Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. has endorsed Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst in her bid for Congress. Mr. Thiele, whose district includes the Towns of East Hampton, Southampton, and Brookhaven, is a former Southampton Town Supervisor and Suffolk County legislator.

His endorsement came one day after Emily’s List announced its support for Ms. Throne-Holst, who is running for the Democratic nomination to take on Lee Zeldin, a Republican who is serving his first term in Congress.

“Now more than ever,” Mr. Thiele said in a statement, “Suffolk County needs a representative who will look out for the needs of hard-working families. In Southampton, Anna has shown a proven commitment to the values that we share both as Democrats and as Long Islanders — better managing the town budget to invest in job creation, education, and senior services. I know Anna will work hard in Congress to make sure every Long Island family has a fair shot at the American dream.”

Ed Deyermond, who was re-elected last week to another term on the Sag Harbor Village Board, is going to have a new 9-to-5 job as of next week, though it’s one with which he is very familiar.

Mr. Deyermond is to be appointed as the North Haven Village clerk, a position he held from 2001 to 2006. Georgia Welch, the current clerk and a 30-year village employee, is retiring.

“I’ve always had a really good relationship with the folks over there,” Mr. Deyermond said of North Haven, adding that he wanted to help with the transition. “I’ll stay as long as they want me — not really sure where the whole thing is going to end up,” he said when asked how long he planned to stay on the job.

Mr. Deyermond has spent the past five years in semi-retirement. He left his North Haven post and stepped down as Sag Harbor Village mayor to take an offer he couldn’t refuse as assessor for the Town of Southampton in 2006. He worked for the town until the end of 2010. He has also served as an assessor in the Town of East Hampton.

Mr. Deyermond rejoined the Sag Harbor Village Board in 2008, then stepped down, but was re-elected in 2013, and again just last week, to two-year terms.

While serving in North Haven, he became the mayor of Sag Harbor Village in 2003. “I was thoroughly vetted when I was clerk before I wanted to run for mayor,” he explained of any potential conflicts of interest. The issue has once again been researched.

“This is just a village trustee spot and clerk — it’s much less of a problem now,” Mr. Deyermond said. One way he will avoid conflicts is that he will not be the Sag Harbor Village Board’s liaison to the Sag Harbor Fire Department and Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps since the Village of North Haven has contracts for those services.

Mr. Deyermond’s appointment will be finalized with a vote by the North Haven Village Board at its meeting on Wednesday. Ms. Welch will step down at the end of July, so there will be some time for her to bring Mr. Deyermond up to speed.

An overnight curfew on aircraft using East Hampton Airport will go into effect next week, despite a legal challenge, however tougher flight limits remained on hold following a court decision released on Friday.

Judge Joanne Seybert of United States District Court in Central Islip issued an injunction Friday against a town law that would limit summertime takeoffs and landings by noisy aircraft to one per week, but agreed that the town may institute the nighttime curfew on use of the airport.

A curfew that will close the airport from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and prohibit takeoffs or landings by aircraft that fall into a “noisy" category, which includes most helicopters, from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m., will go into effect on Thursday.

Town officials received word late Friday on the decision. It had been expected after a delay of several weeks following a conference with Judge Seybert earlier this spring.

“We’re pleased the judge has acknowledged that the Town was justified in adopting restrictions to provide relief to the growing number of people who are negatively affected by aircraft noise. Although we regret that one of the key laws cannot be enforced for the time being, we are gratified that the Court recognized that the law allows the kind of restrictions that are essential to protect the residents of this Town,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said in a press release.

The East Hampton Town Board adopted laws in April establishing the overnight airport curfews and limiting types of aircraft deemed noisy to one takeoff and landing per week during the summer season. They were challenged in a lawsuit by a coalition of aviation interests calling itself Friends of the East Hampton Airport. After Judge Seybert heard oral arguments on May 18, the town agreed to postpone enforcement of the laws pending her decision on a injunction.

The Federal Aviation Administration supported the injunction request, saying that it needed time to examine the legality and impact of the laws.

In a 45-page decision, Judge Seybert reviewed applicable laws and constitutional principles raised by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which included a number of federal aviation regulations. She affirmed the right of East Hampton Town to adopt restrictions to address excessive airport noise, noting that “it cannot be argued that the Town lacked the data to support a finding of a noise problem at the Airport.”

