Government

Friday at 4 p.m. is the deadline for public comment on the scope of a draft environmental impact statement associated with the May 17 deactivation of East Hampton Airport and the opening, 33 hours later, of a “new” private-use airport on the same site.

A relaxation of outdoor dining rules for restaurants, put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic, could become permanent. East Hampton Town officials have been working on changes that would allow most restaurants to double their seating capacity, but with one catch: the total numbers of patrons would have to remain the same. A three-year trial period is planned.

Remarks from the public during two East Hampton Town Board hearings relating to affordable housing provided stark illustrations of the far-reaching impacts of the ever-spiraling cost of real estate on the South Fork.

The long-awaited resurfacing of Route 114 from the South Ferry on North Haven to Stephen Hand’s Path in East Hampton began this week. The work will take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

When East Hampton Airport reopens on May 19 with a new, private status, landing fees may at least double for most types of aircraft, according to a proposal unveiled this week during a town board work session.

“It’s not just buildings we’re preserving here, it’s heritage, it’s who we are.” said Irwin Levy, a member of the town’s nature preserve committee who recently led a hike at the town-owned property in Springs that belonged the late Abstract Expressionists James Brooks and Charlotte Park. He urged the town to "seize this moment now” by preserving and restoring the structures on the property.

The working group to implement recommendations for the Wainscott hamlet study reconvened on March 2, with progress still frustratingly slow for some participants but also with some consensus achieved for readily achievable goals, as well as actions to be avoided.

The Peconic Jitney, a passenger-only ferry service that operated a pilot program connecting Sag Harbor to Greenport back in 2012, is seeking to do so again, this time with a formal five-year contract with the Sag Harbor Village Board.

A complaint brought by Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott against the East Hampton Town Board and developers of the South Fork Wind farm has been dismissed.

Unity was the theme at last Thursday’s forum for those seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for New York’s First Congressional District, at a moment of both opportunity and peril for the party.

Construction relating to the South Fork Wind farm continues in Wainscott this week with trenching and installation of conduit on Beach Lane and on Wainscott Northwest Road between the Long Island Rail Road intersection and Montauk Highway.

uffolk County Legislator Al Krupski, who represents the Towns of Southold and Riverhead and parts of Brookhaven Town, has endorsed Legislator Bridget Fleming’s candidacy for the Democratic nomination to represent New York’s First Congressional District.