor.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that in less than a month, the foundation will undergo much-needed repairs to its adoption center at Red Creek Park in Hampton Bays, which will require the temporary relocation of more than 150 animals, over a period expected to last anywhere from two to five months.

During that time, the Southampton Animal Shelter foundation is seeking families and individuals in the community willing to open their homes to foster pets. Volunteers at the shelter point out that fostering has many benefits — it helps the shelter pets decompress and become more adoptable, and gives hope to overlooked pets who never experienced the comfort of a home. It’s also a great way for families and teens to earn community service hours.

The shelter received grant funding through the Town of Southampton for two of the main components of the repairs, which are scheduled to begin on September 2. The grant funding will cover the cost of fixing the floors in the four large kennel rooms at the shelter, which haven’t been addressed in 16 years, and the cost of installing brand new kennels, which are also 16 years old.

The shelter will also receive an updated sewage system.

While those repairs are taking place, the staff and animals will need to completely vacate the building. A temporary shelter will be built in the parking lot, with a tent and kennels, as well as a temporary office building unit. Some of the animals will be housed in that temporary shelter, and a few will be taken in temporarily at Bide-a-Wee, another shelter several miles to the west.

But at last count, SASF Executive Director Chris Teakle said the shelter was home to 40 dogs, 86 cats and 21 rabbits, meaning securing foster homes outside of the temporary facility will be key.

The shelter will continue to operate during the repair project as well, meaning it will need to be prepared to take in any new animals that need a home.

***

The Internal Revenue Service is rescinding some layoffs and seeking to persuade former workers to come back after being fired or pushed out. Those job cuts, including departures from the agency’s operations in Holtsville, had been among the most highly publicized parts of a broad federal effort earlier this year. Billy House reports in NEWSDAY that details of how many job reinstatements might specifically be aimed for the Holtsville office in Suffolk, if any, were not available yesterday from an agency press office in Washington. The IRS also has operations in Nassau County in Bethpage, and an Appeals and Chief Counsel Office in Westbury.

Kristen Thomas, 28, of Farmingville, said she was among hundreds of employees who lost their jobs at the Holtsville operation early this year. She said she is "disgusted" and "appalled" the IRS is now seeking to have some employees come back.

Thomas, who worked as a tax examiner and now works as a waitress, has not received any communication asking her to return.

"But who would do that?" she told NEWSDAY, given the disruption and heartache her job termination caused, at a time she was eight months pregnant.

The initial job termination letter received in February, while she was still a probationary employee, stated the action was being taken because her continued employment was "not in the public interest." Her deferred resignation occurred in early April.

***

The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau is now accepting applications for its Youth Advisory Committee for the 2025–26 school year. Students in grades 7 through 12 who are interested in planning events, engaging in community service, and connecting with peers from different schools are encouraged to apply. Members participate in a variety of service projects such as leaf raking for seniors, toy and clothing drives, fundraising efforts, and meetings with local officials to advocate for youth issues. Areas of focus may include civic engagement, environmental activism, journalism, music, and the arts. Students earn community service credit for their participation.

Weekly meetings are held Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Hampton Bays Community Center, 25 Ponquogue Avenue. The first meeting is scheduled for September 9. Preregistration is required but will remain open beyond the first meeting.

Registration is also open for additional Youth Bureau programs, including Youth Court, Youth and Government, and Youth Media Impact, with meetings beginning in October.

To register or learn more, visit southamptontownny.gov/YBactivities or call 631-702-2425.

***

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CONNETQUOT CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT OF ISLIP WILL CONDUCT ITS NEXT MEETING IN THE AUDITORIUM OF THE OAKDALE-BOHEMIA MIDDLE SCHOOL this coming THURSDAY AUGUST 28TH. THE MEETING WILL COMMENCE AT 7:00 PM FOR THE PURPOSES OF PROVIDING THE COMMUNITY AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED MASCOT LITIGATION SETTLEMENT.

Meanwhile, Alex Mitchell reports in THE NY POST that a group of Native Americans is “gravely concerned” that the Suffolk County school is stripping its Thunderbirds team name…and that it sends “a dangerous message” — and they’re threatening to slap them with a lawsuit over it.

Representatives for the national Native American Guardians Association {NAGA} sent a damning letter to the embattled Connetquot School District — its over six decades long school nickname and logo may be removed while a legal battle rages over New York state’s controversial 2023 ban on indigenous imagery and phrases.

“Compliance with this regulation is not ‘progress’; it is cultural censorship and systemic racism,” the NAGA letter, sent days before the beginning of the school year, reads. It added that “whitewashing the historic name would also commit the district to false and discriminatory representations about Native American culture…Far from being derogatory, ‘Thunderbirds’ reflect strength, resilience, and heritage,” the letter continued.

The issue reached a fever pitch this summer as Connetquot, which initially sued the Board of Regents to keep the Thunderbirds moniker, quietly allocated over $23 million for rebranding under a new team name.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon — who ruled in May that only removing icons relevant to one ethnicity is a discriminatory civil rights violation — launched a federal probe into the Connetquot School district in July.

McMahon told THE NY POST last week, “It is a top priority” of the Trump administration to keep Thunderbirds and other Native American team names…“We will not allow New York education leaders to continue violating the Civil Rights Act by inconsistently and unlawfully deeming some national-origin-based mascots as acceptable while determining others are not,” she added.

***

The New York State Gaming Commission yesterday moved to ban "bulk buying" of lottery tickets, hoping to avoid the type of scandal that engulfed the Texas lottery when a gambling syndicate bought 99% of the numerical combinations to win a $95 million jackpot. New York regulators proposed banning attempts to buy up every mathematical combination of a lottery ticket, prohibiting ticket-sales collaboration, mandating lottery sales agents to report bulk buying attempts and suspending an agent’s license if their store or outlet allows a bulk purchase, among other measures. Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that the commission unanimously approved the measures as proposed new state regulations, which means allowing for a public comment period before the rules take effect, likely in October.

"This is really aimed at what happened in Texas," said Brian O’Dwyer, commission chairman.

Some of the proposals also include prohibiting sales terminals from being sold on a temporary basis, banning accepting wire or electronic money transfers and requiring a purchaser to be a "natural person."

But there’s a related issue, too, O’Dwyer noted: Courier companies, or online services that allow players to buy tickets through a phone or other device can move a high volume of tickets. Texas has moved to ban them since the scandal, as have other states.

Couriers are legal in New York. O’Dwyer signaled the commission might consider taking up that subject in the future. "We still have substantial issues to work through in terms of and I want everybody to be aware we’ll take those up at a future time if necessary," stated the New York Gaming Commission chairman.

***

Today is the start of Amistad Week in Montauk, a joint project of the Eastville Community Historical Society and the Southampton African American History Museum, honoring the enslaved people who, in 1839 overthrew their enslavers and brought the ship that had been carrying them north, to Culloden Point in Montauk on Aug. 26,…186 years ago…where they were again captured and brought to trial.

“Amistad Week 2025,” is a compelling series of events in Montauk - today through this coming Saturday - dedicated to history, art, and community. From poignant commemorative ceremonies to insightful film screenings and engaging workshops, the week offers unique opportunities for reflection, artistic expression, and discussions on local and national history.

“We are honored to host a diverse range of programs this August that not only celebrate our rich cultural heritage but also encourage deeper understanding and dialogue about pivotal moments in history, particularly those connected to the Amistad story,” said Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, Executive Director of the Eastville Community Historical Society. “These events reinforce our commitment to preserving history and fostering community engagement through education and the arts.”

For further info visit: aaqeastend.com

***

President Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order aimed at ending cashless bail in New York State and other jurisdictions by threatening to withhold federal funds if states and cities do not change their policies. Laura Figueroa Hernandez reports in NEWSDAY that the executive order comes as Trump looks to ramp up the role of the federal government in local law enforcement.

Trump’s executive order directs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide Trump with a list within 30-days of jurisdictions she believes "substantially eliminated cash bail as a potential condition of pretrial release from custody for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety and order." The order also directs the White House Office of Management and Budget to identify funds, grants and contracts provided to the jurisdictions "that may be suspended or terminated."

Speaking at an Oval Office bill signing ceremony, President Trump railed against cashless bail.

“‘No cash? Come back in a couple of months, we’ll give you a trial.’ You’ll never see the person again," Trump said.

Jen Goodman, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kathy Hochul, in an e-mail statement to Newsday said Trump “has no concept of how the law works in New York."

"His reckless threat to withhold federal funds would only undercut law enforcement and make our communities less safe," Goodman said. "The fact is Gov. Hochul changed New York’s bail laws so violent offenders are held accountable ...The governor also gave judges more discretion to keep dangerous individuals behind bars, and she encourages them to use it.”

The executive order is the latest aimed at stripping federal funding from New York State over policies at odds with Trump’s agenda.

New York’s cashless bail law has been a hot-button issue since it was enacted in 2019 and implemented in January 2020. The law eliminated cash bail for a number of misdemeanor nonviolent offenses, but has since been amended three times to expand the list of offenses and to provide judges with more discretion over imposing bail.

Proponents of the cashless bail law contend cash bail creates a class-based justice system that allows wealthy individuals to be freed from jail as they await their trial, while a disproportionate amount of low-income individuals who cannot afford to post bail remain detained for weeks and months awaiting their next court appearance. Opponents of the law, including Trump, argue the system is flawed, allowing for repeat offenders to be released and potentially commit other crimes.

The first Long Island Rail Road union strike in more than three decades could happen as soon as Sept. 18, absent intervention by the White House. It's a possibility that has caught many people off guard, including MTA officials left scrambling to figure out how to avoid disrupting the nation's busiest commuter rail system. Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that union leaders had been signaling for weeks that such a development could be imminent. One union held a vote earlier this month in which 90% of voting members approved a strike, labor officials said. Still, officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the LIRR’s parent company, acknowledged being surprised by a decision earlier this month by the National Mediation Board that the two sides were at an impasse, which many observers predicted could be months, if not years, away.

Now a federally regulated process that typically moves at a snail’s pace is put on the fast track.

