Government

    Marked by a humble demeanor, a passion for Montauk’s wild beauty, and a local lineage that dates back to the 1700s, Peter Van Scoyoc is making his first serious bid for elected office as a town board candidate on the Democratic ticket.

    Hoping to offer East Hampton voters the opportunity to get to know the candidates for town supervisor and town board in a non-partisan setting, the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce held a mixer at the Hedges Inn on Sept. 13, but despite an attempt to achieve neutral ground, the evening managed to highlight some of the polarization between Democratic and Republican candidates.

    That sharp contrast in perspective represents the overarching atmosphere of the entire election, Sylvia Overby, a Democratic candidate for town board, said at the mixer.

East Hampton Town

A First for Northwest Roads

    The East Hampton Town Board will propose the creation of a special tax district to pay for road repairs in an area of Northwest that includes Wheelock Walk, Barnes Avenue, and Mulford Avenue, enabling the roads, now private subdivision roads, to be brought into the town highway system.

    Nicole Kopf, an East Hampton resident who died in March at 81 and bequeathed $375,000 to the Town of East Hampton for its services for senior citizens, enjoyed visiting the town’s senior center on Springs-Fireplace Road, her sister, Eileen Berets of Stamford, Conn., said this week. “I’m sure she felt that she wanted to support it for the future,” Ms. Berets said.

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals heard an application on Tuesday evening that challenged a certificate of occupancy granted for a convenience store at 148 North Main Street, East Hampton, adjacent to an Empire gas station.

    As the wife of former East Hampton Town Republican Committee chairman and former State Assemblyman John Behan, Marilyn Behan of Montauk has been in the political sphere for more than 20 years, at her husband’s side at countless fund-raisers, state dinners, and other events. Now, she is entering the political fray on her own as one of the Indepenence Party’s candidates for East Hampton Town Board.

    The Civil Services Employees Association has announced its endorsement of several Democratic candidates including Zach Cohen for East Hampton Town supervisor and Sylvia Overby and Peter Van Scoyoc for town board, but also for the Republican candidate for highway superintendent, Stephen Lynch.

Eileen Raffo’s cottage at 252 Shore Road in Amagansett’s Lazy Point community squats low in the dunes, a zig-zag array of sand-catching fences its only defense against eroding storm surge.

Steven Gaines, who is running for East Hampton Town Board on the Republican line, announced the creation of a new local political party this week.

The East Hampton Zoning Board of Appeals reached a unanimous decision on Tuesday night to deny the construction of a large dock in Lake Montauk.

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals will hear an application on Tuesday night at 7 to challenge a decision that will allow a convenience store at 148 North Main Street, East Hampton.

With conditional approval by the FAA, the installation of an air traffic control tower for East Hampton Airport can proceed

With the autumnal wind comes the season of politics, and the weeks ahead will be filled with know-your-candidates fund-raising parties.

After 10 years of reflective silence, Peter Buchman has come forward to claim responsibility for the commemorative Sept. 11 artwork along Route 114 in East Hampton.

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency will make federal disaster assistance available to residents and small businesses in Suffolk County following Tropical Storm Irene, County Executive Steve Levy announced on Friday.

    The declaration will give homeowners and businesses access to individual assistance for documented non-insured losses up to $30,200. According to Representative Tim Bishop’s office, grants are available for home repairs and replacement of essential household items necessary to make a house safe, sanitary, and functional.

East Hampton Town

Wind Turbine a Go

    The Iacono family received East Hampton Town Board approval last week to put up a wind-energy system on 7.7 acres of farmland on Long Lane in East Hampton. The turbine, which is to be 131 feet high, will be the second to go up on Long Lane, following another that was put up on the Mahoney farm there.

Eyeing Phone System Savings

    In the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, more than 400,000 people were left without power, struggling with flickering candles, sputtering flashlights, and refrigerator contents in varying states of troubling thaw. Just how long will all your victuals last? The United States Department of Agriculture says be prepared: After eight hours above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, you can’t keep much, and for many of us on the East End, power went out four days ago.

