Government

The finishing work has been done on a management plan for what is to be called the Brooks-Park Historic Site, the 11-acre property on Neck Path in Springs that belonged to the Abstract Expressionist artists James Brooks and Charlotte Park.

The potential for American Cruise Lines, a newcomer to East End waters, to visit the village has created a buzz on social media louder than late-summer cicadas, leaving Mayor Thomas Gardella with more questions than answers. “Obviously they didn’t come to the board or make any applications, and the harbormaster didn’t know anything about it. Something of that magnitude will need permission. I don’t know how a 240-foot-long boat is going to dock on Long Wharf in May."

Hurricane Lee was unlikely, as of Tuesday morning, to have a significant impact in East Hampton Town, but residents should remain diligent in monitoring the storm’s path and expect rip tides and high surf over the weekend, the town's emergency preparedness coordinator said.

East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo made a case for the continued existence of the Maidstone Gun Club to the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee on Saturday, saying that his officers rely on it for training and that the training has never caused an incident such as bullets fired from the club hitting houses, an allegation that led to the club’s being shuttered by order of a New York State Supreme Court judge in December.

Tucked improbably between two yacht clubs in Sag Harbor is a wastewater treatment plant, its sizzling open-air pools of excrement a thing of beauty if you’re looking at them in the right way. Without the plant, which an treat 250,000 gallons of wastewater daily, Sag Harbor couldn’t support the diversity of restaurants and cafes that add to the village’s popularity and character.

The Sag Harbor Village Board will hold a public hearing on Oct. 10 to consider a new local law that would allow the 93-space “gas ball” parking lot to remain open to the public. The proposed law, if passed, would allow a parking lot as a principal use on a property, providing the lot always remains open to the public and is free.

The League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork will hold a public information program on East Hampton and Southampton Towns’ energy issues on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton.

East Hampton Town Councilwoman Sylvia Overby returned to Town Hall on Monday, four months after a medical event she experienced during a May 9 town board meeting. On Tuesday, she attended and participated in the town board's meeting for the first time since May.

Chief Robert Pharaoh of the Montauketts has been named grand marshal of East Hampton Town’s 375th anniversary parade, on Sept. 23. "I’d like to thank everyone for this honor," Mr. Pharaoh said. "It’s very, very important to us, because we are trying to get our recognition reinstated."

On Sept. 16, the so-called gas ball lot, home to approximately 93 parking spaces in the Village of Sag Harbor, will come under the control of Adam Potter’s 11 Bridge Street L.L.C. Unless the village works with him to keep the lot open, Mr. Potter said on Tuesday, he will “shut its gates” that day — the first day of the annual Harborfest celebration.

A project that has been germinating for nearly three decades, the removal of a bulkhead and the installation of runoff-absorbing rain gardens at a popular parking area that straddles Sag Harbor Village and Southampton Town, at Round Pond, is set to begin. It’s being called a huge win for the village, the town, the pond, and nearby residents.

In a final act before retiring on Aug. 30, Justice Paul Baisley Jr. of New York State Supreme Court, who has issued a series of rulings against East Hampton Town regarding both East Hampton Town Airport and a 4,000-foot stretch of Napeague oceanfront popularly known as Truck Beach, referred the attorney Daniel Rodgers to the Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District for disciplinary consideration.

The Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, now predicts a 60-percent chance of between 14 and 21 named storms, of which six to 11 could become hurricanes, and two to five of them major hurricanes. “It’s important for the public to remember that we’re very vulnerable out here on the East End,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said. “Everybody needs to take steps ahead of any event to make sure that you’re ready.”

Suffolk County is acknowledging there’s a traffic problem on County Road 39 — “the highway” that runs from Shinnecock Hills to Water Mill and transitions to Montauk Highway farther east — and is seeking innovative ideas for ways to solve that problem from civil engineers, commuters, community members, and other stakeholders. “All of the beauty that draws people here . . . also creates significant challenges,” said County Executive Steve Bellone in announcing last Thursday that Suffolk has put out an official request for proposals “for one of the largest traffic analyses and studies that the county has undertaken.”