The LIRR's various unions have historically negotiated contracts together, but in 2023, five unions representing nearly half the 7,000 union workers broke ranks with the railroad’s largest union, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), believing they could secure better contract terms than the three-year deal accepted by the other unions.

When the five unions negotiating together - a week ago - rejected an invitation by mediators to enter into binding arbitration, both sides were released from federal mediation, beginning a 30-day "cooling off period," as it’s referred to in the federal Railway Labor Act. Either side, or Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, can ask the White House to intervene, which would set up more negotiations. But barring intervention from President Donald Trump's administration, at the end of that period, at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 18 the unions could strike or MTA management could lock them out.

If a shutdown of the LIRR did occur it would have significant impacts on the lives of riders and employers, as well as on the regional economy.

***

Ocean beaches run by the state and some Long Island municipalities reopened for swimming yesterday, while others remained closed and the National Weather Service recommended against swimming. Peter Gill reports in NEWSDAY that Robert Moses State Park and all other state beaches on Long Island had earlier either closed for swimming or limited access because of dangerous surf conditions from Hurricane Erin.

"As Long Island State Park beaches reopen for swimming, the safety of every New Yorker and visitor remains our top priority. We urge everyone to exercise caution, follow all posted advisories and respect the guidance of lifeguards and park personnel," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement announcing the reopening.

Jones Beach had reopened for swimming Saturday, while Robert Moses permitted only wading.

The reopenings came as the National Weather Service forecast a high risk for "life-threatening" rip currents on Long Island's ocean-facing beaches until last night, and a day after a man drowned in a strong rip current at Fire Island National Seashore.

Forecasters monitor water conditions by looking at wave patterns, live camera feeds and updates from various parks' staff, said Bill Goodman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Upton office here in Suffolk County.

George Gorman, regional director of state parks on Long Island, said the state's decision to reopen was informed by ongoing monitoring by lifeguards for each section of beach.

"They visually inspect the water, they go in the water, they make an analysis of how strong the current is. They look for the sweep — whether it's going east or west — and analyze how strong that current is," he said, adding that this tailored approach can lead to different restrictions at different beaches.

Officials with Fire Island National Seashore said yesterday that it remained unclear whether the swimmer who drowned Saturday, identified as Ishmoile Mohammed, 59, of South Carolina, had been swimming in an area monitored by lifeguards.

***

The Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association hosts a presentation on “What You Need to Know About Irrigation & Conservation” during its monthly meeting at Veterans Beach this evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski will discuss the town’s new irrigation law, Chris Williams from Signature Irrigation will discuss new technology that can help conserve water and be compliant with town and Suffolk County Water Authority regulations and Alexandra Getches from Living Lands Garden Design will discuss using native plants in your gardens and lawn alternatives, which help conserve water.

This evening’s event is free…it begins at 6:30 p.m.

That’s the Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association Forum:

What You Need to Know About Irrigation & Conservation at Veterans Beach, on Peconic Bay Boulevard in Mattituck, NY.

***

Immigrant advocates on Friday described the Trump administration’s announcement to expand its review of all current U.S. visa holders as the latest crackdown intended to snuff out free speech and criticism of the administration.

The U.S. State Department, in an emailed statement to Newsday on Friday, said its "continuous vetting includes all of the more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid U.S. visas" and that it could revoke visas if there are "indications of a potential ineligibility." Joe Werkmeister and Bart Jones report in NEWSDAY that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that processes immigration and naturalization applications, issued a policy alert last week saying it would vet immigrants "who promote anti-American ideologies or activities" as well as "antisemitic ideologies."

Andrea Rodriguez, an immigration attorney based in Bohemia, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement already has the power to deport or suspend a person’s visa or green card if they commit a crime. What appears new is the addition of restrictions on speech and how that can affect immigrants or visitors.

"Fear is the goal," said Minerva Perez, executive director of the nonprofit Latino advocacy group OLA of Eastern Long Island, adding the message from the administration is for people "to keep quiet, keep your mouth shut."

She said the latest initiative demonstrates how the immigration crackdown has expanded beyond the stated goal of removing violent criminals.

"If you are searching to find ways to make everyone a criminal, then that’s what you’re doing," she said. "If you’re doing this, it kind of demonstrates to me as an immigrant advocate that you’ve run out of the real bad guys. Now you’re looking for anyone to fulfill the quota."

There are 550,000 immigrants living on Long Island, according to an analysis of the most recent census data by Immigration Research Initiative (IRI) posted in June 2023. This includes all people born in another country and living on Long Island: people who are undocumented, have green cards, or are naturalized citizens; adults, and children; refugees, asylum seekers, agricultural workers, people with high-skill visas, and more. Immigrants make up 19 percent of the Nassau / Suffolk population as of about 2021.

​***

Stony Brook University has begun what it says will be a “comprehensive, multi-year restoration” of the more than 300-year-old windmill that adorns the Stony Brook University-Southampton campus in Shinnecock Hills. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the announcement is a rebuke to an effort by Southampton Village residents who had voiced concerns the college was not going to be able to maintain the windmill and proposed paying to have it moved into the village’s downtown. S.B.U. officials said that the restoration of one of the South Fork’s oldest surviving windmills actually began two years ago with repairs and weatherproofing of the structure and have now entered the key phase of structural rehabilitation.

The windmill is known variously as the Windmill Lane Mill, the Southampton Windmill or the Shinnecock Windmill. It was constructed in the late 1600s or very early 1700s and originally stood on the hill at the intersection of what is now Windmill Lane and Hill Street in Southampton Village. It is the oldest surviving windmill in Southampton Town. When it was taken out of operational service by its owners in the late 1880s, it was purchased by a wealthy patron of the Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art, Janet Hoyt, and moved to the school campus. Hoyt sold the property in 1896 to the Claflin family who built Heathermere, the Gilded Age mansion that later became the college campus administration building.

Dr. Wendy Pearson, executive director of the Stony Brook Southampton campus, said that the college is dedicated to restoring the windmill. “The sails of the historic windmill on the Stony Brook Southampton campus are being carefully removed and safely stored as part of the first phase of a multi-stage restoration project. This important work will help preserve the structure for future generations. “We appreciate the Southampton community’s support as we take steps to protect this cherished landmark.”

***

At the beginning this month, Organización Latino Americana launched the Creating Legacies Initiative. An expansion of its existing scholarship program for Latino youth on the East End, this new addition unites several local businesses in a shared commitment to support and invest in the futures of Latino students. Hope Hamilton reports on 27east.com that the original scholarship initiative, which to date has aided 25 students with multiyear scholarships for a variety of higher-education programs, started in 2019, and until recently was funded almost completely by OLA board member Michael Donovan and his wife, Linda Donovan. Now, seven East End businesses are helping to fund the scholarships to bring in more resources and augment the already successful program. Scholarship recipients are chosen for their academic prowess, leadership abilities, commitment to volunteer work, artistic expression, and athletic accomplishments. One of the scholarship program’s new sponsors, Johanna Sanchez, who founded Bilingual Law Practice in East Hampton, said, “When we invest in someone’s future, we’re not just changing one life — we’re helping to shape families, communities, and generations to follow. That is legacy.”

***

The view of a quiet tree nursery from Bob Hering’s 6-acre farm tucked off a winding road in Calverton is now obstructed by towering piles of compost.Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that Hering and his neighbors on Youngs Avenue say the piles are not only unsightly but are fouling the air and forcing them indoors with windows shut, thwarting backyard plans and triggering health issues among residents and livestock.

“The stench of this stuff has not just affected me, it has affected the whole neighborhood,” Hering said recently from his property in Calverton, where he raises horses, goats and chickens. “My animals, I can’t shelter them from the smell. Their eyes are running, their noses are discharging.”

Since May, residents have complained to Riverhead Town and state officials about the smells, dust, heavy truck traffic and surge in pests stemming from the 45-acre tree farm where the owner's attorney said they are taking in "organic material." Riverhead's code allows active farms to import up to 3,000 cubic yards of organic material, such as compost, per year, but Erik Howard, the town attorney, said there is "no ongoing agricultural production" there. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is probing the materials at the site, the agency recently confirmed to Newsday.

The property, once a Warner Nursery tree farm, was purchased by Youngs Ave. LLC last year for $1.7 million, according to Suffolk County property records. The corporation is registered with New York State to Joseph DeFigueroa, who owns Patriot Recycling in Oceanside. The Nassau facility accepts construction and demolition debris, and yard waste, and sells fill dirt, topsoil, mulch and compost, according to its website.

DeFigueroa secured a town permit to reestablish a tree farm at the property in February, but town officials and neighbors said no planting has occurred yet. Instead, Hering and his neighbors say, the site is being used as a dumping ground masquerading as a farm.

A flurry of complaints led Riverhead code enforcement officers to post a stop-work order at the property, and the owner was issued 11 violations ranging from littering to violating the stop order on July 30, according to records obtained by Newsday through a Freedom of Information Law request.

The Town of Riverhead is considering cracking down on the dumping further and ordering the piles removed.

DeFigueroa is due in town Justice Court on Sept. 9, according to the violations.

Hurricane Erin turned away from the East Coast this morning but was expected to continue to bring dangerous surf conditions and minor coastal flooding through part of the weekend on Long Island. As reported in NEWSDAY, Erin, now a Category 1 system, is around 400 miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, at the moment, heading northeast at about 22 mph, according to Matthew Tauber, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton, New York…right here in Suffolk County.

“It does continue to be dangerous to go into the waters,” Tauber said. “The high risk of rip currents may continue into Sunday as the swells do slowly subside.”

A coastal flood advisory is in effect on Long Island through early Saturday morning as large waves and rip currents continue to batter beaches in Nassau and Suffolk counties. No significant damage was reported by vulnerable South Shore communities but forecasters warned of possible erosion and flooding today as the storm pulls away.

Erin triggered flooding in some low-lying areas in Suffolk, including on Dune Road and in Mastic, Mike Martino, a Suffolk County spokesman, said in an email.

Giant waves and strong winds pummeled the South Shore last night as Hurricane Erin reached out from more than 100 miles away, putting on a show for Long Islanders watching the storm's fury even as no major damage was reported.

