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Get Your Voting Guide Here for Tuesday's Big Decisions

Get Your Voting Guide Here for Tuesday's Big Decisions

Tuesday is Election Day, and voters on the South Fork have several important decisions to make.
Tuesday is Election Day, and voters on the South Fork have several important decisions to make.
By
Star Staff

Tuesday is Election Day, and voters on the South Fork have several important decisions to make. In East Hampton and Southampton Towns, there are races for town supervisor, town board, and trustee positions. Countywide, voters will elect a new district attorney, who is in charge of prosecutions throughout Suffolk, and a new sheriff, who is in charge of the county jails, amid county political corruption scandals. And, not to be forgotten, there's the all-important constitutional convention question, so don't forget to flip your ballot!

The polls are open between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. A sample ballot for the Town of East Hampton can be downloaded as a PDF here and in Spanish here. 

East Hampton Town 

• Supervisor (pick one):

Peter K. Van Scoyoc, Democrat, Working Families, Independent

Manny Vilar, Republican, Conservative

• Town Clerk (uncontested):

Carole A. Brennan, D, R, C, I

• Superintendent of Highways (uncontested):

Stephen K. Lynch, D, R, C, I

• Town Justice (uncontested):

Steven Tekulsky, D, R, C, W.F., I

• Town Board (pick any two): 

Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, D, W.F., I

Jeff Bragman, D, W.F., I

Paul A. Giardina, R, C, Reform

Gerard Larsen, R, C

• Assessor (pick one): 

Eugene C. De Pasquale III, D, W.F., I

Tina S. Silverman, R

• Trustees (pick any nine):

John Aldred, D, I, W.F.

Joseph Bloecker, R, C, I

Francis Bock, D, W.F.

Brian Byrnes, D, W.F.

Gary Cobb, R, C, I

Dell Cullum, D

Richard Drew, D, I, W.F.

Julie Evans, R, Reform, C, I

Jim Grimes, R, C

Michael Havens, R, C

Lyndsey Hayes, R, C, I

Susan McGraw Keber, D, W.F., Women's Equality

Rona Klopman, D, I

Diane McNally, R, C, I

Francesca Rheannon, D, W.F., W.E.

Bill Taylor, D, I, W.F.

Susan Vorpahl, R, C, I

Willy Wolter, R, C

RELATED: Endorsements for Town Supervisor, Town Board, and Town Trustee

Southampton Town 

• Supervisor (pick one):

Jay H. Schneiderman, D, C, W.F., I

Raymond B. Overton, R, C 

• Superintendent of Highways (pick one):

Alex D. Gregor, D, C, W.F., I

Lance L. Aldrich, R

• Town Board (pick any two):

Julie R. Lofstad, D, C, W.F., I, W.E.

Thomas Schiavoni, D, W.F., I, W.E.

Thea R. Fry, R

Stan Glinka, R, C

• Trustee (pick any five):

Gary T. Glanz, D, G, W.F.

Bruce A. Stafford, D, R, C, I

Ann E. Welker, D, W.F., W.E.

Ronald A. Fisher, D

Bill Pell, D, R, W.F., I 

Scott M. Horowitz, R, C, I

Edward J. Warner Jr., R, C, I

Donald T. Law, R, C, I

• Town Clerk (uncontested):

Sundy A. Schermeyer, D, R, C, I 

• Town Justice (Pick two):

Deborah E. Kooperstein, D, R, C, W.F., I  

Barbara L. Wilson, D, R, C, I

Suffolk County: 

• District Attorney:

Timothy D. Sini, D, C, W.F., I 

Raymond G. Perini, R, Reform

Christopher Garvey, Libertarian

• Sheriff: 

Errol D. Toulon Jr., D, C, I

Lawrence M. Zacarese, R, Reform

Peter J. Krauss, Libertarian

• County Legislator, 2nd District: 

Bridget M. Fleming, D, W.F., I, W.E.

Heather C. Collins, R, C

RELATED: Endorsements for County Seats

• Justice of the Supreme Court, 10th Judicial District (vote for any four):

Linda Kevins, D, C, I

William B. Rebolini, D, R, C, W.F., I

Arthur M. Diamond, D, R

Thomas Feinman, D, R

Richard Hoffmann, R

Robert A. Lifson, R

Thomas Rademaker, C

Daniel S. McLane, C

Philip M. Boyle, I

Stuart Besen, I

• County Court Judge (uncontested):

David A. Morris, D, R, C, G, W.F., I, W.E., Reform

• Family Court Judge (pick one):

Theresa Whelan, D, C, G, W.F., I, W.E., Reform

Steven Weissbard, R

A Rush to Stabilize Rare Montaukett House Before Winter

A Rush to Stabilize Rare Montaukett House Before Winter

Restoration plans, and a possible future museum, are being discussed for the Fowler house, believed to be the last remaining residence used by members of the Montaukett tribe. It is owned by East Hampton Town.
Restoration plans, and a possible future museum, are being discussed for the Fowler house, believed to be the last remaining residence used by members of the Montaukett tribe. It is owned by East Hampton Town.
By
Joanne Pilgrim

The Fowler house in East Hampton, believed to be the Montaukett Tribe’s sole surviving 19th-century house and listed this year on the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities’  “Endangered His­toric Places” list, has the potential to become a significant historical site, the society and members of an East Hampton Friends of the Fowler House group believe.

