Nearly 6,000 low-income Long Island seniors would lose their access to home-delivered food items if the federal government shutdown extends beyond three weeks, according to the head of one of the region’s largest food banks. Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that the USDA’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program provides Island Harvest in Melville with about 35 healthy food items that are packaged by volunteers and delivered each month to 5,777 seniors with incomes of less than $1,957 per month in Nassau and Suffolk, said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and chief executive of the food bank. Island Harvest is the lone operator of the program on Long Island.
With the lapse in federal funding, the Supplemental Food Program will run out of food in about three weeks, she said.
“This is a program that impacts some of the most vulnerable members of our society — senior citizens who have built up this community and who have an income of less than $1,957 a month to pay, literally, for all of their expenses,” Shubin Dresner said. “And we’ve been supplementing close to 6,000 of these seniors with this food. And now they will have nothing.”
Gregory May, director of government and community relations for Island Harvest, adds: “We can no longer submit orders for food as there’s nobody at USDA to process the orders. So, the food that we have on hand, we can still deliver to the seniors. But we’re not able to place any additional orders.”
A USDA spokesperson said in a statement that “nutrition programs will operate based on state choice and the length of a shutdown.”
Contributing to the looming crisis, Shubin Dresner said, is that earlier this year the USDA slashed roughly $4 million in funding for Island Harvest amid major cutbacks to emergency food programs, limiting the non-profit’s reserves and creating a “cascading ripple effect.”
And the need is only expected to grow.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP], which provides food benefits to low-income families, is at risk of running out of funding if the shutdown continues into November.
Thousands of unpaid federal workers could potentially turn to Island Harvest and other local food banks for emergency assistance if the shutdown stretches on, she said.
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The owner of Montauk Airport has applied to subdivide his land into four residential lots and over 20 acres of open space — a move that would entail closure of the airport. It being a preliminary proposal, many of the details of the application remain in flux — including what it might look like down the road, as the application did not include building plans. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that Montauk Airport is situated on two separate parcels, totaling just over 36 acres. Surrounding the properties are hundreds of acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat. The property currently consists of a terminal building, a runway and three hangars. If the owner gets his way, though, the airport could become four residential lots — between 3.2 and 4.8 acres each — and 21.4 acres of open space. The latter is consistent with East Hampton Town code, which would require the owner to preserve at least 50 percent of the total area in the event of such a move. Under those zoning requirements, the airport could hold a maximum of five residential lots. This latest chapter in the airport’s history comes as a Federal Aviation Administration grant is set to expire in 2027, which would allow the owner to redevelop the land. The plans cannot take effect until that grant runs its course. If Montauk Airport closes, it would likely mean more flights taking off and landing at the East Hampton Town Airport in Wainscott.
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The Suffolk County Water Authority will hold three public hearings next week on whether it is subject to local zoning codes in connection with its proposed North Fork Pipeline project. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the proposed transmission line is needed to bring drinking water to SCWA customers on the North Fork, the water authority says. The new water main will traverse the Town of Riverhead from Flanders to Southold Town, including along Sound Avenue from Northville Turnpike to the Southold Town line. The first phase of the project calls for the installation of a little over eight miles of 24-inch water main and the construction of a booster station on a 1.5-acre parcel owned by SCWA on Pier Avenue just north of Sound Avenue. The The Suffolk County Water Authority, which declared itself lead agency for purposes of environmental review, claims it is exempt from local town code requirements. Riverhead officials disagree.
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The Suffolk County Department of Public Works has told Southampton Town it will go ahead with changes to traffic patterns on County Road 39 in Southampton between North Sea Road and Magee Street to test a pared-down but long-term version of the experiment run by the town and county last spring, one that local officials said had shown marked improvement in travel times for afternoon westbound commuters and eased bypass traffic on residential back roads and in Southampton Village.
Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Suffolk County’s DPW Commissioner Charles Bartha informed Southampton Town and Southampton Village officials…who had been pressing for the long-term change…that his department will re-stripe a portion of the road and reprogram traffic signals at Sandy Hollow Road and Magee Street, as the town’s Highway Department has proposed, later this year — despite apparently lingering doubts at the county that the changes will have a beneficial impact on traffic.
“While there is no consensus on the success of the pilot program conducted this past Spring, SCDPW will be implementing lane restrictions using pavement markings later this year, consistent with Superintendent [Charlie] McArdle’s recommended plan,” Bartha wrote in an email to town and village officials this week. “We will work with the highway superintendent and the Village and Town of Southampton police departments regarding adjustments to the traffic signals as necessary. We hope this will facilitate the safe movement of traffic through the corridor.”