The NWS said Erin is likely to cause dune erosion with pockets of minor coastal flooding along the south shore of Long Island. Breaking waves as high as 10 feet were expected to thrash beaches through this morning but should begin subsiding late afternoon.

***

“A disease eating away at the fiber of what makes Southampton such a special place.” That’s how Trustee Roy Stevenson described the never-ending traffic problems that have plagued Southampton Village for years and, by all accounts, have been worse than ever this summer, at last week’s Village Board meeting.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that it was, once again, the main topic of discussion during the public comment portion of the meeting, with several residents who live in neighborhoods south of Hill Street in the western portion of Southampton Village showing up to express their frustration at the persistent cut-through traffic during the evening commute that turns their otherwise quiet streets into busy and dangerous thoroughfares. The village has been working with the traffic engineering firm VHB to try to come up with various solutions that will discourage motorists from using side streets and instead force them to stay on County Road 39 or Hill Street…including a traffic light at Lee Avenue and 27A. Nearly all at last week’s hearing and then the village board rejected that proposal. Most made the same alternate recommendation instead — reinstituting the no-left-turn restrictions off Lee Avenue and other side streets south of Hill Street during rush hour.

Southampton Village Deputy Mayor Len Zinnanti announced at last week’s meeting that he had scheduled a meeting with Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine on September 16 to discuss that issue. He will be joined in that meeting by Southampton Village Police Chief Suzanne Hurteau and Southampton Village Police Captain Chris Wetter, Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle, VHB consultant Ryan Winter, and Southampton Town Councilman Michael Iasilli, as they make the case for a permanent change to the traffic pattern on County Road 39.

***

This evening at 7 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church…the Perlman Music Program presents Violinist Oliver Neubauer who will be performing alongside pianist Chaeyoung Park as part of Perlman Music Program's Alumni Recital Series.

Due to PMP's Shelter Island campus reconstruction, this evening's Stires-Stark Alumni Recital is generously hosted by Shelter Island Friends of Music.

Admission is FREE, but please note that seating is limited. Please arrive early to secure your spot!

Donations are appreciated and will be shared by Shelter Island Friends of Music and the Perlman Music Program.

The concert is this evening at 7pm in the

Shelter Island Presbyterian Church

32 North Ferry Rd. (Rte. 114), Shelter Island, N.Y. 11964

***

The program had a simple mission: to allow disabled and chronically ill New Yorkers to live at home, instead of in nursing centers, while receiving care.

But in the year since the state pushed to consolidate its operations, with a goal of saving $500 million each year, the program has devolved into a logistical and political nightmare: Caretakers report late and missing pay. Patients worry they will be left alone, without the care they need to manage daily tasks.

The state says everything is working just fine.

It was this clash of narratives that drove an hourslong hearing yesterday that was by turns somber and explosive. Democratic and Republican senators alike seized the opportunity to grill the health commissioner and the program operator about the transition, which has thrown the beloved program into disarray.

Grace Ashford reports in THE NY TIMES that the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or C.D.P.A.P., was established in 1995 with the goal of providing disabled and chronically ill New Yorkers more autonomy over their lives and care while helping the state avoid the greater expense of institutionalization.

Central to the program’s operation were the many entities that sprang up to handle payroll and program compliance for caregivers. Called fiscal intermediaries, these groups varied greatly across the state — some operating as large nonprofits, others serving small cultural enclaves from Rochester to Flushing, Queens.

These intermediaries operated with few guardrails, and over time their numbers exploded. By last year, the state estimated that there were more than 600 across the state — each with an incentive to enroll as many patients as possible.

In 2017, the program served 12,000 New Yorkers for $1.5 billion. Six years later, it was projected to grow to serve a quarter of a million people at a cost of $11.2 billion, straining the state budget.

Thus, yesterday’s NYS Senate hearing about the current status of C.D.P.A.P.

***

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Hampton Classic Horse Show in Bridgehampton, which starts Sunday and runs through Aug. 31. It is sometimes referred to as the "Hollywood horse show” because the competition is also a major end-of-summer celebrity-studded social event.

In the past, these celebrity crowds have included Madonna, Billy Joel, Brooke Shields, Jennifer Lopez, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose daughter, Georgina, has competed, Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen, whose daughter, Jessica, has also ridden in the show.

Lara Murray-Sterzel reports in NEWSDAY that the annual eight-day event features world-class, international and local equestrians negotiating huge obstacles in show jumping classes. But amateur riders showing over smaller fences and children in pony and lead line classes will also be competing. Vendor tents selling a range of high-end products including equestrian gear and clothing are also a major draw, along with celebrity gawking.

The show has grown to become one of the biggest horse shows in the country.

Shanette Cohen, the Hampton Classic executive director, said the show has evolved over the past half century “as far as size goes.” Originally the show was at Dune Alpin Farm in East Hampton before relocating in 1982 to its current location in Bridgehampton, where competitors got more space for classes, warm-up and temporary show stalls for horses coming from elsewhere.

As the years went by, the grass footing in the Grand Prix ring wasn’t holding up, leading to the transition to an all-weather footing which is “another major change in our show that has enabled us to be a five-star because the footing is more predictable and it allows more horses to be competing out there.”

A five-star rating is the highest rating of difficulty for an equestrian event.

The main gates open at 8 a.m. Sunday and daily admission per carload is $25 and credit-card only, paid at entrance or purchased online, with the exception of Monday, when admission is free.

***

The Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association hosts a presentation on “What You Need to Know About Irrigation & Conservation” during its monthly meeting at Veterans Beach this coming Monday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski will discuss the town’s new irrigation law, Chris Williams from Signature Irrigation will discuss new technology that can help conserve water and be compliant with town and Suffolk County Water Authority regulations and Alexandra Getches from Living Lands Garden Design will discuss using native plants in your gardens and pocket meadow lawn alternatives, which help conserve water.

The event is free.

That’s this Monday at 6:30 p.m.

The Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association Forum: What You Need to Know About Irrigation & Conservation at Veterans Beach, 11020 Peconic Bay Boulevard, Mattituck, NY 11952

***

Hurricane Erin turned away from the East Coast this morning but was expected to continue to bring dangerous surf conditions and minor coastal flooding through part of the weekend on Long Island. As reported in NEWSDAY, Erin, now a Category 1 system, was around 400 miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, earlier today, heading northeast at about 22 mph, according to Matthew Tauber, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton.

“It does continue to be dangerous to go into the waters,” Tauber said. “The high risk of rip currents may continue into Sunday as the swells do slowly subside.” A coastal flood advisory is in effect on Long Island through early Saturday morning as large waves and rip currents continue to batter beaches in Nassau and Suffolk counties, per the NWS. No significant damage was reported by vulnerable South Shore communities but forecasters warned of possible erosion and flooding today as the storm pulls away.

Swimming was banned at ocean beaches this week, but Jones Beach, Robert Moses and Hither Hills State Park in Montauk remained open for visitors.

Montauk had suffered the strongest brunt of the storm with some flooding and erosion, said George Gorman, regional director of state parks on Long Island.

"We’ll be evaluating beaches Friday morning and make a determination," about whether to allow swimming, Gorman said. "The high tide we’re most concerned about is Thursday night but we’re also concerned about high tide Friday morning."

Yesterday, around 30 beachgoers flocked to Cooper’s Beach in the Village of Southampton to witness waves that could cause beach erosion.

“You get worried about that because it is costly to be repaired,” Julia Loeffel, of Shinnecock Hills, said, bundled up in a hooded jacket as the breeze blew inland. “The beaches in the Hamptons are so beautiful. We just want them to stay nice.”

Loeffel’s son, John, said the waves appeared “two or three times” higher than usual and extended “30 or 40 feet” more inland. The waves carved out a large pool deep into the shoreline, which neither Loeffel said they have seen in the nearly 10 years they lived on the East End.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said yesterday that inflation rebate checks still will be mailed to about 8 million New Yorkers despite the federal budget dealing New York a financial hit. The state had a cash surplus last year and there is no reason not to return the money to state residents, Hochul said. The state had a surplus of $3 billion during the 2024-25 fiscal year, largely due to "unanticipated revenue because of inflation," the governor said.

Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that an estimated 1.25 million Long Islanders are expected to receive payments of up to $400.

New York is facing a different set of circumstances for the current 2025-26 fiscal year. Under the Trump budget approved by Congress in July, New York will see a shortfall of $750 million in federal funds — and another $3 billion federal shortfall next year.

The Hochul administration has leeway, granted by the State Senate and Assembly, to adjust the state budget to deal with the current-year cuts. They will deal with the future cuts when the 2026 legislative session opens in January.

As for the inflation rebates, Hochul and lawmakers approved those as part of a 2025-26 state budget deal in May.

Approximately $2 billion in rebates will be distributed to 8 million New Yorkers, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance. Payments will go out in October.

To be eligible, you have to have filed a 2023 tax return and be below certain income caps: $300,000 for couples filing jointly; $150,000 for individuals.

The "inflation rebate" program is separate from the School Tax Relief (STAR) program, though those payments also are going out to Long Islanders this fall.

***

Two Long Island communities ranked among the 10 most expensive ZIP codes in the country in July, with sellers in those Hamptons hot spots asking about 10 times the typical price for a home in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Jonathan LaMantia reports in NEWSDAY that Bridgehampton (11932) ranked third nationwide, with a median list price of nearly $8.5 million in July, according to data released this week by Realtor.com. Water Mill (11976) was No. 8 on the list, with a median asking price of $6.8 million.

Meanwhile, the median home price on Long Island, excluding the East End, was $725,000 in the second quarter, according to a report from brokerage Douglas Elliman and appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

Fisher Island in Miami Beach, Florida ($11.9 million) and Newport Coast in Southern California's Orange County ($9.1 million) topped the Realtor.com list, with Bel Air in Los Angeles ($8.2 million) and Montecito, California, just south of Santa Barbara ($7 million), rounding out the top five. Seven of the top 10 locations were in Southern California.

Of course, sky-high asking prices don’t always translate into sales. That’s why tracking the prices of deals that have closed often gives a better sense of real estate market values, said Judi Desiderio, senior vice president at brokerage William Raveis in East Hampton.