Now sagging in disrepair and covered with tarps, the house is on a 1.7-acre site near the intersection of Springs-Fireplace Road and North Main Street in East Hampton. It is owned by East Hampton Town, which declared it a local landmark last year. It “is possibly one of the most historically significant structures in the Town of East Hampton,” according to town documents, and could be eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Friends of the Fowler House, which was formed to advise the town on the house’s restoration, expect to form a nonprofit organization to raise money and pursue grants to support the work and, eventually, to create a museum. The organization is to meet today with Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc and consultants to chart the property’s future. 

The house is believed to have been moved in 1890 from its original location at Indian Field in Montauk during the relocation of a number of tribal members. To entice Montauketts to leave their ancestral lands, Arthur Benson, a developer who coveted the area for a planned resort and had purchased thousands of acres in Montauk at a public auction, offered deeds to plots in what was then known as Freetown. The name was a reference, it is said, to the neighborhood’s original settlers, former slaves of the Gardiner family and other wealthy local families. 

The deeds were “obtained by fraud and by undue influence,” the Montauketts claimed, and they unsuccessfully sued the Benson heirs for the return of the tribal lands.

George Lewis Fowler and his wife, Sarah Melissa Horton, some of the last Montauketts who reportedly moved from Montauk to Freetown, originally occupied the house. Mr. Fowler was employed for many years by the artist Thomas Moran as a gardener and gondolier in East Hampton Village. He also tended the gardens at Home, Sweet Home on East Hampton’s Main Street.

James Devine, a member of the Friends group and a Fowler family descendant who lived next door to the Fowler house, said it was surrounded by fruit trees, wild Concord grapes, wildflowers and herbs, cultivated flowers, and ornamental grasses. 

Robert Hefner, an East Hampton historical consultant, has said the Fowler house “puts Main Street and Freetown together,” calling Mr. Fowler “the connection, the missing link.” The Fowler house “completes the picture of the Moran house and Home, Sweet Home,” Mr. Hefner said during early discussions of its preservation. The latter sites have been protected and preserved. 

Members of the Fowler family lived in the saltbox-style house from about 1885 through the late 1900s, according to Allison Manfra McGovern, an archaeologist who studied the Montauketts and gathered oral histories about Freetown.

Dr. McGovern, a member of the Friends group, cautioned in a recent letter to the town that any plans for shoring up, restoring, or renovating the property should be developed in consultation with remaining Montauketts and be undertaken in accordance with accepted historical preservation and archaeological standards. 

 The Fowler house property was acquired by Suffolk County in 2002 due to tax default and given to East Hampton Town with a stipulation  that if the town did not use it for affordable housing the ownership would revert to the county.  Determining the site to be historic, officials went back to the county to ask that the land transfer be finalized for historical purposes. The Suffolk Legislature approved its final transfer in March 2015 under an agreement calling for the town to designate the house a historical landmark and to develop a long-term plan for its preservation in coordination with the East Hampton Historical Society. 

“Preserving the Fowler house will help us tell the story of our past to future generations,” Jay Schneiderman, then a county legislator and now Southampton Town supervisor, said at the time. 

The story, said Prudence Carabine, a member of the Fowler house committee, is an extraordinary one of the Freetown community, which blended Montauketts, African-Americans, and Bonackers, East Hamptoners descended from settlers. 

“People worshipped together, worked together, partied together. . . ,” Ms. Carabine said. “There was a respect and interlocking support system between three cultures.” 

“History tends to record the wealthy and powerful. George Fowler was neither, and we have much less information about the ordinary and poor people in our history,” Marguerite Wolffsohn, the town planning director, wrote in a report on the house. “Yet the people who lived in Freetown were the workers who supported the wealthier households in East Hampton Village, Gardiner’s Island, and elsewhere in town.”

The Fowler house and property, she wrote, “have the potential to teach us about the life ways of the Montauketts after they were dispossessed of their homes in Montauk and detribalized by the New York State government. It is a potential interpretive tool for understanding the history of Freetown, which is minimally understood by historians,” her report notes.

Ms. Carabine was the driving force behind the restoration and preservation of the former Selah Lester farm at North Main and Cedar Streets in East Hampton as a museum of local farm life in early 1900. She is eager to see the Fowler site become another window into the past.

