Government

Former East Hampton Town Councilman Jeff Bragman, who screened with the Democratic Committee over the winter to be considered as its nominee for town supervisor this fall, has endorsed Mayor Jerry Larsen in his primary race against the incumbent, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez.

The village Z.B.A. voted to reopen a hearing that had resulted in a determination granting multiple area variances and a wetlands permit for a Jones Road property, despite the objections of one member. It also closed another hearing, allowing an applicant on Middle Lane to convert an accessory building to an accessory dwelling unit.

It appears Republican Representative Nick LaLota is cutting off East Hampton Town and Village from receiving federal dollars for community project funding requests due to what he calls “recent actions by certain municipalities in New York to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary for East Hampton Town supervisor, both campaigns came under fire for separate matters related to water contamination by “forever chemicals.” 

Voters in East Hampton Village returned two incumbents to the village board, both of whom ran unopposed. 

What do East Hampton, Nantucket, Greenport, Port Jefferson, Northport, Hudson, and Cold Spring, N.Y., all have in common? They have all enacted legislation aimed at curbing the rise of so-called “formula” stores. Sag Harbor is on the precipice of doing the same, but is seeking comment from community members in an effort to find the best solution.

East Hampton Town is appealing a ruling that compelled the Building Department to issue a building permit to Joseph Macari and Kim Staller for their property on Bendigo Road in Amagansett.

An investigation of submarine groundwater discharge in the northwest area of Accabonac Harbor, some of which is seasonally closed to shellfishing due to fecal coliform detection, another part permanently closed, will be conducted by Cornell Cooperative Extension personnel this summer.

Cellphone service in Sag Harbor Village should get a bit better this summer with the installation of a new pole atop the Municipal Building on Main Street. The village board has voted to waive a thorough review of the installation in order to expedite it.

Proposed legislation that would encourage employer-sponsored housing within East Hampton received a chilly reception at a May 7 public hearing and has since been tweaked. Now deemed satisfactory by the town board, it will get another hearing on July 19.

Early voting in advance of the June 23 Democratic primary begins on Saturday and will continue through June 21 at the Windmill Village community room.

A renewed lease for the Maidstone Gun Club in Wainscott, which has been closed since the imposition of a temporary restraining order in November 2022, still has not been signed, East Hampton Town Councilwoman Cate Rogers told the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee.

The Let Them Build agenda that is aimed at expediting the construction of housing, a component of the state’s fiscal year 2027 budget signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul last month, is drawing negative reviews from environmental advocates on the South Fork.

The East Hampton Town Planning Board heard from 18 residents, 11 in person and seven via email, who not only thought the Springs Brewery and tasting room were a great idea, but spoke to the character of the owners, Lindsay Reichart and Gunnar Burke.

Cantwell Court, a broken crosswalk signal on Main Street, downtown lighting, and the long-closed Cranberry Hole Road bridge were among the topics covered at a recent Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee meeting.

The East Hampton Town Trustees voted last week to authorize a special season for the taking of soft clams or razor clams by the method known as powering, or churning, on weekdays starting June 29.

The two Democratic candidates vying to challenge Representative Nick LaLota in New York’s First Congressional District did not criticize each other, but rather were in near-total agreement and pledged to work together in the midterm election campaign, in a sedate debate on June 8.

Two members of the East Hampton Village Board will face voters in the election on Tuesday, albeit without opponents.

Shortly after imposing a temporary restraining order that prevented East Hampton Town from moving forward with a planned acquisition of 13.5 acres at 549 and 550 Wainscott Northwest Road, Suffolk County Justice James F. Quinn lifted the order on June 4, and on Tuesday the town board authorized the purchase using nearly $3.98 million in community housing funds.

Looking for some napkins with your takeout order? Soon you may not find them in your bag in Sag Harbor Village.

Two Suffolk County Water Authority drinking wells near Cove Hollow Road and Montauk Highway have been contaminated by so-called “forever chemicals” from the nearby East Hampton Energy Storage Center, a civil suit alleges.

In 1976, for the bicentennial, the town had a committee that selected 25 locations where significant historical events occurred, from Long Wharf in Sag Harbor to Montauk Point, and commemorated them with bronze plaques. The twist in 2026? Two have been lost to time.

Interested in working in local government? There’s a job fair at East Hampton Town Hall on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

In a case that has been seemingly riddled with errors, omissions, and accusations, the Sag Harbor Village Zoning Board of Appeals closed the books on the latest chapter of 23 and 25 Washington Street by denying a request to undo the revocation of a building permit that was said to have been issued in error by a former building inspector.

The League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork will sponsor a virtual debate between the Democratic candidates to represent New York's First Congressional District on Monday from 7 to 8 p.m. on SEA-TV's YouTube channel.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a Secretarial Disaster Designation for Suffolk County following Gov. Kathy Hochul’s request to provide relief to the aquaculture industry. It allows affected farms here to apply for disaster assistance and low-interest emergency loans.

The National Weather Service has forecast a 55-percent chance of a below-normal season for the Atlantic basin, with three to six hurricanes, one to three of them major. The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season started on June 1 and continues through Nov. 30.

Suffolk County Justice James F. Quinn issued a temporary restraining order this week preventing East Hampton Town from closing on its controversial purchase of 549 and 550 Wainscott Northwest Road in Wainscott.

East Hampton Town Councilman Tom Flight and Francis Bock, the town trustees' presiding officer, endorsed Jerry Larsen's campaign for town supervisor on Sunday in Montauk, a potentially seismic event in a campaign that pits the incumbent supervisor, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, against the East Hampton Village mayor in the June 23 Democratic primary.

With less than a month before the primary that will provide the Democratic Party with its nominee for East Hampton Town supervisor, both candidates are similarly funded.