News

-A A +A

Boaters take issue with bay leases for shellfish farmers

Aug
6
2018

SOUTHAMPTON -

Boaters take issue with bay leases for shellfish farmers

A rise in clam and oyster farming on the East End has some recreational boaters raising concerns.

The state gave the county the right to lease out bay-bottom plots in Peconic and Gardiners bays to shellfish farmers following a public comment period. There are 55 plots, mostly with 10-acre leases.

But some recreational boaters and sailing clubs are complaining about line-marking buoys that they say could potentially pose navigational hazards.

Oyster farmer Matt Ketcham, of Peconic Gold Oysters, says farmers want to avoid conflict and he doesn't believe his plot poses any issues. He says just half of...| read more ››

Call For Sand Land Closure

Jul
17
2018

Noyac residents were joined by environmentalists and elected officials on Friday, July 13, to call for the closure of Sand Land, a one-time sand mine that is now a vegetative waste processing facility. A recent report from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services concluded it is polluting the groundwater.

“We want our officials to act now before this becomes a Superfund site,” said Elena Loreto, the president of the Noyac Civic Council, which has been fighting to close Sand Land for years. “We don’t have time to let our aquifer become polluted.”

“The word is desperate, the word is anxious, the word is exasperated,” she added, as she described how neighbors feel about the situation. “We cannot wait any...| read more ››

Plan to legally protect oyster farmers is revived in Suffolk County

Jul
17
2018

A virtually dead plan to legally protect East End oyster farmers by quadrupling Suffolk’s agriculture districts was unexpectedly revived and approved Tuesday when Legis. Bridget Fleming proposed scaling back the area to be covered.

The Sag Harbor Democrat filed a new plan that reduces the underwater area in Peconic, Napeague and Gardiners bays that could become agricultural districts to 25,000 acres.

The size of the new proposal is based on tax map areas where aquaculture operators already have leases with the county. But it will only provide protection to oyster farmers who are leasing a total of 600 acres in 10-acre lots.

The new proposal, unanimously approved, was put before lawmakers in Hauppauge on Tuesday as an emergency resolution so...| read more ››

Spraying Suspended at Accabonac

Jun
28
2018

Accabonac Harbor in Springs has been spared, at least for the time being, from Suffolk County’s annual aerial application of methoprene, a mosquito larvicide. A survey on Monday of mosquito breeding in the harbor, conducted by two East Hampton Town trustees and three volunteers, showed few areas of significant mosquito breeding, said John Aldred, a trustee.

County vector control officials were informed of the finding, and decided not to spray at Accabonac this week.

The trustees celebrated the decision at their meeting that night, taking it as a sign that their new larval sampling program is succeeding in reducing the controversial use of methoprene. Environmentalists, scientists, and many elected officials believe the larvicide is harmful to nontarget species, including...| read more ››

County Legislator Bridget Fleming Hears Riders On Car Free Day

Sep
26
2017

As she waited for the S92 bus to pull onto the narrow shoulder that passes for a bus stop inches away from the roaring traffic of County Road 39 in Southampton on Friday morning, Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming looked for waiting passengers to talk with about their daily commute.Her gaze fell upon Bryan Atancuri, a 17-year-old senior at Southampton High School, as he was shuffling his feet in the dirt and playing with his iPhone. Living north of County Road 39 in Shinnecock Hills, Bryan must cross four lanes of traffic every time he needs to take the Suffolk County transit bus to his job at the Carvel on Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton, a roughly half-hour trip most days,...| read more ››

Climate Change Is Real, SoFo Panelists Agree, But Change is Possible

Sep
26
2017

With a steady procession of Atlantic hurricanes on everyone’s mind, the South Fork Natural History Museum held its third annual climate change symposium on Saturday. An eight-member panel made up of elected officials and policy makers were of like mind — that climate climate change is both real and serious and requires changes in the way Americans approach their everyday lives.

“I think everybody has a social responsibilty to care about climate change,” said Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., the evening’s moderator. “We all need to be part of the solution because we are all part of the problem.”

Predictably, panelists called for the usual round of clean energy solutions, from supporting increased wind and solar power power to the...| read more ››

Suffolk County Septic Improvement Program's First New System Installed In Flanders

Sep
8
2017

Construction workers in muddy jeans and politicians in crisp suits mingled in the dirt as the first homeowner-installed advanced septic system to take advantage of the Suffolk County Septic Improvement Program was put into the ground at the Hobson residence in Flanders.

On Thursday, September 7, Anthony Hobson, an architect for SLR Architecture in Bridgehampton, his wife, Alejandra, and their 16-month-old baby, Amelie, became the proud new owners of a state-of-the-art, environmentally sound septic system—for free. With $11,000 from Suffolk County’s initiative and $15,000 from Southampton Town’s parallel program, funded by a portion of the town’s Community Preservation Fund revenues, Mr. Hobson got his system completely subsidized.

“This house is from 1931,” said Mr. Hobson on Thursday. “I just had...| read more ››

Suffolk holds Educational Forums on Tick Prevention

“Tick-borne illness is a serious health crisis in Suffolk County, particularly on the East End,” said Legis. Bridget Fleming (D-Noyack), who is urging residents to attend the forums.
Aug
16
2017

With the tick population especially high in Suffolk County this year, officials are holding a series of four forums to help residents stay free of tick bites and the diseases the bugs carry.

“Whether you live in Huntington or Hampton Bays, our goal is to keep residents safe as we enter the final weeks of summer,” County Executive Steve Bellone said in a statement Wednesday.

The Suffolk County Department of Health Services, at Bellone’s direction, is offering an educational campaign to remind the public of health risks associated with ticks, such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, and the related illnesses known as anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis.

Forums are slated for Southampton, Huntington, Brookhaven and Peconic, with the first...| read more ››

Officials announce Restoration of Historic Long Island Lighthouse

Restoration of Historic Cedar Island Lighthouse
Aug
14
2017

SAG HARBOR -
Long Island lighthouse lovers are celebrating the news that the Cedar Island lighthouse in Sag Harbor will be restored.

The lighthouse will get $500,000 in funding from Suffolk County, officials say.

Built in 1868, the Vermont-granite lighthouse was an important navigational aid for shipping, commerce and whaling on the East End.

It was decommissioned in 1934 and slowly fell into disrepair. In the 1970s, a fire destroyed everything except its granite walls.

The money provided by the county will be used to put a roof back on the building and secure its foundation. See video here: http://longisland.news12.com/clip/13591488/officials-announce-efforts-to......| read more ››

Suffolk County Completes Purchase Of Two Affordable Housing Lots In Southampton Town

“The sites, which are in transit-oriented locations, further the goal of reducing traffic and supporting the workforce that drives our tourist economy" Ms. Fleming says.
Jul
27
2017

The Suffolk County Legislature recently approved the purchase of two properties slated for affordable housing in Southampton Town, accelerating the timeline of both projects.

The two parcels—one in Tuckahoe that will be the site of a 28-unit affordable housing complex, Sandy Hollow Cove Apartments, and one in Speonk that will be the site of a 38-unit affordable housing complex, Speonk Commons—were purchased by the county for $2.15 million on Tuesday, July 25.

A press release from the office of Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming—who has pushed for Sandy Hollow’s completion since she was a member of the Southampton Town Board—noted that with the county’s purchase of both properties, both projects can be finished within the next 16 to 18 months....| read more ››

Pages