The immediate agenda, she said this week, is to make sure the house is solid enough to withstand the coming winter. Plans for restoration and historical interpretation would then proceed, along with archaeological studies. If organized as a nonprofit organization, the Friends of the Fowler House  would commence fund-raising.

Proposals for restoration have been prepared by Drew Bennett, an engineer, and Mr. Hefner, and the town’s capital budget will provide needed funding  for the restoration; $50,000 has already been allocated for initial planning and design. 

The potential for obtaining grants and other funds to preserve the house would be greatly enhanced, according to the Society for Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, by the official restoration of the Montaukett Indian Nation’s tribal status. Over a century ago, a New York State judge ruled that the Montaukett tribe was extinct even though Montauketts were in the courtroom, according to the society. 

A bill that would grant the tribe New York State recognition, sponsored by Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, passed the Legislature in June and is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Update: Fire in Sagaponack Brings Out Several Fire Departments

Update: Fire in Sagaponack Brings Out Several Fire Departments

The Bridgehampton Fire Department was called to 175 Merchant's Path in Sagaponack thanks to an automatic fire alarm.
The Bridgehampton Fire Department was called to 175 Merchant's Path in Sagaponack thanks to an automatic fire alarm.
Michael Heller
By
Star Staff

The story as it appeared in print on Aug. 3: The Southampton Town Fire Marshal’s office continued to investigate the cause of a fire Monday afternoon at a Sagaponack house, though John Rankin, the marshal leading the investigation, said Tuesday that it did not appear suspicious.

The blaze, at 175 Merchant’s Path, apparently began in a basement electrical room and was thought to have been an equipment malfunction, Mr. Rankin said. He is still working to determine the exact cause.

Bridgehampton Fire Department Chief Jeff White discovered smoke pouring out from the base of shingles on the side of the 3,000-square-foot house when he answered an automatic gas-detector alarm that went off at 1:50 p.m. No one was home at the time.

While a Bilco door was unlocked, firefighters did have to break the front door and a few windows to gain entry to the house. They found some smoke on the first floor, which intensified with time, Chief White said. It took about 40 minutes to find the origin of the flames, between the basement ceiling and the first floor, near a dryer vent and a gas line.

Mr. Rankin, the fire marshal, ruled out the electric clothes dryers — one on the first floor and one in the basement — as a possible cause. A gas line, running to a stove and heating equipment, was also ruled out.

Chief White said that because the fire occurred in the middle of the day when many volunteers were working, he called for help from neighboring departments. Several responded, starting with an engine from the East Hampton Fire Department and a rapid-intervention team from Sag Harbor, which was on standby in case firefighters needed rescue.

Also, there was a water supply issue, with only an electric well in the area. A tanker from Sag Harbor was called in to supply water, and a truck from Springs was brought in as well, later on.

Complicating matters, a Bridgehampton fire truck was involved in an accident at the intersection of Montauk Highway and Sagg Road and was held up in its response because of it. There was minor damage to the truck. The other vehicle was able to drive away from the scene after a report was filed with police. No one was injured.

Back at the house, although firefighters were there for a long time, fire damage was minimal, the chief and fire marshal said. The fire was contained to an area of the basement. What took more time and caused more damage was checking the walls for members. The rest of the house was damaged by smoke.

All told, firefighters from the Sag Harbor, Southampton, Amagansett, and Springs Fire Departments responded, along with the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association. The Montauk Fire Department stood by at Bridgehampton’s headquarters to answer fire calls.

The house was listed on Douglas Elliman’s website for $50,000 for the month of July. It had been rented. 

Update, 11:14 p.m.: The Southampton Town Fire Marshal's office is investigating what caused a fire at a house in Sagaponack on Monday afternoon.

Chief Jeff White, who answered an automatic fire alarm in the basement that went off at 1:50 p.m., found smoke coming out from the base of the shingles on the side of the house. While a Bilco door was unlocked, the Fire Department did have to break the front door and a few windows to gain entry to the house, where they found some smoke on the first floor. He said it took about 40 minutes to find the origin of the fire, near the vent for the gas dryer between the basement ceiling and the first floor. However, he does not know what sparked the fire. 

Chief White said that because the fire occurred in the middle of the day when many volunteers are working , he calle for help from neighboring departments, starting with an engine from the East Hampton Fire Department and a rapid intervention team from Sag Harbor, which was on stand by in case firefighters need to be rescued. 

There was a water supply issue, with only an electric well in the area. A tanker from Sag Harbor was called in to supply water, and later a truck from Springs was also brought in. 

A Bridgehampton fire truck was involved in an accident at the intersection of Montauk Highway and Sagg Road and was held up in its response because of it, the chief said. There was minor damage to the truck, and the other vehicle was able to drive away from the scene after a report was filed. No one was injured. 

Back at the house, fire damage was minimal, the chief said. The fire was contained to an area of the basement. What took more time and damage was checking the walls for fire extension. 