The plan that McArdle and his staff have pitched to the county calls for re-striping CR39 to restrict westbound traffic to one lane between North Sea Road and Sandy Hollow Road. Sandy Hollow will also be restricted to one lane as it approaches the merge with CR39 and the traffic signal will be reprogrammed to stay green for both roads, allowing a constant flow into what will then be two lanes of westbound traffic on CR39.
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Suffolk County officially outlawed so-called “fire chasers” with a new law that bans aggressive home board-up companies from swarming fire scenes and pressuring traumatized families into costly contracts. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine signed the bi-partisan bill into law yesterday — a day after it was approved by Suffolk County lawmakers — putting the pushy businesses on notice that they can face big fines and even jail time for fooling families into deals that could cost them a small fortune.
“Unscrupulous persons will not be able to prey on those who may be at their most vulnerable after the loss of a business or home, and this new law will ensure that the bad actors who have misrepresented themselves will be held accountable,” Romaine, a Republican, said at the bill signing.
The measure, sponsored by former first responder and Republican Legislator Dominick Thorne, establishes a 1,000-foot buffer zone around fire vehicles to keep Board-up crews from swarming active scenes. The law also requires that board-up companies provide written disclosures to homeowners that specify they do not work for the government, while raising fines from $1,000 to as much as $5,000 and establishing that repeat offenders can now face up to a year behind bars if they don’t follow the new rules.
The crackdown comes nearly a decade after Suffolk first attempted to regulate the industry with a 2015 law requiring board-up companies to register with the county, but firefighters and lawmakers said that measure lacked teeth and allowed the so-called “fire chasers” to continue circling scenes unchecked.
First responders told The Post that crews often descend on active blazes with clipboards in hand and push panicked families into contracts before the flames consuming their homes are even out. Multiple firefighters also said that the companies present their business as a “must,” and deceive homeowners into thinking they’re doing them a service while up-charging them thousands of dollars.
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Last year, a handful of Springs residents banded together to organize a community festival to benefit Heart of Springs, a nonprofit organization.
Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the second annual SpringsFest is scheduled for this coming Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The community festival will be staged on the grounds of Parsons Blacksmith Shop on Parsons Place in Springs. SpringsFest is free, but Heart of Springs welcomes and encourages donations. Proceeds cover the cost of the event and go to Heart of Springs, which maintains the four historic buildings on the Springs Triangle: the Parsons Blacksmith Shop, the Springs Library, Ashawagh Hall and the Springs Community Presbyterian Church. Real East End Brass, an ensemble made up of local music educators, will perform a free concert. At an intermission, David Cataletto will sing sea shanties. Hugh King, the “town crier,” will give a history lesson. The blacksmith shop will be open — with a blacksmith inside. Food trucks will be on site, Springs Brewery will have beer available for purchase and around 15 craft vendors will be present. Last year, at the inaugural event, there was a crowd of about 350 people. With the social media promotion surrounding this year’s event, SpringsFest organizer Erin Field expects even more people to show up. That’s this Saturday in Springs from 4 p.m. to
7 p.m. For further info visit heartofsprings.org.
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A few weeks after the discovery of contaminated soil, the Sag Harbor Village Planning Board voted to stop the clock on reviewing an environmental impact statement for Adam Potter’s application for a mixed-use development at 11 Bridge Street in Sag Harbor.
Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the vote allows the Planning Board, in conjunction with the applicant, additional time to prepare the final environmental impact statement adequately or to determine whether a supplemental environmental impact statement is required. This move came after the discovery of coal tar contamination in late August. That week, the Planning Board had been reviewing the first draft of a final environmental impact statement. Potter’s project calls for the construction of a three-story building with 48 apartments, 20 of which would be set aside as affordable, plus nonretail commercial spaces on the ground floor.. “A lot has happened over the last month,” said John Ellsworth this week. He’s an environmental planner who has worked with the board on the environmental review. Following his statement, the board voted 4-0, with one absence, for additional time. In response to board discussion about the contamination in early September, the applicant submitted a letter, which is said to provide additional information for Ellsworth, who works with Nelson Pope Voorhis, to review. The Sag Harbor Village Planning Board did not delineate its next steps at its special meeting this past Tuesday. These recent developments require the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to go to the site and do additional testing. Once the results get back, the DEC will be able to develop a remediation plan for the site.
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