Government

“I am extremely concerned now about how it might affect public safety at the main artery to Montauk,” East Hampton Town Councilman David Lys said of the trees on Napeague killed by an infestation of southern pine beetles in recent years.

The 5-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy storage system that caught fire at a Cove Hollow Road, East Hampton, substation on May 31 will be out of commission for an unknown length of time, but while its owners say there are no safety or power concerns for residents, proponents of renewable energy are concerned that the fire will fuel calls for a moratorium on further installations.

A new 185-foot tower to house emergency communications and personal wireless equipment, a component of East Hampton Town’s long effort to upgrade its emergency communications infrastructure, has been installed on the Camp Blue Bay property in Springs. The goal is for it to be operational by next spring.

A newly installed 262-kilowatt solar system array is now operational at Hither Hills State Park in Montauk, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation announced last week. It's projected to generate 360,000 kilowatt hours per year, covering the park’s entire electricity use and saving around $45,000 annually on electricity costs.

Congestion pricing, a new tolling plan that targets New York City’s Midtown Manhattan and aims to ease traffic congestion while simultaneously decreasing pollution, is on the horizon. The program will charge drivers a fee upward of $23 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.

Following an inspection, the New York State Department of Transportation and the Long Island Rail Road have closed the bridge at Cranberry Hole Road in Amagansett due to structural problems. It is the second closure of the bridge in less than two months.

In recent months, judges have twice overturned East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals decisions regarding natural resources special permits, and that could have significant ramifications moving forward, as the town zoning code gets chipped away by the Suffolk County Supreme Court.

It was never going to be easy for the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals to rule against the Shagwong Tavern in Montauk. This week after wrestling with language and the weight of history it sided with the tavern, deciding in a split vote that the Shagwong is not a nightclub even when the tables are pushed aside for dancing, but that it still must comply with fire codes.

Restoring the east inlet, which closed in 2007 after an April northeaster, would improve water quality and habitat for shellfish, finfish, and eelgrass. It would also reduce water flow through the west inlet, and, potentially, shoreline erosion north of Lazy Point and on Promised Land. It is “a project beyond the scope of what the trustees on their own could finance.”

Before she was named to the Z.B.A., Jeanne Kane chaired the village’s historic preservation and architectural review board. “She’s familiar with the boards and working with the building department,” said the new mayor, Thomas Gardella. She will be sworn in on Monday, taking his unexpired seat on the village board.

Thomas Gardella, who ran unopposed for Sag Harbor Village Mayor, seems intent on building bridges, which could be just what the village needs after a turbulent couple of years.

The long-planned deepening and widening of the navigational channel in Montauk Harbor, which was scheduled for completion this autumn, will be delayed by a year, East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said on Tuesday.