East Hampton Town will soon put out a request for proposals for the 16 detached houses that it will build as part of its effort to create more affordable housing, Eric Schantz, the director of the town’s Office of Housing and Community Development, told the town board on Tuesday. But the board must assist in that effort by reaching a consensus on a number of details, Mr. Schantz said.

Over the summer, many homeowners who rent their properties on a short-term basis received letters from the Suffolk County comptroller alerting them that they may be in violation of the Suffolk County Hotel and Motel Occupancy Tax. While there is nothing new about the county trying to collect the tax, the holes in its net have gotten smaller and perhaps it’s caught a few more fish, in part because of a new partner, Granicus, a software company that scours rental registries and about 70 websites in search of property owners who might be ignoring the tax.

Adam Potter’s new plans for a mixed-use development in the heart of Sag Harbor Village — calling for a 299-seat theater, the exact size of the current Bay Street Theater, in a 16,144-square-foot building he’s calling the Complex — have finally been submitted to the village board.

Little by little, East Hampton Village's Herrick Park is changing. For some, the changes are a welcome evolution. But not everyone is thrilled with the way things are proceeding, and questions have been raised about the larger plan for the park and the connected Douglas E. Dayton Arboretum.

The East Hampton Town Planning Board met last week to finalize the subdivision plans for 395 Pantigo Road, the town’s 16-lot affordable housing project. The houses will line a cul-de-sac with a working name of Cantwell Court, after Larry Cantwell, who retired as East Hampton Town Supervisor in 2017 after a long career serving both the village and the town.

Closed session to get legal advice on dock matters.

Statistics and observation indicate fewer recreational boats in East Hampton Town waters in 2023 than in the four previous years, a trend that may track that of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The federal Department of the Interior announced its approval on Tuesday of Revolution Wind, a 704-megawatt offshore wind farm about 15 nautical miles southeast of Point Judith, R.I. It is to provide electricity sufficient to power more than 350,000 residences in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The New York State Supreme Court judge who imposed a temporary restraining order preventing East Hampton Town from closing its airport and reopening it with restrictions imposed on flight activity, and later held the town in civil contempt for violating that order, ruled last week that the town must pay almost $178,000 in two plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees within 30 days.

A hearing in New York State Supreme Court in Riverhead regarding the Maidstone Gun Club in Wainscott, which remains shuttered under a temporary restraining order imposed in December, was adjourned at the request of attorneys for the plaintiffs, a group of seven nearby property owners seeking the club’s permanent closure, “so that the parties may engage in settlement discussions.”

John Rooney, East Hampton Town’s superintendent of recreation, told the town board on Tuesday that the popularity of the Montauk Run for Fun race each Thanksgiving Day, proceeds of which are donated to the town’s food pantries, has caused logistical difficulties and increased costs, thus decreasing the amount that can be donated.

In an attempt to clear up what it has described as “considerable confusion” about its lease agreement with East Hampton Town, the Maidstone Gun Club last Thursday sent a letter to the East Hampton Town Board proposing improved safety features and oversight at the facility.

If the East Hampton Town Board adopts a recommendation put to it on Tuesday by its energy and sustainability advisory committee, then by Jan. 1, 2025, all new construction or large renovations in the town will have to be electric throughout. That includes heating and cooling systems, hot water heaters, and stoves. The action is intended to speed the transition from fossil fuels to green renewable energy sources.

As evidenced by the book-size Planning Department memo that delves into all the nooks and crannies, the private 400-member Devon Yacht Club's proposal to redevelop its site on Abram's Landing Road in Amagansett is a complex one.

A July 31 financial assessment and opinion issued by the Moody’s financial rating agency in advance of a debt sale by East Hampton Town determined that the town’s finances are “very healthy” and that “leverage and fixed costs are quite moderate.” Moody’s maintained the town’s Aaa rating, the highest it issues.

“When you think about a country that could be defined as divided, you come out here and it reminds you of our great history,” Governor Hochul said at a ribbon-cutting Wednesday in Montauk to celebrate the completion of several restoration projects strengthening and preserving the iconic 18th-century structure.