"It’s about what people are willing to pay," Desiderio said.

Luxury real estate often sells below the seller's initial asking price. In the Hamptons, about three-quarters of the homes that sold in the second quarter received below their last list price, according to the Douglas Elliman report.

Still, Smith, of Realtor.com, said the report’s focus on listings offers more timely data on the market as compared with data on closings, which become available weeks or months after a buyer agrees to a deal.

Home sales have been on the rise in the Hamptons, with 21% more deals closing through the first half of the year as compared with the same period in 2024, according to William Raveis.

***

The Hampton Bays Civic Association will hold its monthly meeting this coming Monday, Aug. 25, at the Hampton Bays Community Center on Ponquogue Avenue in Hampton Bays. Doors open for refreshments at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. The meeting will feature presentations from candidates running for director positions on the Civic Association board. Southampton Town Councilmember Rick Martel is also scheduled to provide an update on town issues. For more information, visit hbcivic.org.

That’s this coming Monday at 7pm in the Hampton Bays Community Center.

Per their website:

“The HBCA advocates for the Hampton Bays community to protect our fragile environment and infrastructure and to maintain and improve the quality of life of its residents. We work to keep the community informed through our monthly membership meetings, email correspondence and enhanced technology. "

***

The Suffolk County Water Authority and Riverhead Town seem ready for a fight over Riverhead’s assertion that the water company will need town permits to place an 8.5-mile stretch of water main through town roads en route to Southold, and Southold is ready to back up its neighboring town. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that amid warnings this summer about the dire state of its ability to pump and store water from the North Fork’s limited underground aquifer, the Water Authority began environmental review of the North Fork Pipeline, which it has been keen to build for decades.

The agency plans to run a 24-inch diameter water main capable of delivering 6,000 gallons per minute from a well field atop the groundwater divide near Suffolk County Community College’s Riverhead campus, up Route 105 to Northville Turnpike and then to Sound Avenue, where it will continue into the Town of Southold.

Both Riverhead and Southold towns had asked the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to be the ‘lead agency’ coordinating review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), but the DEC had instead granted that authority to the Water Authority in the fall of 2024, essentially allowing it to perform regulatory review of its own project.

While the DEC decision granting the Water Authority lead agency status listed Riverhead Town as an “involved agency,” because much of the work would be done in Riverhead Town, the Water Authority instead classified Riverhead as an ‘interested agency,’ which would have less oversight over the project.

This rankled the Riverhead Town Board, which held a public hearing this past Tuesday on a “Monroe Balancing Test,” a nine-point state legal framework for whether local municipalities have control over regional projects.

At the hearing, Suffolk County Water Authority attorney Brody Smith said the Water Authority is “clearly the appropriate entity” to take on the project, and that it serves a public purpose, adding that a second phase would hook up Orient residents whose private wells are contaminated with PFAS, providing “as many as 3,000 residents with clean potable water.” He added that Riverhead regulation could “severely delay” the project, which is a “regional problem that requires a regional solution.”

“Does this serve a public purpose? Of course it does,” he said.

***

Riverhead residents this past Tuesday weighed in on the town's pitch to freeze new cannabis store approvals for one year during a public hearing, with some residents concerned about their rapid growth while marijuana advocates warned the move could push consumers back to the illicit market.

With two marijuana dispensaries up and running and at least five more proposed, Riverhead is weighing the freeze to evaluate state laws and assess local impacts.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the proposed moratorium would pause approvals on new dispensaries while the town seeks clarity over zoning control. Riverhead’s proposal comes after a Suffolk judge struck down portions of town code that are more restrictive than state rules when it comes to distances between dispensaries.

Councilman Ken Rothwell, who voted against opting in to legal sales in 2021, worked on a committee to draft Riverhead’s zoning. The town's code requires dispensaries be along major commercial corridors and spaced 2,500 feet apart.

Gahrey Ovalle, president of the Long Island Cannabis Coalition, told the town board that a moratorium is the wrong approach.

“Riverhead has opted into cannabis retail, and you don’t have the right to opt back out. That ship has already sailed,” he said, adding the moratorium is an attempt to skirt rules.

Ovalle said stopping dispensaries from opening is a “green light for illicit sales.”

Residents who favor the moratorium said the town needs to “pause and reflect” on the impacts the industry has locally.

Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said the issue is about Riverhead maintaining local zoning control.

“We haven’t had any issues with people, customers of the cannabis shops,” Hubbard said.

The Riverhead Town board is accepting written comments on the moratorium through Aug. 29 and could vote on the measure in September.

***

Tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church the Perlman Music Program presents Violinist Oliver Neubauer who will be performing alongside pianist Chaeyoung Park as part of PMP's Alumni Recital Series.

Due to PMP's Shelter Island campus reconstruction, Friday evening's Stires-Stark Alumni Recital is generously hosted by Shelter Island Friends of Music.

Admission is FREE, but please note that seating is limited. Please arrive early to secure your spot!

Donations are appreciated and will be shared by Shelter Island Friends of Music and the Perlman Music Program.

The concert is tomorrow at 7pm in the

Shelter Island Presbyterian Church

32 North Ferry Rd. (Rte. 114), Shelter Island.

***

Traffic and what, if anything, can be done about it was on the mind of Sag Harbor Village Board members when they met this past Tuesday.

The board opted to hire the engineering firm L.K. McLean Associates to collect data about the cars and trucks that have held the village in a virtual chokehold for much of the summer.

Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that the firm will collect data from 20 different locations in the Village of Sag Harbor. It will include counting the number of vehicles that use Hampton Street and Division Street, as well as several small side streets — Nassau, Spring, Union, and Sage — in the heart of the village. The firm will also monitor the number of cars making turns at another 14 intersections, most in and around the business district.

Board members hope the data the firm collects will be useful in reconfiguring crosswalks and coming up with other measures to ease the traffic strain.

The firm will be paid $49,500 for the work.

The board agreed to pay for the study from an unassigned fund balance. It will be reimbursed next year when the village receives its share of ticket revenue from the state.

Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella said although many people believe solving the traffic problem, short of erecting gates at the village’s entrances, is impossible, “I can’t just throw up my hands and say, ‘I can’t do anything about it,’” he said. “I have to try.”

He said the idea for undertaking the traffic study arose when Trustee Ed Haye suggested the village add crosswalks along Hampton Street. “If we are going to get serious, let’s do a study of the areas that are a problem,” said the mayor. “Why are we throwing darts at a board? Let’s look at the whole thing.”

Southampton Town lifeguards will post the double red flags of hurricane conditions and close its beaches to swimming today as swells from Hurricane Erin are expected to rise up to 15 feet and create hazardous surf conditions over the next two days. As reported on 27east.com, East Hampton Town’s emergency managers say they are also making preparations and may have to close beaches to swimming as well.

“We’re prepared to go to no swimming if deemed appropriate and to close the beaches if it becomes a safety issue,” East Hampton Councilman David Lys said yesterday. “Lifeguards are removing the stands, we’re preparing to drop sand to plug gaps [in the dunes] if needed, we’re coordinating with the Montauk Chamber of Commerce to make sure the hotels are taking precautions, and we may close the dune crossovers.”

Southampton Town Emergency Management Coordinator Ryan Murphy said that the town’s lifeguards have said they will close the town’s beaches on Wednesday and that the town is organizing other potential responses needed and putting out general advisories to residents to be aware of dangerous conditions along the beach and on roadways.

The Suffolk County Department of Parks announced that it will close the outer beach campgrounds at Shinnecock East County Park, Cupsogue Beach and Montauk County Park today at 5 p.m. and the campgrounds will remain closed on Thursday and Friday, the county said in a statement on social media.

Southampton Village Police Chief Suzanne Hurteau said in a statement yesterday that vehicle access and swimming at all Southampton Village beaches will be prohibited from 6 a.m. today until at least 8 p.m. this coming Friday.

Last night, New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered swimming to be prohibited at all Long Island state parks through at least tomorrow.

***

The Suffolk County Water Authority announced late yesterday that, while its Stage 1 Water Alert remains in effect, its request last week that all customers refrain entirely from lawn watering is now lifted. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Suffolk County Water Authority is asking its customers to continue to follow odd/even irrigation schedules, only irrigating their lawn on even days if they have an even street number, or on odd days if have an odd street number. “We still have many weeks of summer ahead, when water demand is at its highest, so it is important we all remain vigilant,” SCWA said in their announcement.

The actions have come amid "abnormally dry" conditions on Long Island since the start of the year, the U.S. Drought Monitor said.

The SCWA in July warned that customers could see "reduced water pressure at their homes or businesses" if water usage continued to remain too high. They said that low tank levels could increase risk of not having enough water pressure and stockpiles needed to combat a fire emergency.

However, the Suffolk County Water Authority said yesterday it was easing an earlier appeal for customers to "refrain entirely from" watering their lawns amid dry conditions and heightened water usage.

The authority said in an email that conservation efforts had led to improved conditions since it declared a water alert last week.

"We are grateful for the steps taken to reduce usage during this time," the authority said in the email.

***

The North Fork Action Center, which works to protect the U.S. Constitution, work toward justice, civic engagement, evidence-based science, diversity and a free press, hosts BFFF = Bring Finger Food and a Friend, this coming Friday, Aug. 22 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The group will share food and thoughts, and everyone will get a chance to make more connections within our community. The event is free.

That’s this Friday at 6 p.m. in the First Universalist Church of Southold (also known as church on the bend), 51900 Route 25, Southold, NY 11971

Per the North fork action center website: “There won’t be an agenda we will discuss our way through. Instead, we will very, very briefly explain what North Fork Action is and then everyone gets to eat and mingle. To make it easier to build connections, we will provide prompts for meaningful conversations. So get ready to meet people who care as much as you do, and go chat with that person.”

***

Long Island prosecutors are probing whether “designer drugs” played a role in the mysterious Montauk Yacht Club death of Irish fashion designer Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said yesterday.

Brandon Cruz, Kevin Sheehan and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon report in THE NY POST that investigators have not yet determined what killed the 33-year-old woman, who was found dead on a boat at the Montauk Yacht Club Aug. 5, but sources have said authorities suspect an accidental overdose.