All told, firefighters from the Sag Harbor, Southampton, Amagansett, and Springs Fire Departments responded, along with the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association. The Montauk Fire Department stood by at Bridgehampton's headquarters to answer fire calls. 

Originally, 2:35 p.m.: Firefighters are battling a fire in Sagaponack Monday afternoon. 

The fire was discovered after an automatic fire alarm in the basement was activated at 175 Merchant's Path, a 3-000-square-foot house in Sagaponack north, near Ranch Court, at about 1:50 p.m. A Bridgehampton Fire Department chief said it was working structure fire a few minutes later. 

Several engines from Bridgehampton Fire Department responded, and the chief requested assistance from the neighboring departments in Sag Harbor, East Hampton, Southampton, and Springs. One of the fire trucks was reportedly involved in a minor accident with another vehicle near the Sagg Road and Montauk Highway intersection. No injuries were reported. Southampton Town police responded. 

An engine from the Montauk Fire Department was also requested to stand by in Bridgehampton. 

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Springs Man Begins Jail Term

Springs Man Begins Jail Term

Jefferson Davis Eames was led out of East Hampton Town Justice Court after being sentenced to eight months in county jail.
Jefferson Davis Eames was led out of East Hampton Town Justice Court after being sentenced to eight months in county jail.
T.E. McMorrow
Jeff Eames sentenced to eight months, plus three years' probation.
By
T.E. McMorrow

Jefferson Davis Eames, 49, was handcuffed on Thursday and taken to a holding cell in East Hampton Town Justice Court, his first stop before beginning to serve the eight-month sentence Justice Lisa R. Rana had just handed down.

Toward the end of last year, Mr. Eames's house in Springs was the scene of parties where underage drinking and drug consumption took place. He pleaded guilty in May to endangering the welfare of a child and hosting a party at which minors were consuming alcohol, as well as driving with ability impaired by drugs and unlawfully fleeing a police officer. The various charges stemmed from five different incidents.

Justice Court was packed Thursday, with a crowded criminal calendar awaiting Justice Rana's disposition. Mr. Eames's name was called first. She sentenced him to eight months on three of the five misdemeanors, all three to run concurrently, and fined him $1,000 for the drug-related charge and another $200 for harassment, plus court costs. He has paid some of it and was given time to pay the rest. He will be on probation for three years after his release, which, taking time served into account, is likely to happen in four months.

Mr. Eames's legal troubles are not yet over. He is still facing numerous zoning violations, among them having an open fire on his property, from which he runs a woodcutting business. Those charges are currently on the local court's Aug. 14 zoning calendar.

More seriously, he has an open felony charge against him for allegedly cashing a check for $24,200 last December without authorization. He is due back in court in Central Islip on Tuesday on that matter.

From Justice Court, he was taken first to police headquarters, then to a facility to be treated for a medical condition, after which he was to be transported back to jail in Riverside. He will serve his time either there or in Yaphank.

 

Springs Man Back Behind Bars After Sex Abuse Arrest

Springs Man Back Behind Bars After Sex Abuse Arrest

An East Hampton Village Police Officer led Valon Shoshi out of East Hampton Town Justice Court on Thursday after he was arraigned on two felony charges.
An East Hampton Village Police Officer led Valon Shoshi out of East Hampton Town Justice Court on Thursday after he was arraigned on two felony charges.
T.E. McMorrow
By
T.E. McMorrow

A Springs man who was arrested by an East Hampton SWAT team in October 2014 after firing a shotgun in his family's house was back in jail on Thursday after being brought up on a felony sexual abuse charge. He was unable to make the $75,000 bail set by East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana,

Valon Shoshi, 31, who turned himself in to East Hampton Village police on Wednesday afternoon, was charged with sexual abuse in the first degree and with a second felony for violating an order of protection for the alleged victim, who described him to police as her boyfriend. Police are withholding the name of the woman because of the nature of the charges. In addition, he is charged with assault and forcible sexual touching, both as misdemeanors. Mr. Shoshi is on probation.

Police received a 911 call from the Gingerbread Lane house where the victim lives a little after 2 a.m. on Wednesday. When police arrived, they called for an ambulance. The woman was bleeding from her mouth and complained of vaginal bruising. She was taken to Southampton Hospital, where stitches were needed to close the wound in her mouth. A nurse trained in dealing with sexual assault cases checked the woman and reported that the injuries were consistent with her description of the alleged attack.

The woman, with whom Mr. Shoshi had been living, was interviewed by police and detectives, first at the hospital and then at the Cedar Street headquarters later that morning.

She said Mr. Shoshi had been upset because she had told him, while the two watched her 8-year-old son play soccer Tuesday afternoon, that she would not be able to attend an event with him scheduled for Wednesday because she had to work. Police said she told them that he became jealous, suspecting that she was seeing another man and continued to bring the matter up as day turned to night.

