Government

Appellate judges reversed much of a 2016 State Supreme Court decision on Wednesday, ruling that property owners along a stretch of ocean beach on Napeague known as Truck Beach do, in fact, own the beach. On Friday, the town said it would appeal or move to condemn that stretch.

Two days after being released from Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where he had spent nine days fighting Covid-19, Village Mayor Jerry Larsen discussed the status of proposals for paid parking and the construction of a wastewater treatment plant, the recent increase in fees for beach parking and several other permits, the tensions that have arisen at village board meetings, and more.

Motivated by opposition to a plan to land the proposed South Fork Wind farm's export cable at the ocean end of Beach Lane, a group called Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott is leading an effort to create an incorporated village in a 4.4-square-mile expanse of that hamlet. A petition supporting that move was submitted to the supervisor, as required by state law, on Dec. 30.

As East End residents face an ongoing lack of access to the Covid-19 vaccine, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and other local officials vented their frustration this week with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's handling of the state's vaccination program, and offered recommendations for fixing it.

After receiving feedback from Sag Harbor Village residents and business owners on a proposal to charge for parking on Main Street and in the Long Wharf lot between Memorial Day and Columbus Day weekends, the village board decided to hold off on including the Main Street spaces, Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy announced on Monday.

"Montauk's skate park could become a destination," said John Britton, the father of an 11-year-old skateboarder who is working with Councilman David Lys to advocate for a renovation and expansion. 

The East Hampton Town Board on Tuesday discussed a plan to amend the town code to tighten restrictions on the use of leaf blowers, with a divided board debating even greater constraints than were proposed at a public hearing in December.

To prevent oversized buildings along the waterfront, the code would set a maximum height of 25 feet and two stories, unless the developer provided public waterfront access and at least three other benefits, such as installing environmentally-friendly building systems and sustainable landscapes, producing renewable energy, conserving water, or preserving historic resources.

Charging "bad faith, authoritarian motives, and irrationality," Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in State Supreme Court, Riverhead, against the East Hampton Town Board, Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, and South Fork Wind. The action follows the town board's Jan. 21 approval of an easement allowing the developers of the proposed South Fork Wind farm to land an export cable on a Wainscott beach and then bury it under town-owned roads on its way to a Long Island Power Authority substation in East Hampton.

The New York State Department of Transportation issued a stop work order to the Shinnecock Nation last Thursday, demanding an end to the recent construction of the second of two controversial billboards on either side of Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays

Data released Monday by New York State shows the seven-day average rate of positive Covid-19 cases in Suffolk County has been ticking downward now for nearly a month. The rate reflects the number of cases that are positive as a percentage of the total tests administered.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc will hold a hearing on the petition for the incorporation of Wainscott on Friday, Feb. 5. Signed by more than 200 people, the petition is the first step toward the creation of a new village of Wainscott. If it is deemed legally sufficient, the question of incorporation will be put to a vote by residents of the proposed village.