News

Zadroga Act: Lawmakers include $8.1B measure to renew program

Dec
16
2015

In a major victory for ailing first responders, congressional negotiators included an $8.1 billion measure to renew the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending package that was finalized and released Tuesday night, lawmakers said.

The measure would extend the World Trade Center Health Program for 75 years with $3.5 billion in funding to monitor and care for 73,000 responders and survivors. It also would provide $4.6 billion for the Victim’s Compensation Fund, which it renewed for another five years.

Now it’s all over except for the voting, which the House and Senate are expected to do later this week before they leave Washington for the scheduled start of the holiday recess.

“It’s in writing....| read more ››

New wastewater system at Suffolk park to combat nitrogen

Dec
3
2015

Suffolk officials will install a high-tech wastewater treatment system at Meschutt Beach County Park in Hampton Bays to remove nitrogen from waste before it pollutes nearby Peconic Bay, County Executive Steve Bellone said Thursday.

Bellone said the technology, the first of its kind to be installed at a Suffolk facility, is central to a countywide campaign to reverse decades of decline in water quality attributed to nitrogen from wastewater and fertilizers.

Suffolk officials are testing 19 similar systems at homes across the county as they prepare to approve them for wider use. Fifteen of the pilot systems have been installed, and four are awaiting installation. The Suffolk health department could approve the technology by late 2016, a county spokeswoman said....| read more ››

Toxic dumping story takes new turn

Nov
30
2015

It's grand that cleanup is slated to begin this week at a contaminated dump site in Central Islip.

But the fact that most of the tainted material will be trucked off Long Island -- because hydrocarbons, pesticides and metals found in the material represent a danger to groundwater -- makes the dumping all the more outrageous.

Under an agreement between state environmental officials and the site's owner, as much as 35,000 cubic yards of fill will be removed and shipped to a disposal facility in Pennsylvania.

The material -- estimated to be enough to fill almost 11 Olympic-sized swimming pools -- will leave the site in trucks, according to a story Monday by Newsday reporter Jennifer Barrios.

Five tractor trailers,...| read more ››

Southampton officials promise officers will be reassigned to Flanders and Riverside

Nov
29
2015

Southampton Town officials say a new shift schedule will free more officers to combat a crime wave that has alarmed residents of the town's middle- and working-class northwestern neighborhoods.

Town and PBA officials have agreed on a new schedule that will assign most officers to 12-hour day or night shifts beginning in mid-January. Officers will consistently work during the day or night, instead of cycling every four days between day, afternoon and night shifts, as they do now.

Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst announced the agreement Tuesday, the same day residents of Flanders, Riverside and Northampton packed a town board meeting to demand more patrols. Throne-Holst said the new schedule would result in "boots on the ground" to address the "crime...| read more ››

Krupski makes push for wastewater system upgrades at parks

Nov
28
2015

Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski has a new target in the ongoing fight to protect the area’s waters: county parks.

The legislator has sponsored legislation that would require the county to consider installing alternative wastewater treatment methods in parks when the existing septic systems fail or when they require upgrades. Mr. Krupski sees such a policy as a small — but necessary — step toward more widespread reductions in pollution.

“Percentagewise, I’m sure [county park waste] is small compared to 360,000 residential systems,” he said. “[But] when a system fails, we need to spend money anyway, so this is a different way of addressing the maintenance … You might as well fix it the right way.”

Last Wednesday, the county...| read more ››

Sarah Anker wins Suffolk legislative race by 17 votes

Nov
19
2015

Suffolk Legis. Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) turned an unofficial one vote election night lead into a 17-vote victory Thursday when all the votes were finally counted at the board of elections in Yaphank.
"We can now breathe," said Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman. "In every election the Republicans have always underestimated her and in every election Sarah and the voters prove them wrong."
Anker, who first won a special election four years ago, will enter her third full two-year term.

GOP officials acknowledged Wednesday that Republican challenger Steve Tricarico was a "statistical long shot" after lawyers for both sides agreed to the tally of all but 15 of 57 challenged ballots. GOP officials and Tricarico did not return...| read more ››

Hughes wins justice race, Goldsmith beats Bergen for Trustee

Nov
13
2015

After all the absentee votes had been tallied Friday afternoon, Democratic Town Justice candidate Brian Hughes hadn’t just protected his slim lead over Republican opponent William Goggins — he extended it.

Mr. Hughes secured the election, according to an unofficial tally of the roughly 450 absentee ballots at the Suffolk County Board of Elections Friday, earning a 201-vote lead with a final tally of 3,287 votes to Mr. Goggins’ 3,086.

“I’m happy with the results,” Mr. