Government

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.

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. An outlook issued in May predicted just a 30-percent likelihood of an above-average hurricane season.

Two Republican Party fund-raisers will happen on the South Fork this week.

The East Hampton Town Board voted to accept the donation of a drone by New York State when it met last Thursday, intending to use the craft to monitor the waters off the town's beaches for sharks.

Two public hearings held on July 26 before the East Hampton Town Planning Board drew scant comment, though both concerned projects that are large and potentially impactful for their neighborhoods.

There’s talk lately that artificial intelligence is going to wipe out the human race. Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if first it mowed our lawns? That’s the idea behind Greener, a Southampton company recently hired by East Hampton Village to cut two parcels of village-owned lawn at Village Hall and the Isaac Osborne House with robotic mowers.

Farrell Companies was before the Southampton Town Planning Board on July 13 with two intertwined applications that could result in 156,162 square feet of self-storage space spread over four buildings at 251 Butter Lane. To put that into perspective, the Home Sweet Home storage facility application that has been tied up in knots before the East Hampton Town Planning Board for the last few years is asking for 55,000 square feet of building.

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals approved, in late July, plans by Carissa's Bakery to make improvements to its building and add housing for workers above a new structure proposed for an adjacent lot, which is to be merged with the main lot.

A plan to employ goats to remove invasive species in the Arthur Benson Preserve on Old Montauk Highway that Concerned Citizens of Montauk pitched to the East Hampton Town Board last month may sound quaint, but the board lightly tapped the brakes on the proposal on Tuesday when two residents pushed back on the idea, citing a judge’s 1994 ruling that prohibits fencing or any other structures on the roughly 40 acres south of the roadway and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. 

Getting to the groundbreaking for the Montauk Playhouse Community Center’s new aquatic center was reminiscent of the concept of “third places,” said Sarah Iudicone, the Playhouse Foundation’s president. After home and work, “third places play an important part in our identity. They allow us to open ourselves up, learn more about the people around us, and deepen our civic engagement. And because of all of your support, Montauk is going to have a new third place.”