Government

Twenty-five members of the New York and New Jersey delegations to the House of Representatives wrote to Amanda Lefton, the new director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, on Friday to urge her to "jump-start the offshore wind leasing process" by issuing final Wind Energy Areas and subsequent lease auctions in the New York Bight. 

In an initial effort to oversee local Covid-19 vaccinations, East Hampton Town opened a vaccination clinic at the former Child Development Center of the Hamptons Building on Saturday and provided shots to 332 residents, including first responders, teachers, and people who work in food and grocery stores.

The third of three public hearings on the South Fork Wind farm's construction and operations plan, jointly held by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Army Corps of Engineers, happened this week. The public has until Monday to send additional comments on the project.

As hopes for a return to normalcy in 2021 gather strength, the East Hampton Town Board is considering the costs and quantity of beach parking and beach driving permits the town will issue to nonresidents, resorts, and co-ops this year. 

At its work session on Tuesday, the board collectively predicted "pent-up energy to get out and do things," as Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc put it, "and beaches are a relatively safe way to enjoy oneself," as demonstrated in 2020.

People who commit minor violations of the town code, as well as the code enforcement and marine patrol officers who catch them doing it, would no longer have to appear in court under a new plan being considered by the East Hampton Town Board.

East Hampton Town will receive 300 Covid-19 vaccine doses from Suffolk County on Friday, and on Saturday will use them to vaccinate firefighters, teachers, and other members of the b eligibility group at the town's new mass vaccination site at the former Child Development of the Hamptons building.

The momentum building for meaningful action on climate change on the national level was reflected in East Hampton on Tuesday, when the town board heard, and responded enthusiastically to, a recommendation from its energy sustainability committee to declare a climate emergency, something 1,874 jurisdictions in 33 countries have already done.

During Friday's Town Hall hearing on a petition to incorporate Wainscott, more people than not called in to support a referendum on the proposal.

The East Hampton Village Board discussed what looks to be its final plan to charge for parking in the commercial district at a meeting last Thursday, along with allowing the ongoing use of public property for outdoor dining and the use of Herrick Park for movie showings and theater performances.

After a change that went into effect last year, the Independence Party and other third parties now have to meet a higher threshold to keep their spots on the ballot in New York State. The move has frustrated members of third parties, but there may be some upsides, East Hampton's Independence Party chairwoman said.

Len Bernard, East Hampton Town's budget officer, had no shortage of news when he addressed the town board on Tuesday. He presented a draft three-year capital plan, spoke of next month's final payment on deficit financing related to budget mismanagement between 2005 and 2008, and announced his retirement, set for July.

The Suffolk County Legislature closed a public hearing on the county's Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Program, with some legislators expressing weariness and irritation at residents pressing for tighter restrictions on the program, and sympathy for oyster farmers who described their nascent industry as under attack from recreational users of Peconic and Gardiner's Bays.