Government

Taking note of a proliferation of seaplanes amid the swarm of aircraft flying over East Hampton in a typical summer, the town board is discussing prohibiting seaplanes within 1,500 feet of any town shoreline.

An aggregation of purchasing power allows the negotiating of lower electricity rates and enables a town or towns to derive electricity from renewable sources. 

Retail food stores will be allowed to provide seating for up to 16 people, under a law passed on Friday by the East Hampton Village Board at a meeting held via teleconference. 

Arthur Graham, an East Hampton Village trustee and a candidate for mayor in the June 16 election, and David Driscoll, his running mate on the Fish Hooks Party ticket who is vying for one of two open board seats, talked in an interview on Sunday about how they would govern, and what it will take for the village to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic.

While it is one of the most areas most heavily affected by Covid-19 in the country, the county falls below the eligibility threshold for aid. The County Executive has asked the treasury secretary to reconsider Suffolk's eligibility.

Beaches raise the question of safety not only for beachgoers but for lifeguards, and the town is pondering whether or how it can keep beaches and parks open while protecting employees and the public and avoiding a subsequent wave of Covid-19 infection.

The Town of East Hampton has sued East Hampton Village and its liability insurance company over the perfluorinated chemicals stored and used at East Hampton Airport in Wainscott, which contaminated drinking water in that hamlet and caused 47 of the airport’s 570 acres to be included on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal sites, or Superfund sites.

The East Hampton Town Trustees approved a water quality assessment program proposed by Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences when they met via videoconference on Monday.     

The East Hampton Town Board moved on Tuesday toward adopting community choice aggregation, in which a town, or group of towns, hires an administrator to issue a competitive bid and choose a supplier for electricity, natural gas, or both.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said last week that he will issue an executive order to expand absentee voting in the state’s June 23 primary elections.     

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman and Councilman John Bouvier have endorsed Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming’s candidacy for the Democratic Party’s nomination to challenge Representative Lee Zeldin in New York’s First Congressional District.

East Hampton Town’s government is calling on residents to wear coverings when venturing out in public, following federal recommendations, but also asked for donations of masks and gloves for grocery store workers.

A statement issued from Town Hall on Saturday morning referred to the federal Centers for Disease Control’s recommendation that people wear a cloth face covering to slow the spread of the Covid-19.