After midnight, with her two children asleep, she went to bed, she told police, and Mr. Shoshi allegedly followed, lying down next to her and putting his hand on her face. 

He began yelling, saying "he was going to slit my neck," she said, and calling her names. 

After he let go of her, she told police, she ran into the bathroom, locked the door, and dialed 911 on her cellphone. The dispatcher told her to stay inside the bathroom, but she feared for the safety of her children and left the bathroom, she told police. Mr. Shoshi was gone.

After a series of interviews with her Wednesday morning, detectives contacted Mr. Shoshi, who agreed to turn himself in. He was placed under arrest a little after 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Mr. Shoshi's attorney in this case, Eileen Powers, was not available for his arraignment Thursday morning, so Luis Pagan stepped in. Rudy Migliore Jr., the prosecuting attorney, described the alleged crimes in detail. Mr. Shoshi smiled through most of the process, even laughing softly once or twice. At one point, Justice Rana stopped reading the new order of protection she was issuing for the alleged victim, staring at Mr. Shoshi.

Mr. Migliore pointed out that Mr. Shoshi is in the middle of a five-year probation sentence stemming from the 2014 incident, and also has an open assault charge in East Hampton, this one stemming from a 2015 incident. He asked bail to be set at $75,000.

Mr. Pagan argued that Mr. Shoshi was not a flight risk, and that the alleged victim has previously made similar allegations, then failed to cooperate with the prosecution. Bail was set at $75,000.

The assault charge, from late August 2015, alleges that Mr. Shoshi beat a New York City man unconscious outside Pizza Village in Montauk around 4 a.m.

Justice Rana presided over Mr. Shoshi's 2014 arraignment, which followed his arrest on multiple charges. He had fired a shotgun three times in his family's Gardiner Avenue house. A manhunt ensued, and Mr. Shoshi was arrested after officers surrounded his car outside the One Stop Market in Springs. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a felony charge of reckless endangerment, along with two misdemeanors, leading to the five-year probation.

At the time of the incident, he said that he was distraught over the breakup of his marriage to a woman in his native Kosovo. Prior to returning to Kosovo in 2012, Mr. Shoshi had been an assistant chief of the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association and served for six years in the Springs Fire Department.

Asked what had happened, as he was led from the courthouse in handcuffs on Thursday, Mr. Shoshi said, "It's all a frame-up."

This story has been updated.

Dems Score With East Hampton Independence Party

Dems Score With East Hampton Independence Party

Peter Van Scoyoc, a Democratic councilman who is running for East Hampton Town supervisor, will also be at the top of the Independence Party ticket.
Peter Van Scoyoc, a Democratic councilman who is running for East Hampton Town supervisor, will also be at the top of the Independence Party ticket.
Carissa Katz
By
Christopher Walsh

The East Hampton Independence Party has endorsed three Democrats in the races for town supervisor and town board, following interviews by its screening committee on Monday at Ashawagh Hall in Springs.

The party will back Peter Van Scoyoc, an councilman who is running for supervisor, and the town board candidates, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, an incumbent councilwoman, and Jeffrey Bragman, an attorney who has represented the town's architectural review board, zoning board of appeals, and planning board, as well as applicants before various planning and zoning boards.

The party did not endorse Zachary Cohen, who was among the candidates interviewed. Mr. Cohen, who narrowly lost a bid for supervisor in 2011, is expected to force a primary election to appear on the Democratic Party ballot. Manny Vilar, the Republican Party's candidate for supervisor, was interviewed but did not receive the Independence Party's endorsement, nor did the party's candidates for town board, Jerry Larsen and Paul Giardina, who were also interviewed.

For the nine seats on the East Hampton Town Trustees, the Independence Party chose five Republicans and four Democrats. On the Republican side are Diane McNally, an incumbent and the trustees' former longtime clerk; Joe Bloecker, a former trustee; and Susan Vorpahl, Lyndsey Hayes, and Gary Cobb, all making their first bid.

The party endorsed Rick Drew and Bill Taylor, both Democratic incumbents and the trustees' two deputy clerks; as well as John Aldred, a new candidate, and Rona Klopman. Ms. Klopman is a former candidate and was added to the Democrats' ticket after Tyler Armstrong, a first-term trustee, announced that he would not seek re-election.

The Independence Party also endorsed Eugene DePasquale, the incumbent assessor and a Democrat; East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky, a Democrat; Steven Lynch, the incumbent highway superintendent and a Republican, and Carole Brennan, the town clerk, who is not affiliated with a party.

"It was a difficult decision to choose from the many qualified candidates that screened," Elaine Jones and Pat Mansir, the party's chairwoman and vice chairwoman, wrote in a statement, "but we believe that we chose those who would work to keep East Hampton the beautiful town that it is."