“The Court’s decision today is an important first step, but we must recognize that our opponents are well funded and will not give up easily,” said Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, the town’s airport liaison, in the release. “In light of today’s ruling, however, we encourage our opponents to rethink their strategy. It’s time to do what’s best for the Town and adapt aircraft operations to fit our reasonable restrictions,” she said.

The East Hampton-based Quiet Skies Coalition, a citizens group that has advocated for use restrictions at the airport to ameliorate aircraft noise, said on Twitter, “With today's disappointing ruling by the judge, she has permitted businesses to prevail while East Enders suffer.”

A proposed law that would keep some motels and resorts from adding a new bar or restaurant to their facilities will be the subject of a hearing Thursday night before the East Hampton Town Board.

In order to “protect the surrounding neighborhoods,” the legislation would prohibit motels in residential areas from adding new “accessory” restaurants or bars, though existing ones would be allowed to keep operating.

In other zoning districts, motels that wish to add a bar or restaurant would be required to undergo town planning board review to obtain a special permit and would have to meet a set of specific standards outlined in the new law.

These standards would limit the area to be used and require that outdoor seating areas be set back twice as far from rear or side yard property lines as is currently required under the code when the neighboring lot is residential. Screening would be required.

Only resorts or motels with at least 25 rooms would be allowed to add a restaurant or bar, and the new facility could only be sited in the business’s main building, not in a freestanding space.

According to the proposed legislation, restaurants and bars at motels have traditionally been viewed as amenities for motel guests. But, it says, they have “caused negative effects to the character of the community, quality of life of the neighbors, and created public health, welfare, and safety concerns by becoming less accessory and growing into a second principal use” at motel properties. Those in residential districts, the town has asserted, are “especially detrimental to the quality of life of the surrounding neighborhood,” causing an increase in traffic, noise, and parking problems.

Also tonight, a hearing will be held on a proposed increase in fines for violations of the town’s taxi licensing laws, which require taxicab company owners to obtain licenses for their businesses and for individual cabs. A business address in the Town of East Hampton is required, as is registration of the cars to the licensed business. A third requirement of the town law, which was revised over a year ago — that taxi drivers be individually licensed after undergoing fingerprinting and a background check — has yet to be implemented. Town officials have said that they expected Suffolk County would implement the procedure under its own taxi licensing law, but that has not occurred.

The town requirements for taxi business licensing are what led to the announcement by Uber, the smartphone app-driven ride service, that it was pulling out of East Hampton. Almost two dozen Uber drivers were cited over Memorial Day weekend for failing to meet the town requirements and will be answering the charges in court next month.

The penalties for misdemeanor violations of the taxi law would be set at a minimum of $500 and maximum of $2,500 for a first violation, increasing to fines of $1,000 to $5,000 for a second conviction, and from $2,500 to $7,500 for a third, according to the proposal that is the subject of tonight’s hearing. Penalties in each case could include imprisonment of up to a year.

Fines for failures to comply with the taxi law that are deemed violations would be at least $250 for a first violation and up to $2,500 for a third and/or up to 15 days in jail.

Additional hearings will be held tonight on the designation of nine town-owned properties as nature preserves and on updates to the list of town lands on which hunting is permitted, removing some properties from the list and adding others. The hearings begin at 6:30 p.m.

A proposal to drop a requirement that home improvement contractors attach stickers to their cars attesting that they hold East Hampton Town licenses did not get a stamp of approval this week from Betsy Bambrick, who heads the town’s Ordinance Enforcement Department. The stickers are a “valuable resource to code enforcement,” she said.

The proposed changes include an increased requirement for continuing education — from five to ten hours in the year a new applicant seeks a license — and a change to the period of validity for licenses, from one year to two.

Contractors must have a copy of their town license at job sites, and the law has required that each vehicle “associated” with the business — as in, driven by employees to the site — have a town-issued sticker.

Revisions to the town code on home-improvement contractor licensing had been developed by Michael Sendlen­ski, an assistant town attorney, and discussed by the town board at the suggestion of the town-appointed licensing review board. They were designed, Mr. Sendlenski said at a June 9 town board meeting, to make the law simpler and to increase its enforceability.

 The requirement that stickers be affixed to workers’ vehicles can be a problem, Roy Dalene and Britton Bistrian, members of the review board, told the town board during a discussion on Tuesday. They said contracting businesses’ employees and subcontractors change often. Thus, Mr. Dalene said, a worker may have a sticker on his or her vehicle that was issued by a former employer, and it may not indicate whether the main contractor has a valid license.