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals was able to hold one of three scheduled hearings under the bright fluorescent lights of Town Hall.

East Hampton Town

Bonding Approved

     Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation that will allow East Hampton Town to borrow money, by issuing bonds repayable over 10 years, to fund an employee separation program, offering town workers an incentive to step down.

    Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson has said implementing the program is part of a package of cost-saving initiatives designed to return the town to sound financial status. He noted that it could help avoid layoffs.

    The terms of an agreement between the Springs School District and East Hampton Town, allowing the school to use a town youth building on the school campus for several classes this school year, will be the subject of a special meeting of the town board tomorrow morning at 10 at Town Hall.

    In recent discussions of the lease, Town Councilwoman Theresa Quigley, who is an attorney, had questioned whether it adequately spelled out the terms — in particular, who has dibs on use of the building after school hours.

    “As a result of complaints . . . I thought we should pursue shutting the airport down from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said at a town board meeting on Tuesday. “We’re running into — no pun intended — some headwinds on that.”

    Because the town is limited by the Federal Aviation Administration as to what restrictions it can place on the use of the airport, the board sought advice from the law firm of Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, the specialties of which include transportation and aviation law.

    Arnold Leo, secretary of the East Hampton Town Baymen’s Association and former town fisheries consultant, returned from an Aug. 1 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meeting in Virginia with some good news — striped bass and lobster fishermen might have dodged a bullet — and some bad — East Hampton Town was not represented at the important meeting.

East Hampton Town

Wainscott Land Preserved

    After a hearing last Thursday night, the East Hampton Town Board approved the purchase of 26 acres on Six Pole Highway in Wainscott. The land will be bought with $3.2 million from the community preservation fund.

    Speaking at the hearing, Nancy LaGarenne of Tryworks, East Hampton, said she was not opposed to the purchase, but questioned why the town had not bought the Webb property as well, acreage in her Middle Highway neighborhood that residents have asked the board to preserve.

    An article in the July 21 issue of The Star about Anthony Petrello’s plans to demolish a cottage on Sagaponack land he purchased from the White family and build a larger guest house in its place contained several errors.

    While the article said that Mr. Petrello’s right of first refusal to purchase most of the remaining acreage of White farm was “in fine print,” both of Mr. Petrello’s legal counsels said that that portion of the contract was in 12-point print, as was everything else in the contract.

    Is it wrong for members of appointed boards, such as the planning or zoning boards, to remain on those boards while running for office? The question may prompt a town board discussion of East Hampton’s ethics code.

    “I believe the situation is rife with conflict,” said Beverly Bond, an East Hampton resident, at the board’s work session on Saturday. She also questioned whether candidates should be required to step down from citizens advisory committees.

    The Democratic candidates for East Hampton Town Board seats — Zachary Cohen for supervisor and Sylvia Overby and Peter Van Scoyoc for town board — announced this week that if elected they will reinstate the Highway Department’s fall leaf pickup.

    The program was suspended in 2010 by the sitting Republican administration headed by Supervisor Bill Wilkinson, who is running for re-election this year. It was done away with entirely in the 2011 budget.

East Hampton Town

Fort Pond Suit Will Proceed

    A lawsuit against East Hampton Town challenging the proposed sale of the Fort Pond House property in Montauk is scheduled to proceed after State Supreme Court Justice William B. Rebolini struck down a motion by the town to dismiss the case for the second time.

As Congress bickers over raising the debt ceiling, the prospect of the United States defaulting on its obligations for the first time in its history looms.

East Hampton Town

Public-Place Recycling

    Though the East Hampton Town Code calls for separate disposal of recyclables at the town’s beaches, parks, landing ramps and other recreational areas, few of those places have bins specifically marked for recycling, Debbie Klughers told the town board recently.

    Ms. Klughers, who is a Democratic candidate for town trustee, said a survey of a number of sites revealed no recycling bins, and trash cans that were largely full of recyclable items, such as water bottles.

Three East Hampton Town Highway Department workers have filed complaints with the New York State Division of Human Rights alleging discrimination.