 

Armstrong Drops Out of Trustee Race

Armstrong Drops Out of Trustee Race

Tyler Armstrong, seen here while he was running for election in 2015, has decided against a re-election campaign.
Tyler Armstrong, seen here while he was running for election in 2015, has decided against a re-election campaign.
Morgan McGivern
By
Christopher Walsh

Tyler Armstrong, an East Hampton Town trustee who recently received the Democratic Committee's nod to run for a second term, announced on Monday that he will not seek re-election in November, but will complete his term, which expires at year's end.

Mr. Armstrong was arrested on drunken driving charges in the early morning hours of April 29. He was arraigned later in the morning and his driver's license was suspended. According to a police report, he had been going 62 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone on Cedar Street, and had been swerving across the road.

Mr. Armstrong was among the five incumbent Democratic trustees that were to seek re-election. The Democratic Committee had recommended him for its nine-person 2017 trustee slate the day before his arrest.

"I was somewhat on the fence about running for re-election from the beginning," Mr. Armstrong said Tuesday. "I really felt like a lot of people are very supportive of what I'm doing and want to see me go on. That was a lot of my impetus for wanting to run. But . . . I don't feel fully ready to sign up for another two years now. . . . I don't know that I want to keep dealing with the stress level of it. I love doing it, it makes me feel fulfilled and feel like I'm doing good, but over all I think it's better for my own personal well-being to step back and evaluate everything."

A letter to the editor about his decision was delivered after the deadline and will appear in the May 18 issue of The Star. In it, Mr. Armstrong characterized town government as being tarnished by a climate of negativity.

Those statements did not refer specifically to the relationship between the trustees, he said by phone Tuesday. Instead, he said, "It's basically the feeling that when you're elected to anything, no matter what you do, somebody's going to get mad at you. I know there are certain people who don't necessarily like me and don't want to see me succeed. It does get to you. It really adds to the stress a lot. Most of it is the idea that whatever you say or do, somebody's going to get back at you. That's hard to deal with, long-term."

In a statement last week, Mr. Armstrong addressed his arrest, writing that he was "handling it seriously and will make it up to the community however I can. We have many important things to work for and to protect here, traditions to preserve and progress to be made. I will continue to serve our town in my fullest capacity, and continue to strive to achieve my goals."

The East Hampton Town Democratic Committee will hold its nominating convention on May 17. The committee's April 28 statement referred to a "very competitive selection process for trustee positions," with more potential candidates interviewed than could be accommodated. On Tuesday, Jeanne Frankl, the committee's co-chairwoman, said only that "Our screening committee will have a replacement" for Mr. Armstrong.

 

East Hampton Dems Want Bragman for Town Board

East Hampton Dems Want Bragman for Town Board

Jeffrey Bragman is poised to join the East Hampton Town Democratic ticket as a candidate for town board pending a formal vote at a nominating convention later this month.
Jeffrey Bragman is poised to join the East Hampton Town Democratic ticket as a candidate for town board pending a formal vote at a nominating convention later this month.
Morgan McGivern
By
Christopher Walsh

With its endorsement of Jeffrey Bragman for town councilman, the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee’s screening committee has signed off on a slate of candidates for town board and other townwide offices. Official nominations will be made at a May 17 convention. 

Mr. Bragman, an attorney, will join Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc, who is running for supervisor, and Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, who is seeking a second term, at the top of the Democrats’ ticket. In choosing him, the screening committee passed over a perennial contender, Zachary Cohen of Springs, who ran a tight race for town supervisor in 2011 and had announced his intention to seek a town board nomination last month.

"This year was amazing and I have to believe it has something to do with people's outrage about the current president and the state of affairs nationally," Jeanne Frankl, the Democratic Committee's co-chairwoman, said in a statement. "We had 10 qualified candidates interview for the town council positions and only two spots to fill. Our interviews and deliberations have taken over two months, but we are extremely happy with the outcome and believe we have qualified, experienced people who know the issues and know how to formulate policies to deal with those issues."

Mr. Bragman has represented the town's architectural review board, zoning board of appeals, and planning board, as well as applicants before various planning and zoning boards. He was also counsel to the North Haven Village Zoning Board of Appeals and served as that village's attorney. He is a member of the Community Preservation Fund Advisory Opinions Bureau.

The 2017 campaign will be Mr. Bragman's first foray into politics.

The three Democrats are expected to face Manny Vilar, the East Hampton Town Republican Committee's nominee for supervisor, and Jerry Larsen and Paul Giardina, its candidates for town board.

The Democrats' screening committee also recommended four incumbents for re-election: Town Clerk Carole Brennan; Steve Lynch, a Republican whom the Democrats cross-endorsed for superintendent of highways; East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky, and Eugene DePasquale for assessor.

"I am so honored to have received the support of the screening committee and look forward to running with Kathee and Jeff," Mr. Van Scoyoc said in a statement. "I am proud of my 16-year record of leadership in East Hampton Town government protecting our natural resources, open space, and environment. I will continue to work to improve and protect water quality, achieve relief for those affected by aircraft noise, and combat threats to our quality of life throughout the town."