“We didn’t find that the sticker added any value in terms of enforcement,” he said.

But Ms. Bambrick disagreed. Contractors and members of the public who have seen workers at job sites whose vehicles lack the stickers have notified her department, she said, providing a “jumping-off point” for investigations into whether the workers have the necessary town licenses.

So far this year, Ms. Bambrick said, her department has had 83 cases concerning contractor licensing to look into, and 43 citations have been issued. In April of 2014, the department mounted an initiative to check contractor licenses, and opened 51 cases. Six tickets for violations were issued, and, Ms. Bambrick said, “We were able to get dozens of unlicensed contractors into the clerk’s office to get their licenses.

Farmers and agriculturalists looking for additional capital to jump-start or stimulate their operations will want to know about a free workshop happening on Tuesday at Suffolk Community College.

The event, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with breakfast and lunch included, will offer advice about both traditional and alternative sources of capital. Speakers will give tips for success, discuss how to expand, outline different types of loans, and discuss financing based on individual needs.

Afterward, there will be an opportunity for one-on-one meetings with the organizations sponsoring the workshop, which include the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Empire State Development, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and the Long Island Development Corporation.

In other news of interest to agriculture or aquaculture companies, applications are now available for a cost-sharing program introduced last month by the Peconic Land Trust, which was the recipient of a $1 million state grant. Farmers or not-for-profit organizations in Nassau or Suffolk Counties that have a minimum of $2,500 in equipment and infrastructure costs are eligible to apply. Successful applicants can seek reimbursement for up to 20 percent of the purchase of new or used capital equipment and infrastructure.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until May 28, 2018, or until the Land Trust’s grant is exhausted. Luke McKay or Thomas Hobson at 283-3195 or AgGrant@PeconicLand­Trust .org can provide application forms.

East Hampton Town

What’s Next for Boys Harbor Mess Hall?

East Hampton Town will ask the regional community preservation fund opinions bureau to weigh in on the future of the former Boys Harbor camp property in East Hampton, which was purchased by the county and the town using C.P.F. money.

A property management committee has discussed rehabilitation of the dining hall building in stages, according to Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc, a liaison to the group, and is seeking a town board decision. The building would be used for recreational activities.

Supervisor Larry Cantwell wondered whether buildings on C.P.F. properties can be used for recreation, and Mr. Van Scoyoc suggested seeking a written determination from the bureau, which helps municipalities to comply with the preservation fund program.

The councilman noted that the land was bought for the express purpose of recreation, along with the preservation of open space. While using money from the preservation fund to rehab the mess hall might not be allowed, he said, the recreational use should almost certainly be approved.

Wastewater Advisory Committee

Members are to be appointed tonight to an advisory committee that will help town officials assess the next steps in developing and implementing strategies to address wastewater, for which a comprehensive management plan is being developed.

A wastewater management project advisory committee will have representatives from the Montauk and Amagansett Chambers of Commerce, the East Hampton Business Alliance, the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society, and the Nature Conservancy, along with the following individuals: Christine Ganitsch, Peter Wadsworth, Dan Gulizio, who is the Peconic Baykeeper, and Laura Tooman, representing New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr.

East Hampton Town is expected to split the cost, with East Hampton Village, of a water quality improvement study of the Hook Pond watershed, which straddles the town and village jurisdictions. Lombardo Associates, a consulting firm that has been working on the town’s comprehensive wastewater management plan, will be hired to survey the pond’s sediments and to determine potential remediation efforts. The total cost will be $14,788. J.P.

Southampton Town

Two Endorsements

Two Southampton Town councilwomen seeking higher elected office have received endorsements this week.

EMILY’S List, a nationwide organization that supports pro-choice candidates, has endorsed Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst to represent New York’s First Congressional District, a seat held by Lee Zeldin, who is serving his first term. The organization has criticized Mr. Zeldin for what it called an “anti-woman, anti-family record.”

In a statement, Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY’s List, called Ms. Throne-Holst, who was elected to the town board in 2007, “a committed public servant who is about getting things done for Long Island women and families to have a fair shot.” The election will happen in November 2016

The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association of Southampton Town has endorsed Bridget Fleming, a five-year town councilwoman seeking to represent the South Fork and Shelter Island in the Suffolk County Legislature. In a letter to Ms. Fleming from the P.B.A., which represents patrolmen in the largest police force in the legislative district, the organization said, “your immediate approach to community needs and willingness to give of yourself sets you apart from any other candidate.” Election Day is Nov. 3.