Officials are awaiting more autopsy results before concluding the probe, Tierney told The Post.

“Specifically, we’re talking about primarily the toxicology — the official final toxicology report,” the DA said.

“In our society right now, the way we’ve evolved with these designer drugs, all these substances that are created in a lab, you want to be extra careful that whatever testing you’ve done is comprehensive and complete before you` make any findings in the case…Oftentimes it’s not just one substance,” he said.

“What you do is you test for heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, right?” Tierney said. “Now you want to test for zylazine, you want to test for nylazine…You want to make sure it’s as comprehensive as possible, just because you may get a result on one substance that doesn’t preclude the possibility that another substance was used as well,” said the Suffolk D.A.

Nolan-O’Slatarra, who migrated to the US from Ireland in 2018, co-owned swimwear company East x East and summered in the Hamptons, where she was featured in pop-up fashion shows.

Police responding to a 911 call found her on a boat named “Ripple” at the club, where she was pronounced dead after CPR attempts by bystanders failed to revive her.

There have been no arrests in the case, nor have prosecutors suggested foul play.

A funeral for Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra is scheduled for today in her hometown of Carlow, a small Irish village about 50 miles from Dublin.

***

Long Island will feel the power of Hurricane Erin from hundreds of miles away today and into Friday as it brings strong winds, dangerous waves and the threat of local flooding, forecasters said. As reported by Newsday Staff the storm is causing life-threatening surf and rip currents for the Atlantic Ocean beaches, forcing the closure of Long Island's ocean beaches to swimming, authorities said. That threat steadily increases into Thursday night and Friday morning before diminishing as the weekend arrives and Erin passes well off into the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Strong winds are expected to gust 25 to 35 mph tomorrow morning into midday Friday in coastal locations, with isolated gusts up to 40 mph possible. The highest winds are expected across eastern Long Island, forecasters said.

A coastal flood watch is in effect for southern Long Island, southern Queens and Brooklyn for Thursday evening's high tide cycle.

The threat for dune erosion, beach flooding and escarpment will become more widespread with successive high tides beginning this evening into Friday morning, forecasters said.

Forecasters are warning of 10-15 foot breaking surf and an elevated storm tide.

There is potential for widespread moderate coastal flooding with Thursday evening's high tide cycle.

A gale warning is in effect across the ocean waters Thursday through Friday, for wind gust up to 40 knots and ocean seas up to 15 foot or more, the Hurricane Center said. Dangerous conditions are expected around inlets and the entrance to eastern Long Island Sound.

***

The Hampton Bays Civic Association will hold its monthly meeting this coming Monday, Aug. 25, at the Hampton Bays Community Center on Ponquogue Avenue in Hampton Bays. Doors open for refreshments at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. The meeting will feature presentations from candidates running for director positions on the Civic Association board. Southampton Town Councilmember Rick Martel is also scheduled to provide an update on town issues. For more information, visit hbcivic.org.

That’s this coming Monday at 7pm in the Hampton Bays Community Center.

***

A JetBlue flight that took off from Long Island MacArthur last Wednesday had to make an emergency landing at Kennedy Airport, where airport firefighters said an engine was "completely destroyed."

JetBlue Flight 547, which departed MacArthur for Orlando at 1:45 p.m. Aug. 13, reported engine failure on the Airbus 320 shortly after takeoff. The pilot radioed ahead to Kennedy that the plane "just lost an engine," declaring an emergency and requesting to land, according to air traffic records.

John Asbury reports in NEWSDAY that the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the flight was diverted after the pilot reported a "possible engine issue," but the FAA did not have additional details.

The pilot reported "engine failure" during several calm messages with the control tower on a plan to land at Kennedy, according to air traffic recordings by the website LiveATC and a YouTube video by "You Can See ATC."

The plane circled over Long Island and landed safely at Kennedy about an hour after takeoff with "167 souls" on board, according to the transmission. But the failed engine was much worse than the flight crew realized.

"Engine 2 is completely destroyed. It looks like the entire surface got torched out," a runway inspector said after the landing. "I can actually see right through the engine almost."

"The engine failed and we might have some damage," the pilot said before the inspection. "The engine failed on takeoff out of Islip. We secured it. We pushed our engine fire button on it" and also deployed the plane’s fire extinguisher canisters or "squib" as a precaution.

The plane was then towed back to the JFK Jetway for passengers to be evacuated.

The Town of Islip, which manages MacArthur, confirmed the emergency after takeoff, "However, the flight crew made the decision to declare an emergency and divert to their JFK hub."

The FAA said it was investigating.

JetBlue company officials said yesterday the plane was taken out of service and passengers boarded another flight to Orlando.

The Long Island cannabis industry could undergo a major shift if President Donald Trump follows through on his recent statements that he is considering federally reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug.

The move could allow for more accessible banking services, expanded tax write-offs, and fewer financial hurdles for those in the industry and new research opportunities for scientists, according to cannabis professionals and state officials.

When President Trump said on Aug. 11 he was considering reclassifying cannabis in the coming weeks, he didn't set a deadline for the decision. He said then that he's "heard great things having to do with medical" usage of cannabis and "bad things having to do with just about everything else."

Gahrey Ovalle, the president of local advocacy and trade group Cannabis Coalition of Long Island, said that rescheduling is "common sense reform."

"I think it’s an issue that needs to be resolved, and we’re moving toward that, albeit glacially," Ovalle said. "We think it’s about time and long overdue."

Lee Meyer reports in NEWSDAY that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) divides controlled substances into five schedules, with Schedule I substances considered to have no medical value. They include substances like heroin and ecstasy. While cannabis is legal in New York State, it’s federally outlawed and currently classified as a Schedule I drug, according to the DEA.

President Trump said he is considering rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule III drug, which the DEA refers to as "drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence." Schedule III drugs include substances such as ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.

Experts emphasize that rescheduling is not the same as legalizing the drug; it would still be illegal federally unless the Trump administration also pushed for lowering criminal penalties.

***

Southampton Town is considering awarding $2.4 million to a developer planning affordable apartments in Riverside in the hopes the project will spur revitalization in the hamlet.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the project would be a joint venture between the town and Georgica Green Ventures, which is proposing a 40-unit apartment complex with 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail on Flanders Road, just east of the traffic circle. It’s the first large-scale development proposed in the hamlet since Southampton created a new sewer district there last year.

Of the 40 units proposed in Riverside, there would be two studios, 25 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments that would be affordable in perpetuity, officials said.

Southampton Town has more than $30 million in its Community Housing Fund, which raises money through a 0.5% tax on real estate transfers.

The proposed complex hinges on construction of the new sewer district in Riverside, which would improve water quality in the Peconic River.

The intensity of proposed redevelopment in Riverside prompted Riverhead to file a lawsuit against Southampton Town last year. Riverhead said the development would strain town resources and argued Southampton’s new sewer district should serve the nearby Suffolk County Center complex. The Town of Riverhead services the complex, which is in the town of Southampton but has a Riverhead ZIP code. Southampton filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and a decision is pending.

Funding for the $44.6 million plant project is in place through county, state and federal grants, officials have said.

Designs are underway, and the town could seek bids for construction in 2026 according to Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Z. Moore.

***

The Montauk Historical Society presents their August Second House Fair this coming weekend…Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

“Please join us at our ever-popular summer Second House Fair on the beautiful grounds of the Second House from 10 AM to 6 PM on SATURDAY and SUNDAY. Enjoy live acoustic music and grab a snack as you browse the booths at our annual showcase of high-quality, hand-crafted goods. While you’re here, come and see the beautiful photography exhibition inside our newly reopened Second House, now fully restored thanks to the Town of East Hampton!

Second House Museum

12 2nd House Road

Montauk, NY 11954 United States

The Montauk Historical Society (MHS) was incorporated in January 1962, just as our hamlet was on the cusp of rapidly transforming from a remote fishing village into a busy summer resort. The main intention behind the society, then as now, was to research, study, preserve, and share our history so that it might become a part of our consciousness even as we look to the future.”

***

The Southampton History Museum is suing the Town of Southampton over the rights to a part of historic waterfront property, alleging the town illegally claimed ownership of it to block the eviction of a shellfish hatchery.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the nonprofit museum alleged the town conspired with the hatchery and Suffolk County to alter tax map records, designating Southampton as the owner of 2 of the 5 acres at Conscience Point.

The new tax map was issued by the Suffolk County Real Property Tax Service Agency in April and divides the property into two parcels owned by the museum and town.

The Aug. 13 filing in State Supreme Court in Suffolk County accuses the town of abusing its power for a “land grab.” The filing alleged the town circumvented due process that would have required what’s known as a quiet title action to definitively settle ownership disputes.

“We don’t take people’s land without due process,” Sheila Tendy, an attorney for the museum, told NEWSDAY on Friday. “Those are civil rights violations which are protected by federal law.”

Since 2015, the 2-acre portion of the property has housed the Conscience Point Shellfish Hatchery, which grows oysters and clams to repopulate local bays and promotes aquaculture to local students.

The Southampton History Museum declined to renew the hatchery's lease and began eviction proceedings in January. The museum alleged several lease violations, including subleasing to commercial oyster farmers and distributing shellfish to the public, restaurants and wholesalers, the filing said.

Commercial activities at the site “jeopardize” the museum’s status as a tax-exempt nonprofit, the suit said.

Conscience Point is a Southampton Town landmark and landing site of the first English settlers to Southampton in 1640. The museum says it has owned the site since 1910, but the town intervened in the eviction process, saying it owns 2 acres at the site based on deeds from 1880 and 1925.

The sides are due in court on Sept. 9.

***

The Riverhead Town Board holds a public hearing this evening at 6 p.m. on a “Monroe Balancing Test” to determine whether the Suffolk County Water Authority is exempt from local zoning rules in its plan to run the North Fork Pipeline from Flanders to the Southold Town line, mostly along roads within Riverhead Town.