"While tremendous challenges lie ahead, I have proven that I have what it takes to lead," Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said in a statement of her own. "With community support I hope to continue to bring my energy, experience, and commitment to townwide office for another four years."

The Democrats also named their nine trustee candidates.

 

At Courthouse for Plea Deal, Eames Arrested Again

At Courthouse for Plea Deal, Eames Arrested Again

Jefferson Davis Eames was led into East Hampton Town Justice Court on Thursday afternoon for his arraignment on a felony charge of grand larceny.
Jefferson Davis Eames was led into East Hampton Town Justice Court on Thursday afternoon for his arraignment on a felony charge of grand larceny.
T.E. McMorrow
By
T.E. McMorrow

Jefferson Davis Eames, 48, of Springs was arrested by East Hampton Town police on a felony charge of grand larceny while appearing at East Hampton Town Justice Court on separate matters on Thursday afternoon. Unable to make the $20,000 bail set by Justice Lisa R. Rana, he was taken to the county jail in Riverside.

According to Rudy Migliore Jr., an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County, Mr. Eames deposited an unauthorized check from a company he had done business with several years ago into his own business account on Dec. 27, 2016, and had, to date, failed to compensate the company. His attorney disputed that account.

Mr. Eames was recently accused, among other things, of hosting teenagers at several parties with drugs and alcohol at his Neck Path house, where police say partygoers were charged admission at the door.

He has been arrested six times in the past six months on an array of charges, and was at the center of considerable controversy after an 18-year-old allegedly overdosed at his house in January.

He arrived at court on Thursday to answer multiple misdemeanor charges as part of a plea deal that he and his lawyers had made with the district attorney's office. Following a brief court session Thursday morning, he and one of his attorneys, Eileen Powers, went into a conference room to discuss a deal that would have had him pleading guilty to some of the misdemeanors, while the balance would have been dismissed. He would then have been incarcerated for eight months.

By 1 p.m., however, that deal was off the table when Justice Rana learned that there was a new charge. “I’m not inclined to enter into any plea right now until I know what’s coming down,” she was heard telling the attorneys as they huddled at the bench. “I’m not sure I’m going to want to go ahead with the sentence that has been agreed to.”

When he exited the conference room, Mr. Eames was arrested on the new charge and taken to police headquarters, where his mug shot was taken for the sixth time in the past six months.

During Mr. Eames’s late-afternoon arraignment back at justice court, Mr. Migliore asked for bail to be set at $50,000.

Ms. Powers asked that Mr. Eames be released without posting any bail.

“The purpose of bail is to ensure that Mr. Eames returns to court,” Ms. Powers argued. “Mr. Eames comes to court on a regular basis. If I tell him to be here, he is here. If the court tells him to be here, he is here. With respect to these charges, I’m not sure where the D.A. gets his information, but this check was written to Mr. Eames’s company; he deposited it, along with a series of other checks written to the company. . . . I had a conversation with the complaining witness’s attorney confirming Mr. Eames’s intention to pay the money back. They are working out the details.”

“The information that I read, and correct me if I’m wrong, is that he hadn’t done business with this company for several years,” Justice Rana said.

“I think it is just a form of punishment to put $50,000 bail on him. The court is well aware that Mr. Eames comes back to court,” Ms. Powers said.

“That he has been coming to court regularly is one of multiple factors to be considered when determining bail,” Justice Rana said. “And considering the fact that he is now looking at a potential sentence -- just on the other pleas -- of eight months incarceration and now he has this felony charge. . . .” Justice Rana pointed out that the check had allegedly been deposited in December, “and there have been no payments as far as I can tell made to the complaining witness.”

“I’m fascinated that you are taking a position that facts in the case, as stated by the East Hampton police, are gospel,” Ms. Powers said.

Long before these recent events, Mr. Eames had sued East Hampton Town and its Police Department in federal court claiming that the town had violated his constitutional rights in a 2013 case involving an alleged road rage incident.

“I’m not taking a side, but the paperwork has an allegation that is contrary to what you are saying,” Justice Rana told Ms. Powers. “This is now a class D felony, whether you like it or not. They are already apparently going to present it to a grand jury.”

Ms. Powers asked that Mr. Eames be allowed to speak to the grand jury Tuesday, “so they have a chance to hear his side of the story.”

“You can make an application to the supreme court or the county court saying that any bail I set besides [zero] is unreasonable bail,” Justice Rana responded, setting the $20,000 amount.

 

East Hampton Cops Arrest Alleged Host in Teen Overdose

East Hampton Cops Arrest Alleged Host in Teen Overdose

Jefferson Davis Eames was led to his arraignment at East Hampton Town Justice Court Friday.
Jefferson Davis Eames was led to his arraignment at East Hampton Town Justice Court Friday.
T.E. McMorrow
By
T.E. McMorrow

Jefferson Davis Eames, 48, the owner of the Neck Path property where an East Hampton teen allegedly overdosed on morphine on Jan. 29, was arraigned Friday in East Hampton Town Justice Court on multiple charges, including one of felony drug dealing.

