Government

A proposed 100-foot cell tower behind Sagaponack’s Village Hall, at 3175 Montauk Highway, which breezed through a single public hearing in February, is receiving renewed scrutiny from residents of the one-and-a-half-square-mile village. At issue is not necessarily the pole’s existence, but its placement.

The East Hampton Village Board voted last Thursday to support state legislation that could lead to the installation of cameras at stop signs here. According to the proposed law, the vehicle owner would be hit with a $50 fine if they failed to stop at a stop sign with a camera. If they ignore the fine, it increases to $75.

East Hampton Town Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte, a Democrat appointed to the post in January, faces a challenge from Hy Mariampolski, a first-time candidate running for the Republicans. The winner will fill out the remaining one year of the term vacated by Kathee Burke-Gonzalez when she became supervisor in January.

In the leadup to Memorial Day weekend, the New York State Department of Transportation, the Suffolk County Water Authority, and National Grid have been in the midst of a handful of projects affecting traffic in and around the heart of East Hampton Village. 

While the private membership club Zero Bond wasn’t explicitly mentioned, the East Hampton Village Board unanimously passed a law that was drafted after rumors began percolating weeks ago that the club was close to signing a long-term lease with the Hedges Inn on James Lane.

Sag Harbor has a legitimate political race on its hands. Four experienced candidates are vying for the two trustee seats now held by Ed Haye and Jeanne Kane, who are seeking re-election. Ron Reed, a member of the village’s planning board, and Mary Ann Eddy, who sits on its harbor committee, hope to displace them.

With Orsted and Eversource set to begin pre-construction activities in September on the 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind farm, the developers are hosting an open house for mariners and “fisheries stakeholders” in Montauk on Wednesday.

The Town of East Hampton is suing Fly Blade Inc., operator of Blade helicopters and seaplanes, for what it claims is $186,354 in past-due fees associated with a license agreement to maintain a counter at the East Hampton Airport terminal. It is looking to terminate Blade’s occupancy at the terminal if the payment is not received.

The Green at Gardiner’s Point, the name given to the 50 rental apartments at 286 and 290 Three Mile Harbor Road being built as affordable housing, is now accepting applications for the apartments, which will start at $1,500 for a one-bedroom unit.

The Huntting Inn, appearing before the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals on Friday, announced no substantial changes to its application regarding a pool and hot tub, and for neighbors, that is a problem. Those two items are and have long been their main point of contention.

An eroding bluff doesn’t respect zoning distinctions. That was the message delivered to the East Hampton Town Board on Tuesday by Alice Cooley, a lawyer representing property owners on Soundview Drive in Montauk. Her clients, Sarah and Maurice Iudicone, are forbidden under zoning rules from building any sort of hardened coastal structure, such as a stone revetment or bulkhead, to protect their property.

A former public bathing beach at the end of South Lake Drive in Montauk that has been closed for nearly 20 years was the one subject the East Hampton Town Board mulled on Tuesday when it held its first work session in the hamlet since before the pandemic. The board heard about two projects that could help to get the beach open again for bathing.