New York State

Sea-Level Rise Meetings

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has until Jan. 1 to adopt a regulation establishing the state’s official sea-level rise projections, and the D.E.C. will hold a series of meetings to hear public comments on those projections over the coming week. 

The closest will be at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley on Tuesday starting at 1 p.m. D.E.C. staff will describe the requirements of the 2014 Community Risk and Resiliency Act and scientific information it is using to set up its sea-level rise program. The D.E.C. has said that these official sea-level rise projections will serve as the basis for far-reaching policy decisions and will be available to local governments concerned with coastal flooding and other threats.

Additional meetings will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Operation Splash in Freeport, Wednesday at Hunter College in Manhattan, and next Thursday in Albany at the D.E.C. headquarters. Those intending to be present for the Albany session have been asked to register in advance at [email protected]. That meeting will also be available for online participation via WebEx and to those who would like to join by phone. Details are at dec.ny.gov.

Help With Affordable Housing

State legislation that would authorize all five East End towns to establish funds for the benefit of residents seeking affordable housing has passed the Senate, according to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Kenneth P. LaValle. It is now to be considered by the Assembly.

If passed, the townships could establish a dedicated fund that would be used to increase “work force” housing in various ways, such as the provision of low-interest loans to first-time homebuyers, the construction of community housing, and the establishment of partnerships with the private sector to provide housing.

“The availability of affordable opportunities for moderate-income and working-class residents is in critically short supply across Long Island and especially on the East End,” Mr. LaValle said in a press release. The shortage, he said, results in a brain drain of young people from the area; difficulty for employers finding and retaining employees, a lack of volunteers for local emergency services, traffic congestion caused by workers who commute into the area, and residents living in substandard or illegal conditions, or in motels intended for tourism.

Housing plans established pursuant to the legislation, should it become law, would have to adhere to “smart growth” principles, which require proper sewage infrastructure, conservation measures, and the availability of transportation. Towns would have to allow voters to weigh in on the adoption of the housing plan and the creation of a housing fund, which would be financed by both state and local money.

Veterans Exemptions Increased

State legislation co-sponsored by Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and Senator LaValle, which would allow local municipalities to increase the exemptions from property tax offered to veterans, has been approved.

The state legislators said in a release that increases would have a particular impact in towns such as those on the East End, where assessed values are higher than those in other parts of the state, and would help veterans maintain ownership of their homes.

New York has some of the highest property taxes in the nation, Mr. Thiele noted in the release, resulting in a number of veterans being forced to relocate to states where both property taxes and the cost of living is lower.

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals, which recently turned down two applications to increase the size of oceanfront dwellings at the Montauk Shores Condominium at Ditch Plain, heard yet another application to replace one of the 27 oceanfront units there with a much larger one Tuesday night.

Mike Lucas, the applicant, wants to replace his small abode with one that is 769 square feet and to build 350 square feet of decking as well as a small shed. In addition to seeking a variance to increase the building’s size, he seeks a variance with regard to the setback from the crest of the bluff.

Britton Bistrian, representing the applicant, brought the board’s attention to what she sees as a discrepancy in the town code regarding the required setback from the bluffs. It appears, she said, that the code requires a 100-foot setback rather than 150 feet, which is the current standard of the town’s planning department. The matter was left open and Elizabeth Vail, a town attorney, will investigate the question.

Two of Mr. Lucas’s neighbors spoke. Richard Carvell, who lives across the narrow road behind the beachfront structures, told the board that allowing such expansions would create a fire hazard, as well as create the potential for additional debris in the event of a catastrophic storm.

He also criticized the seven-member board of managers of Montauk Shores, as did another neighbor, Richard Adler. Mr. Adler said the original prospectus for what was then a trailer park showed structures limited to 50-by-12 feet. It is obvious that has long since been ignored. “The process is flawed, and needs improvement,” Mr. Adler said. “There is no proof that a vote was taken.”

 However, John Whelan, the Z.B.A. chairman, wasn’t interested. “This board is not going to jump into your inner feud,” he said.

As with the previous applications, board members expressed concern about the condominium’s septic system. It apparently has been decades since its last upgrade.