Meanwhile, Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Suffolk County Water Authority is urging all of its customers…including those on the north fork…to reduce their water usage, which has reached “dangerously high levels” due to hot, dry weather. The SCWA public water system has experienced “several consecutive weeks of high water use during the overnight hours and early morning,” the water authority said in a press release last week. Storage tanks in several areas are taking longer to recover, pushing the system to its limits and dropping water pressures, the authority said. The authority, which initially issued a Stage 1 Water Alert on July 23, is asking customers to refrain from all lawn watering until further notice.

Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that in the Town of Riverhead, where public water is provided by the Riverhead Water District, there is currently no water emergency and no use restrictions. Customers, however, should still implement conservation measures such as the odd-even watering schedule, Riverhead Water District Superintendent Frank Mancini said yesterday. “We always want people to be cognizant of their water usage and not use too much,” Mancini said, noting that the system is “one failure away from being in an emergency. But right now, knock on wood, we’re doing just fine,” he said.

***

The Riverhead Town Board is considering legislation that would strictly limit the use of electric bicycles throughout the town by prohibiting them from traveling on major town roads, capping their speed, and banning their use at night. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the proposed law, presented by Deputy Town Attorney Danielle Hurley last week, would expand a 2021 local law that heavily regulated electric scooters to also include e-bikes — referred to in the law as “bicycles with electric assist.” It would also increase fines for violations.

Under the proposal, e-bikes would be limited to a maximum speed of 15 mph and prohibited from operating on any sidewalk in Riverhead Town.

“Any type of use of those alternate modes of transportation on sidewalks poses a potential danger to pedestrians on the sidewalks and to the users themselves,” Hurley said…adding that she doesn’t think the proposal heavily restricts e-bikes. The public will get a chance to comment on the proposal at a public hearing before the Riverhead Town Board decides whether to adopt the legislation.

***

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin yesterday announced new federal "guidelines" for battery-energy storage facilities that encourage but do not mandate local control in siting the controversial facilities. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that speaking at a Hauppauge firehouse whose chief expressed "strong concerns and opposition" to a plant there, Zeldin offered support for battery opponents' concerns, but stopped short of an order that would have put the facilities under federal government control.

Asked by Newsday why the guidelines weren't federal mandates, Zeldin said, "The siting, the zoning for these facilities, that’s not something that gets any better by micromanaging from some agency in Washington, D.C."

Zeldin, a Republican and former NYS senator and U.S. congressman from Shirley, Long Island, said the EPA was instead "offering the technical expertise that we have if, God forbid, there is a lithium-ion fire. The next time there is a lithium-ion fire, our agency is ready to be there to answer the call." His comments disappointed some who strongly oppose the battery facilities being proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Long Island Power Authority across the region. Nor did Zeldin's guidelines come close to matching the level of opposition voiced by the event's other speakers, including the Hauppauge fire chief, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James).

Most Long Island towns have moratoriums on battery storage plants, following fires at three facilities in the state in 2023, including one in East Hampton that burned for more than 30 hours.

Christina Kramer, a Nassau County resident who heads up the activist group Protect Our Coast Long Island NY, said the best solution to siting of the plants may be a law that prevents battery plants from being located 5 to 10 miles from homes and business districts.

Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," while limiting subsidies for solar, wind and other green energy, carved out a reprieve for battery facilities. Under the law, large-scale battery facilities must be completed by 2033 in order to receive a lucrative federal tax credit — considerably longer than limits put on other green-energy projects — though there are new limits on foreign content in the batteries.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced during a visit to Montauk this past Friday that the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has awarded a $2.2 million contract to combat southern pine beetle devastation at Hither Hills and Napeague state parks.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the state’s three-year contract will start in November 2025, according to a press release, and run until October 2028. The funds will go toward addressing the damage brought on by the pine beetle, and it will focus on areas located near homes, trails and Montauk Highway. The State of New York also plans to create additional access for fire departments, in the case of a wildfire, like the one that broke out in Napeague on July 16.

Governor Hochul was speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday for the Montauk Playhouse when she made the announcement.

The pine beetle, which was first detected in the state in 2014, has caused extensive devastation in Napeague’s pitch pine forests. Fallen trees can block access for firefighters responding to an emergency in the forest.

For the duration of the new contract, tree-cutting will happen between December and February, when the northern long-eared bat, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service classed as endangered in 2022, is hibernating offsite.

Since 2022, the state has cut 16,000 hazardous trees, installed 2.2 miles of fuel breaks and spent over $2 million on forest management work.

The state will continue to cut and pile dead trees, the press release said. Later, the trees will be chipped, removed or burned in a prescribed fire.

This summer, the state will also workshop a hazard and risk analysis and a fire management plan for the area.

***

Hurricane Erin re-intensified to a Category 4 storm today, growing in size as it makes a vast right turn in the Atlantic that will bring high surf, rip currents and possible beach erosion from the Carolinas to Long Island this week, forecasters say.

Although forecasters expect Erin will remain hundreds of miles out to sea, its churning winds will bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to Atlantic Ocean beaches, including Long Island's, as the week goes on. The threat will steadily increase Tuesday through Thursday night, gradually decreasing heading into the weekend, forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center predicted Erin will begin its northward turn over the next 24 hours and then turn northeastward between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda, remaining a large and powerful hurricane during the mid to late week period.

As reported in NEWSDAY and the Associated Press, the oceanfront impacts could be significant: The threat for dune erosion, beach flooding and even escarpment along the shoreline will become more widespread with each successive high tide Tuesday evening into Thursday evening, the Hurricane Center said.

Widespread areas of dune erosion are likely during the Thursday evening and possibly Friday morning high tides. The surf could reach 10-15 feet in height and bring an elevated storm tide, experts said.

Ocean seas are likely to build to 12 to 15-plus feet Thursday into Friday morning off Suffolk County, with the highest south and east of Moriches Inlet, and then subside into the weekend, experts said.

Dangerous conditions are expected around inlets and the entrance to eastern Long Island Sound. There is a low potential for gale wind gusts Thursday into Thursday Night (particularly south and east of Moriches Inlet).

Localized minor coastal flooding is also possible, forecasters said.

***

Alongside state and local leaders, Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation President Jennifer Iacono cut the ribbon this past Friday for the playhouse’s new Aquatic Center and multiuse Cultural Center. At the event, which had some 200 people in attendance, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, Town Councilman David Lys and Iacono spoke. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that Carl Fisher opened the building in 1929. At the start, it was the largest indoor tennis center in the country. In the years that followed, the building suffered, having been damaged by a hurricane. In August 2023, the foundation held a groundbreaking ceremony for the current planned renovations: a new aquatic center on the first floor and a multiuse cultural center on the second. The construction project cost $14 million, but the state provided a $1.7 million grant for the second floor, which houses the cultural center. As of the end of July, the foundation was raising money for fixtures, furniture and equipment. “This building, once nearly lost, now stands as a symbol of what's possible when Montauk and all who love it come together,” Iacono said.

***

Most Long Island districts will require middle and high school students to leave their cellphones in their lockers when they return to school this fall to comply with a state ban that prohibits use of the devices during the school day, a Newsday analysis found.

More than 94 districts said they will use lockers for storage and at least 19 said they will use lockable pouches as another option, including some of Long Island’s largest districts such as Brentwood and Smithtown, according to a Newsday review of policies from Long Island's 124 districts.

Dandan Zou and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that school districts were required to adopt plans to enforce the state cellphone ban by Aug. 1.

A Newsday review of district policies found widespread similarities regarding where students can keep their devices during the school day or how parents can contact their children. The new policies were implemented after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to ban smartphones in school was approved as part of the state budget in May. The prohibition aims to minimize distraction and improve students’ mental health, the governor has said. The so-called “bell-to-bell” ban takes effect this school term when Nassau and Suffolk’s 420,000 public school students return to the classroom through the coming weeks. The new rule does not apply to private schools.

The ban prohibits students from having access to all personal internet-enabled devices from the first bell until the last. That includes free periods, recess, time students spend in the cafeteria or passing in school hallways.

The state ban only restricts access during the school day, but the most recent state guidance said districts may expand it to limit phone use on school property beyond the instructional day.

The state set aside $13.5 million and public schools statewide have received grants to help them implement the ban.

Long Island's public schools, including school districts, charter schools and BOCES, received more than $2.3 million, according to data from the NYS Education Department. The allocation was based on enrollment in grades 7-12 in the 2023-24 school year, with each student accounting for $10.90.

Exemptions will be granted for educational, medical or family circumstances, which school officials anticipate could lead to some initial difficulties due to student privacy concerns.

Dandan Zou and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that school districts were required to adopt plans to enforce the state cellphone ban by Aug. 1.

Officials from districts that purchased pouches said the tool offered more flexibility for students, especially those who leave the campus during lunch.

Beth Doyle, superintendent of Greenport schools, said using pouches is easier than having students travel to their lockers multiple times a day if they were to have the devices stored there.

“We also wanted to allow them to have their property on their person,” she said.

Several districts, including Sag Harbor have used the pouches in the past.

East Hampton purchased about 1,000 Yondr pouches for about $50,000, a decision schools Superintendent Adam Fine said was driven by student input. Fine said his administrators heard from high schoolers who acknowledged they needed help to keep the devices away.

“The pouches presented the easiest and the most effective and efficient way to comply with the ban,” he said.

Fine said the district is paying for the initial purchase of the pouches. His district has not determined who will pay for the replacement cost, but Fine said he anticipated they would be guided by whether the loss was accidental or if there was vandalism.

***

Dr. David John Helfand, former president of Quest University Canada and past chair of Columbia University’s astronomy department, will give a free, in-person lecture tomorrow at the East Hampton Library. Tuesday evening’s event, hosted by the Hamptons Observatory, begins at 7 p.m.

Helfand will discuss his latest book, The Universal Timekeepers: Reconstructing History Atom by Atom, which explores how science can uncover the histories of distant times and places once thought unreachable. A book signing will follow the talk, and copies will be available for purchase.

For more information or to register, visit

HamptonsObservatory.org.

That’s tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the East Hampton Library.

***

A group of cannabis dispensary owners sued New York State regulators this past Friday claiming they could be forced out of business because their storefronts were too close to schools after state officials admitted recently that they had been incorrectly measuring the required distance.

