Government Briefs 11.17.16

East Hampton Town

Landlord and Tenant Rights

The respective rights of tenants and landlords will be discussed in a program at Town Hall on Monday at 6:30 p.m. put on by the town’s Latino Advisory Committee and Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island, along with the East Hampton Town Police. Topics presented in Spanish and English will include rental laws, eviction proceedings, the duties of renters and property owners alike, and advocacy options. East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo will be a guest speaker. He will be joined by a Suffolk County deputy sheriff.

Background Checks for Cabbies

A fingerprinting and background check requirement for taxi drivers in East Hampton Town will go into effect in 2017. Revisions to town taxi regulations, which require taxi businesses, drivers, and cars to have town licenses, were presented to the town board for discussion on Tuesday by Nancylynn Thiele, a town attorney. One change would set the annual taxi permit period from March 1 to the end of February year to year. Town officials are working with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services to set up the fingerprinting program, ideally at a location within East Hampton, and current taxi license holders will be notified of the fingerprinting requirement. Background check information will be provided by the justice services division to the town attorney’s office, which will determine if an applicant with a record should be disqualified. While included in the town taxi regulations enacted several years ago, a requirement for fingerprinting and background checks was not until now enforced, as a county program on which the town intended to rely was never instituted. 

What to Do With 555?

The future of the town-owned Amagansett Farm, a 19-acre tract on Montauk Highway that was known as the 555 property for its street address, was discussed at a meeting of the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee on Monday, Supervisor Larry Cantwell reported to the town board this week. The community members, who reached no consensus on what they would like to see happen there, talked about leaving it fallow, as open space, having it used for agriculture, or using it for passive recreation, such as creating a walking path around its perimeter.  The town, for the second time, recently issued a request for proposals regarding the property — both for use of the land alone and for the land as well as the barn on site. A first round of proposals, solicited in 2014, which included establishing a horse farm, growing hydroponic crops, growing traditional crops, and using the site for golf, was rejected after questions were raised about the purchase of the site with community preservation fund money, because of the barn, and the district attorney was asked to look into it. No legal action followed. The new proposals are due in by the end of this month, but it appears the citizens committee may be given the deciding vote. Mr. Cantwell said Tuesday that he had asked the committee to come up with a specific recommendation, and that “the community can help decide what we should do with that property.” 

Anti-Bias Task Force Steps Up

East Hampton Town’s Anti-Bias Task Force is on hand to address instances of racism or discrimination, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, the liaison to the group, reminded on Tuesday. In the wake of Donald Trump’s election as the next U.S. president, and a corresponding uptick across the nation of reports of bullying and the targeting of minorities, immigrants, and certain racial groups. Ms. Overby said that the task force provides somewhere to turn should those types of incidents occur here. Members of the group have been making presentations to the citizens advisory committees of the town’s various hamlets. 

Fueling Consolidation

East Hampton Town and the Village of East Hampton officially opened a new facility early this month that will provide gasoline and diesel fuel for both municipalities’ fleets. By consolidating three separate facilities — two fuel stations owned by the town and one in the village — that were in need of replacement at an estimated total cost of $1.5 million, the joint fuel station saved money for both entities. Its $750,000 construction cost was offset by a $400,000 grant from New York State to support consolidation of services. Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, who was East Hampton Village’s administrator for many years, said that the consolidation of facilities and services, where possible, should continue, both to benefit taxpayers and to make local government more efficient.