In the end, the board agreed to keep the record open. The Z.B.A. wants documentation about the condition of the septic system from the condominium’s board and also wants documentation that the proposed structure is compliant with the Federal Emergency Management Act, among other issues.

A week after the East Hampton Republican Committee announced that Len Czajka had dropped out of the East Hampton Town Board race, the party’s other candidate for town board, Nancy Keeshan, announced her withdrawal from the race, as well.

Margaret Turner, the executive director of the East Hampton Business Alliance, was selected to replace Ms. Keeshan at a meeting of the Republican Committee on June 10.

“I have withdrawn, really for personal reasons,” Ms. Keeshan, who has been a town planning board member for five years, said on Friday. Ms. Keeshan is a real estate agent and partner at Keeshan Real Estate in Montauk, a firm founded by her father, John Keeshan, in 1977. “The market is heating up out here, and I’m not going to be able to put in the time. It’s a family business,” she said of Keeshan Real Estate. “It requires a lot of time.” Mr. Czajka had likewise cited prior commitments in his decision to withdraw from the race.

Ms. Turner, who also owns a pet-care company, did not return calls for comment. She joins Lisa Mulhern-Larsen, a Montauk native who is a real estate agent and runs a family security and property management business in East Hampton. Her husband is Gerard Larsen, East Hampton Village’s chief of police.

Tom Knobel, the party’s chairman and a former member of the town board and town trustees, remains the G.O.P.’s candidate for supervisor. He will run against Supervisor Larry Cantwell, a Democrat who has received the endorsement of the East Hampton Independence Party. Ms. Turner and Ms. Mulhern-Larsen will be running against the Democratic incumbents Sylvia Overby and Peter Van Scoyoc.

As East Hampton Town begins to undertake various water quality improvement projects that have been recommended as part of a comprehensive wastewater management plan, the impact of waste from the Springs School, just a stone’s throw from both Pussy’s Pond and Accabonac Harbor, is being examined.

According to Kim Shaw, the town’s natural resources director, tests will be conducted with researchers from Cornell Cooperative Extension within the next few weeks. A DNA analysis will be used to pinpoint the source of fecal contamination in the nearby waters. “The enterococcus is through the roof,” Ms. Shaw said. The tests will determine whether the contamination is from human or other waste.

The school has 745 students and generates “very concentrated wastewater” coming mostly from toilets and not, for example, from showers or laundry facilities, where waste would be diluted, Ms. Shaw said.

Six or seven years ago, before the Springs School was hooked up to the public water supply, Ms. Shaw said, its well was found to be contaminated with septic waste.

Septic systems, said Ms. Shaw, “don’t function with high groundwater,” which is found in the area of the school. The site is within a range where groundwater, and any effluent it might contain, takes less than two years to reach Accabonac Harbor, she said.

In a letter to the editor this week, Ira Barocas, a Springs resident, suggested that the school district use some of its accrued capital improvement money to install a state-of-the-art wastewater system. He discussed the idea with the town trustees on Tuesday and is planning to discuss it with the school board. He has also spoken with Ms. Shaw, who said there are grant programs that could ameliorate the cost.

Including a wastewater treatment facility in any school upgrade or expansion will, Mr. Barocas wrote in his letter, “do Pussy’s Pond and Accabonac Harbor a favor that will resonate through our community now and into the future.”

School district voters recently rejected the district’s proposal to spend a $2 million reserve fund to pave two ball fields and create a parking lot, and to make changes to the school driveways.

The effluent from what Mr. Barocas described as “more or less a thousand flushes a day” is clearly related to the degradation of water quality, and associated algal blooms and shellfishing closures, in both Pussy’s Pond and the harbor, he says. “When it swirls down, it’s going somewhere,” he wrote. “If it weren’t going anywhere near our water, our fisheries and recreational water bodies, let alone groundwater, that has to be better.”

Other facilities in the area, such as the Springs Library, Ashawagh Hall, and the Presbyterian church, might also be hooked into a wastewater system, Loring Bolger, who chairs the Springs Citizens Advisory Committee, has suggested.

“Given modern technology, and such a robust capital improvement program,” Mr. Barocas suggested that the school facilities committee, as it formulates a plan for the school campus, might “see the wisdom in providing those of us who pay the bills with the enduring gift of keeping the most concentrated waste stream in our community out of our surface waters. . . .”

Doing so, he said, would put the school at “the forefront of protecting our environment” and set an example for the students as future leaders.