Mr. Eames was also charged with nine counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, three counts of violating the Suffolk County Social Host law, which prohibits adults from knowingly allowing the consumption of alcohol in a residence by a minor, and one charge of resisting arrest. Police said when detectives approached him outside his residence on Thursday afternoon, he attempted to elude them by re-entering his Springs house and closing the doors on the police after they told him he was under arrest. The 13 additional charges are all misdemeanors.

Mr. Eames's attorney, Eileen Powers, entered a denial to the felony, and a not-guilty plea to the misdemeanors during the Friday arraignment.

Because he is already facing numerous charges stemming from five previous arrests by East Hampton Town police, all within the past six months, bail was set by Justice Steven Tekulsky at $40,000; he can also post a $275,000 bond. It was not immediately posted.

None of the new charges directly relate to the drug overdose, East Hampton Town Police Capt. Chris Anderson said Friday, but at least one of those charges is connected to that time period. In the January incident, which prompted outrage among East Hampton parents, 18-year-old Jordan Johnson was reportedly left untreated for 12 hours after overdosing at Mr. Eames's residence. Finally, a minor at the house, acting on Mr. Eames's instructions, called 911 for help, according to police. Mr. Johnson is still recovering after suffering an attack of toxic leukoencephalopathy during the time he was unconscious.

Captain Anderson said that Mr. Johnson, who is 18 and therefore no longer a minor, is not covered by the law against endangering the welfare of a child.

The three incidents related to the social host law charges occurred on Dec. 4 and Dec. 9, 2016, and New Year's Day of this year.

Captain Anderson asked for the public's assistance in what he described as an ongoing investigation. Calls can be diHe said there are several other incidents at the house that police are looking into. "We appeal to the public to come forward." Detectives can be reached at 631-537-7575.

Police have been investigating Mr. Eames since at least early December, when two arrests were made in the vicinity of the house, according to Captain Anderson. The two picked up on Dec. 9, both 18, were charged with possession of Ecstasy, an illegal drug, as well as marijuana. He said those arrests were directly related to complaints the department had been getting from neighbors concerned with what they believed were illegal activities at the house.

"This has been a difficult and protracted case to close given HIPAA privacy laws, good Samaritan laws, and uncooperative witnesses," East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said in an email Friday afternoon.

As Justice Tekulsky was considering bail, Mr. Eames's attorney told him that her client has entered a drug treatment program. Justice Tekulsky told Mr. Eames that the district attorney's office had asked for bail be set at $50,000. Arguing for a lower amount, Ms. Powers said that Mr. Eames has strong ties to the community. She characterized him as "cooperative," and said that there is no record of him failing to appear on his many court dockets in East Hampton.

"I would disagree that he is always cooperative, as there is a charge of resisting arrest in this case, as well as in one of the other matters, and in one of the other matters that I initially arraigned him on, he was charged with unlawful fleeing a police officer, which is some evidence of his unwillingness to cooperate," Justice Tekulsky said. "I also would point out that the first time I had occasion to arraign him was on Nov. 16. Among the other charges was unlawful operation of a motor vehicle." Since then, Justice Tekulsky has arraigned Mr. Eames twice more on unlicensed driving charges. "I have reviewed the charges here, all of which are serious," Justice Tekulsky said, as he set bail at $40,000.

If bail is not posted, and the district attorney's office does not obtain an indictment on the felony charge by then, Mr. Eames will be released from custody Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Johnson's mother, Christine Moran, and father, Andre Johnson, were in the back of the courtroom on Friday watching Mr. Eames's arraignment. Their son was released Wednesday night from the Rusk Rehabilitation Institute at New York University-Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. He will continue his rehabilitation in an outpatient facility in Port Jefferson, Ms. Moran said. A fund-raiser for him and his family is planned for March 19 at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett.

Ms. Moran and Mr. Johnson said they were relieved that Mr. Eames had been arrested. "I'm so happy, because this isn't going to happen to any other kid," Ms. Moran said.

"He is being held accountable," the older Mr. Johnson said.

"This arrest should help parents in the community recognize our department is working diligently to combat drug and alcohol abuse by minors, and will continue to thoroughly investigate any complaints of underage drinking, or drug use," Chief Sarlo wrote. "The public should educate themselves with regards to the county social host law as well as the good Samaritan law in overdose cases." Good Samaritan laws provide immunity from arrest or prosecution for people calling 911 for emergency medical attention for opiate-related overdoses.

"We will continue to be proactive in educating parents and youth to the dangers and risks associated with drug and alcohol abuse," the chief said.

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This article has been updated from the version that previously appeared online.