Investors poured millions of dollars into dozens of cannabis shops that could now be forced to relocate or be barred from opening their doors because of the mistake by state regulators, the lawsuit claimed.

Taylor Robinson reports in THE NY TIMES that the suit, filed by about a dozen organizations and companies that have received licenses to open dispensaries in New York, petitioned the State Supreme Court in Albany to block the proposed correction to the proximity rule and find the businesses in compliance under the previous interpretation of the regulation.

“This lawsuit seeks to prevent the state from rewriting the rules midstream, stripping licensees of their rights and investments and derailing New York’s promise of an equitable cannabis industry,” according to the suit.

Last month, the state’s Office of Cannabis Management said that because of its own measuring error, more than 152 licensed dispensaries were too close to schools. State officials said that the businesses might have to relocate unless lawmakers carved out an exception allowing them to stay in place.

State law dictates that dispensaries cannot be located within 500 feet of a school, a distance that should have been calculated from the entrance of the storefront to the school’s property line, state officials have said.

But following a review of the cannabis agency’s practices, ordered by the interim executive director, Felicia Reid, officials discovered that previous regulators had been measuring the 500 feet to the school’s entrance, not its property line. In Southampton, there is a proposal to put a cannabis dispensary in the former Hampton Car Club building on County Road 39, which shares a property line with the Tuckahoe School playground.

Ms. Reid apologized to the affected businesses, but cannabis regulators now say they will need legislative intervention in order to allow the dispensaries to stay in place.

The lawsuit was filed against Ms. Reid, the Office of Cannabis Management and the state’s Cannabis Control Board, among others.

A stretch of dry summer weather is reviving concerns about high water consumption on Long Island and the consequences in the near and long term, with the Suffolk County Water Authority "imploring" users to stop watering lawns altogether.

Staff has gone door-to-door in areas where water supplies are especially "stressed" — Bay Shore, Kings Park, Selden, Southold and Montauk — "letting people know about the steps they can take to conserve," said SCWA spokesman Dan Dubois.

Tracy Tullis and Aidan Johnson report in NEWSDAY that water authorities and environmental advocates agree that conservation measures are needed to preserve water supplies for critical uses like firefighting, and to ensure the aquifer remains at healthy levels. But that could run afoul of the green lawn, a longtime suburban symbol that residents work hard to achieve.

Nassau and Suffolk Counties have been "abnormally dry" on average since the beginning of the year, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a collaboration between the federal government and the University of Nebraska- Lincoln.

Water use increases dramatically in the summer months, when residents are watering their thirsty lawns, and in spite of long-standing restrictions on irrigation in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, monitoring and enforcement is not consistent across Long Island. And water consumption remains far higher than the national average, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey and Environmental Protection Agency.

After a string of rainless days last month, the Suffolk County Water Authority urged its customers to conserve water, in particular by limiting lawn watering and adhering to the county’s watering schedule rules. Water tanks were running low, the supplier warned, which could lead to lowered water pressure, possibly hindering firefighters’ efforts to put out fires.

On Tuesday, the authority said that water consumption has remained high, especially at night and in the early mornings, when people typically are watering their lawns. (Both Suffolk and Nassau Counties prohibit watering between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when a lot of sprinkler water is lost to evaporation.)

This time, the authority urged customers to quit watering lawns altogether. "SCWA is imploring customers to refrain from all lawn watering until further notice," the statement said.

While Wednesday night did bring thunderstorms to Long Island, based on radar and ground observation, Suffolk County only received an estimated one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch of rain, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist John Cristantello.

Montauk received .02 inches of rain, and Islip had .11 inches, he said.

DuBois said the rain did not change the warnings issued by SCWA.

The town of Southold last month passed a law that mandates both smart irrigation systems and even-odd watering schedules. The new law also allows for a total ban on watering in times of drought; violators can be fined up to $1,000.

The Suffolk County Water Authority would like to see more laws like Southold’s to nudge customers to conserve. “We strongly encourage municipalities to pass ordinances…that codify watering schedules—and include an “enforcement mechanism,” said SCWA spokesman Dan Dubois….adding staff has gone door-to-door in areas where water supplies are especially "stressed" — Bay Shore, Kings Park, Selden, Montauk, and Southold — "letting people know about the steps they can take to conserve,"

Fighting fires is one immediate concern; another is that the water levels in the aquifer — the source of all Long Island’s water, whether for firefighting, gardens or drinking — will drop.

The aquifer is in no danger of drying up. But an eight-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the state Department of Environmental Conservation released last August found the aquifer is "under stress." The study warned that dropping groundwater levels in some places are already leading to saltwater intrusion — when saltwater from the coasts begins to seep into freshwater — draining of some groundwater-fed streams and degraded public wells.

***

The Long Island man who allegedly sent a dozen William Floyd Middle School students to the hospital after selling their friend THC gummies was indicted yesterday on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and selling cocaine and marijuana to an undercover police officer.

In March, prosecutors said Wilmer Castilla Garcia, 22, of Mastic, exchanged text messages over Instagram to sell the drug-laced candy to a 13-year-old student at the Moriches school.

Days later, the teen distributed the gummies, which carry the compound found in marijuana, to 11 of his friends, according to the school. The students, ages 13 and 14, fell ill en masse and had to be taken to nearby hospitals, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.

Janon Fisher reports in NEWSDAY that the licensed sale of edible cannabis products has been legal in New York State since 2022, but only to those 21 and above. Castillo Garcia does not hold a license to sell cannabis.

Prosecutors charge that on May 5 and again on May 12, after the hospitalization of the middle schoolers, Castillo Garcia sold marijuana and cocaine to an undercover police officer in the Shirley Popeyes restaurant and at his home.

Castillo Garcia pleaded not guilty to five counts of drug possession and sale and one count of endangering the welfare of a minor.

Because the alleged crimes are offenses for which defendants cannot be held on bail, acting Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Anthony Senft Jr. released him after the hearing.

D.A. Tierney railed against the 5-year-old bail reform laws that made it mandatory to release Castillo Garcia.

"This is yet another example of how New York’s bail laws are broken," Tierney said. "We cannot even ask for reasonable security on a foreign national who allegedly provided THC gummies that sickened middle schoolers to ensure he faces justice."

If convicted of the crimes, Castillo Garcia faces a maximum of 9 years in prison.

He is due back in court on Sept. 2.

***

Local businesses partnered with the Butterfly Effect Project yesterday to provide free school supplies and lunch to local kids during the “Backpacks & Barbeque” event in Jamesport. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that more than 100 children who registered with the Butterfly Effect Project got to choose from a buffet of school supplies ahead of the new school year. After picking out backpacks, notebooks, crayons and binders, they downed hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and ice pops.

Gianna Miller, a Butterfly Effect junior volunteer who helped organize the event. said, “Back to school is very important...and the organization wants to make sure every student has all the tools that they need to be successful.”

The supplies and funding to purchase supplies were generously collected and donated by local community members, through local businesses and charitable organizations including Allstate, Island Federal Credit Union and Supplies for Success, officials said.

Founded by Tia Fulford, The Butterfly Effect Project was founded in 2014 to break down racial, cultural, economic and social barriers and empower young girls of diverse backgrounds. The nonprofit works closely with the Riverhead Central School District and runs after-school programs.

***

Skepticism abounded at a public forum convened by Riverhead Town Wednesday night to discuss the Suffolk County Water Authority’s plan to run a 24-inch transmission line through the Town of Riverhead to boost its supply to customers in the Town of Southold. Riverhead Town officials are unhappy with the role they’ve been assigned by the water authority in the review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the Town of Riverhead challenged the water authority’s assumption of lead agency status for the review, arguing that the Town of Riverhead will bear nearly all the impacts of the transmission line construction — which will traverse the Town of Riverhead from Flanders to Southold Town, including along Sound Avenue from Northville Turnpike to the Southold Town line, and so should have the lead agency role. The first phase of the project calls for the installation of approximately 8.15± miles of 24-inch water main and the construction of a booster station on a 1.5-acre parcel owned by SCWA on Pier Avenue just north of Sound Avenue in Riverhead.

The proposed transmission line is needed to bring drinking water to SCWA customers on the North Fork. SCWA officials say the project is a long-term solution to water supply issues in Southold, where infrastructure is under increasing strain during periods of peak demand.

This week’s forum was held in advance of a public hearing scheduled for next Tuesday evening, August 19, during the Riverhead Town Board meeting.

Suffolk County Water Authority representatives will attend and participate in next Tuesday’s hearing, according to a water authority spokesperson.

The Riverhead Town Board during the hearing will hear from town planners and the town’s engineering consultant, and from the public.

***

Dr. David John Helfand, former president of Quest University Canada and past chair of Columbia University’s astronomy department, will give a free, in-person lecture next Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the East Hampton Library. The event, hosted by the Hamptons Observatory, begins at 7 p.m.

Helfand will discuss his latest book, The Universal Timekeepers: Reconstructing History Atom by Atom, which explores how science can uncover the histories of distant times and places once thought unreachable. A book signing will follow the talk, and copies will be available for purchase.

For more information or to register, visit

HamptonsObservatory.org.

That’s next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the East Hampton Library.

***

Gov. Kathy Hochul might ordinarily relish the king-making power that she wields in New York as its most powerful Democrat.

But in the New York City mayor’s race, Ms. Hochul pointedly avoided making an endorsement in the Democratic primary and still has not backed its winner, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

“I’m having very interesting conversations right now,” Ms. Hochul deflected earlier this month when asked again whom she might support, adding, “There’s no urgency.”

Grace Ashford reports in THE NY TIMES that the governor is not alone in her hesitancy. Prominent Democrats from New York — including the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer; Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; and the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries — have not made an endorsement in the race. Of the 10 House Democrats in New York City, only four have endorsed Mr. Mamdani.

Like House Democrats, Ms. Hochul is facing re-election next year, potentially against Representative Elise Stefanik, a top Republican supporter of President Trump. Some political observers think that an enthusiastic endorsement of Mr. Mamdani could hurt the governor in more conservative areas of the state.

