Suffolk County
Commuting, Vector Bills Introduced
Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming introduced and co-sponsored several pieces of legislation during the Dec. 7 general meeting of the Legislature. Of particular interest for East Hampton among the bills awaiting County Executive Steve Bellone’s signature are those concerning vector control and the South Fork Commuter Connection.
Ms. Fleming, who is a member of the New York State Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, co-sponsored approval of the 2022 vector control plan issued by the county’s Department of Public Works. It includes the continuation of the cooperative project to reduce larvicide spraying to control mosquito populations in Accabonac Harbor, and other wetlands restoration projects for environmentally sensitive efforts to reduce those populations.
The plan also outlines recommendations of the Tick Control Advisory Committee, which include collaboration with the Health Department for a countywide tick surveillance program addressing tick management and tick-borne pathogens, continued support of staffing to address ticks and tick-borne diseases, and new field trials.
Ms. Fleming also co-sponsored a bill that would appropriate an additional $250,000 in Statewide Mass Transportation Operating Assistance funds for the South Fork Commuter Connection, which offers Long Island Rail Road service between Speonk and Montauk. Half of the additional funding would be reserved for the “last mile” buses provided by East Hampton and Southampton Towns.
The commuter service launched in March 2019 was suspended because of the Covid pandemic a year later, and resumed operation in September.
Federal
East Hampton Board Endorses Fleming
The five incoming members of the East Hampton Town Board, four of them incumbents and all of them Democrats, have endorsed County Legislator Bridget Fleming’s bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination to represent New York’s First Congressional District.
Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc and Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, who were both re-elected to a third term in November, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, Councilman David Lys, and Councilwoman-elect Cate Rogers have all endorsed Ms. Fleming’s candidacy, according to a statement from Ms. Fleming’s office.
“I want to thank this amazing group of community leaders for supporting my campaign,” Ms. Fleming said in a statement. “Local leaders are the lifeblood of our communities, and with their support, 2022 is going to be the year we will take back our congressional seat.”
