Government

Town, county, and state officials were in a celebratory mood last week at Town Hall, toasting the electricity that began flowing from the South Fork Wind farm through 78 miles of underwater cable to a LIPA substation here.

East Hampton Town’s senior purchasing agent recommended to the town board on Tuesday that the town become a Green Purchasing Community, a New York State program that confers buying guidance through state-approved specifications.

The East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals granted both a special permit and variances, with conditions, to the Jewish Center of the Hamptons to construct a pavilion for outdoor services and to install security planters along their front property line.

As the town prepares to start clearing next month at the Amagansett site where the new center will be built, the two people who spoke at a public hearing on the project both said the town may be moving too fast and that there are questions that should be answered first.

After months of discussion prompted by a fatal fire in Noyac last summer, the Sag Harbor Village Board has amended its seasonal-use dwelling-unit law, resolving Tuesday night to require the addition of a rental registry permit. The intent of the new law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, is to ensure the safety of rented properties, in accordance with New York State Code.

The Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee held its last meeting of 2023 in person at the Wainscott Chapel on Saturday, taking the opportunity to thank three officials who are retiring.

A $600,000 grant from the New York State Regional Economic Development Councils “to plan for the sustainable future” of Montauk’s downtown will help East Hampton Town develop strategies for dealing with the nuts and bolts of climate adaptation.

History was made in the United States House of Representatives on Friday when Representative George Santos of New York’s Third Congressional District, following the issuance of a damning Nov. 16 report by the House Committee on Ethics, was expelled by his colleagues less than halfway through his first term.

The East Hampton Town Board heard recommendations for allocating an expected $120,000 for community development for projects ranging from solar panels to an outdoor table for chess.

East Hampton Town Democrats’ lopsided victories in the Nov. 7 election are official, according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections’ results issued this week. 

The design development phase of East Hampton Town’s new 22,000-square-foot senior citizens center is all but complete, leaving the town board to decide on a few remaining details as it seeks to balance up-front costs for the $31.6 million project with its goals for a net-zero facility and minimal maintenance of its components. 

Salt marsh areas of Accabonac Harbor could see a restoration effort beginning next fall, if the Nature Conservancy’s proposal to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the funding of five such projects on Long Island is accepted.