In many ways, Governor Hochul’s dilemma reflects a larger one facing the national Democratic Party, whose leaders know they need to reframe the party’s messaging. But even as they covet the success of Mr. Mamdani, they are still quite resistant to abandoning party orthodoxy.

Mr. Mamdani’s roots as a democratic socialist and his anti-Israel rhetoric, for example, run contrary to some of Ms. Hochul’s core positions. Mr. Mamdani is certain to push for the type of ambitious, expensive policies that have become his rallying cry: free buses, freezing the rent and universal child care. While as NYC Mayor, some of Mamdani's priorities would probably require new taxes on the wealthy, passed by the NYS Legislature with Governor Hochul’s approval.

But Ms. Hochul is deeply opposed to raising income taxes, on the theory that the state ought not give the high earners who contribute an outsize portion of the state’s tax base any reason to decamp to Florida. She has repeatedly rejected the Legislature’s attempts to raise taxes on the wealthy. And while Ms. Hochul may have no choice but to raise taxes to offset the impact of federal budget cuts, those around her say she would turn to such a move only as a last resort.

New York State’s plan to prioritize giving cannabis licenses to operators with low-level marijuana convictions in their past is illegal, a federal appeals court has ruled. The U.S. Second Circuit Court, located in Manhattan, ruled the state’s "scheme" for giving first dibs to certain business owners is a "protectionist" measure that violates the federal commerce clause. The 2-1 ruling was handed down this past Tuesday.

Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that it wasn’t clear if the ruling, which could be appealed, would have an immediate impact on the about 450 licensed cannabis retail shops in the state. But it certainly could alter licensing going forward in New York and elsewhere.

A spokeswoman for the state Office of Cannabis Management declined to comment, saying the agency was reviewing the court decision. The governor's office also is reviewing the decision and monitoring the situation, a spokeswoman said. Approximately 60 Long Island retailers had been granted licenses by the state through the priority initiative as part of the Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary program, as of a February 2024 update published on the OCM website.

The lawsuit was filed by a company called Varisite NY Four and Varisite NY Five, two limited liability companies majority owned by California residents, who claim putting some New York applicants at the head of the licensing queue violates the dormant Commerce Clause, which essentially blocks states from giving preferential treatment to instate residents.

New York lawmakers wanted to give preferential treatment to applicants with previous marijuana convictions or below certain income thresholds as a "restorative justice" initiative after marijuana was legalized in the state.

The federal judges agreed, however, with Varisite.

The federal court ruling is the latest blow for what’s been a troubled rollout of the state’s cannabis program.

Earlier this month, OCM told more than 80 shops to close because the agency itself had misinterpreted the law about how close they could be to a school grounds, as opposed to a school building. Gov. Kathy Hochul has indicated the NYS Legislature might amend statutes to correct the error and avoid closures or relocations.

***

Attorneys for Southampton Town have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior’s listing of the Shinnecock Nation’s land in Hampton Bays on a federal list of tribal lands — which the tribe has said proves it is sovereign land that is free from regulation by Southampton Town or New York State.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the suit stems from a memo in January by an assistant secretary at the agency that instructed Bureau of Indian Affairs staff to list the tribe’s Westwoods property in federal records as “restricted fee” land, a designation usually applied to sovereign territory occupied by Indigenous tribes since before the arrival of European settlers.

The memo used terminology seemingly chosen deliberately to provide legal weight to Shinnecock claims that their Hampton Bays land is sovereign territory and free from oversight of local zoning and building regulations.

The town has questioned the process by which the new designation of the land was reached, and the legal weight of simply changing the terminology back. The Town of Southampton asked a U.S. Department of the Interior appeals board to review the designation. But the appeals board declined to examine the matter, made in the last days of the Biden administration, so the town’s attorneys last week asked a federal court to weigh the power of the administrative action.

The suit relies on the claim that Westwoods property is simply land the Shinnecock own simple title to, as though it were bought on the real estate market, and not sovereign territory free from local oversight.

The tribe has said the land is sovereign and cannot be regulated, freeing them to pursue development that would not conform to town zoning or state regulations — like the electronic billboards the nation constructed in 2019, the gas station it began building last year, and the 200-room hotel and convention center, and eventual casino, that it has said it plans to build on the bluffs overlooking Peconic Bay.

***

Riverhead High School teacher Lindsay Lindenbaum has been named Suffolk County’s 2025 High School Health Education Teacher of the Year by the state’s professional organization for health and physical education educators.

Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Ms. Lindenbaum will be honored on Nov. 4 at the Suffolk Zone conference of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. The organization’s awards committee selects recipients each year across the elementary, middle, and high school levels in the fields of health education, physical education, adapted physical education and dance education.

“I truly appreciate it. It’s a very nice gesture to be thought of; it’s an incredible gesture to be granted,” Lindenbaum said yesterday. “I don’t know that I do anything that’s so phenomenal that so many other teachers don’t do. We’re all in this crazy job together just trying to do the best we can for the kids.”

Lindsay Lindenbaum was hired by the Riverhead Central School District in 2006 to teach health at the middle school and has also taught at Pulaski Street Intermediate School, she said. Four years ago, she was assigned to the high school, where she has been ever since.

***

A proposed Suffolk County bill will allow the county to cut off funding to landlords receiving rental payments through the Department of Social Services if the homes fail to comply with building and zoning codes. Lawmakers say they aim to crack down on overcrowding and unsafe conditions that imperil people housed through programs like Temporary Housing Assistance, which supports people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the county already has the power to withhold public assistance if the housing is "dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to life or health," according to the code. The legislation adds additional language if there is noncompliance with zoning code and building code requirements. "We’re putting people’s lives in jeopardy and we’re aware of it," Legis. Nick Caracappa (C-Selden), a lead sponsor of the bill, said. "Taxpayer money shouldn’t be going to funding homes that are putting people in jeopardy." While proponents of the bill say it’s a necessary step to address growing quality-of-life issues in neighborhoods like Mastic Beach and Coram — citing examples like a home with a Charbroil grill in place of an oven, homes with mazes of extra walls and strained wastewater systems due to overcrowding — housing advocates say it could curtail an already limited inventory of housing for a vulnerable population. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico told Newsday the rentals have been a "longtime concern" of his, saying DSS placements throughout the town have "had a very negative effect on the quality of life of those neighborhoods."

The Suffolk County Legislature held its second public hearing on the bill last week and the bill now goes back to committee later this month.

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A proposed 40-unit housing development with 3,000 square feet of retail space on Flanders Road just south of the Riverside traffic circle could be the beginning of the long-awaited redevelopment of this blighted area. “I want to be in Riverside, because I want to be the catalyst that gets it done,” said David Gallo of affordable housing developer Georgica Green Ventures (GGV) at this past Tuesday’s public hearing on whether Southampton Town should spend $2.4 million from its Community Housing Fund to help GGV purchase the property. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that a major factor in the lack of investment in Riverside is its environmental sensitivity, alongside the Peconic River, and the lack of sewage treatment there. Southampton Town expects to receive grant money to begin work on its Riverside Sewage Treatment Plant in September, which would enable the redevelopment of the hamlet, said Southampton Town Planning & Development Administrator Janice Scherer at the hearing.

The proposal to use CHF funding to purchase the property includes a clause that would have title to the property revert to Southampton Town if the sewer is not built, added town Director of Housing and Community Development Kara Bak. Southampton’s Community Housing Fund, paid for through a .5 percent real estate transfer tax paid by buyers, has accumulated $30 million since its inception two years ago, she added. That funding has enabled the town to ensure the affordability of 41 single family homes and 168 apartments since that time, she said, adding that the majority of those units are east of the Shinnecock Canal. The Southampton Town Board closed Tuesday's public hearing, and Ms. Bak said a resolution approving the use of CHF funding for the purchase of the property will be ready for the board’s Aug. 26 meeting.

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The Southampton Town Board this week formally accepted the application for a 34-unit affordable housing complex off Majors Path in North Sea that the owner has pitched as a development geared toward local young professionals who can afford to pay rents upward of $2,500 a month but still struggle to find quality housing east of the Shinnecock Canal. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the project, which would be privately funded by the property owner, Zach Epley, will need the Southampton Town Board to approve a zone change, from 5-acre single-family residential to a multifamily residential zone.

Board members said that accepting the application and starting the first steps of the review process will allow the developer to formulate a more detailed plan and help the town answer questions or concerns by residents in the North Sea community about the project. The 8.6-acre parcel is on the east side of Majors Path near the intersections with Mary’s Lane and Straight Path and sits between the Southampton Youth Services recreational facility and North Sea Community Park and a 50-unit housing development approved in 2005.

Southampton Town Board members unanimously approved the resolution to advance the review of the project on Tuesday, which was added to the agenda just hours before the meeting, and said it puts the ball in the developer’s court entirely now — knowing that there is some local opposition and likely further investment necessary.

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The first phase of a multiyear study and intervention facilitated by Yale University revealed common ground between the Southampton School District and the Shinnecock Nation — an agreement in the need for improved communication, though they differed on the road to get there.

Michelle Trauring reports on 27east.com that the researchers, Dr. Christopher Cutter and Dr. Mark Beitel, presented their recent findings from a community needs assessment, which also examined each group’s impression of the district climate. Cutter and Beitel, who are both psychologists, compiled data from over 60 interviews with members of both groups into short-, medium- and long-term goals. For the district’s perspective, those include changes to curriculum and increased professional development, though there was a small subset of people who said, “make no changes at all, things are just going well,” Beitel said. The nation emphasized the need for increased cultural awareness and teacher diversity, Shinnecock inclusion and representation, increased parent involvement, and better academic support and post-secondary planning. Looking ahead, by October, the researchers said they aim to design community and culturally competent teacher and mental health staff training, which includes a series of intervention construction meetings with the Shinnecock community. “I want to reinforce that this is not just Indigenous health,” Cutter said. “This is for community health.” Once the “very strong, lasting” intervention design is approved, training begins, Cutter said. “Training is typically a difficult process. We do a lot of mentoring near us with a lot of clinicians and a lot of teachers…To do an intervention quite well, there has to be sustainability on it and the training has to feel that it was interesting and important.”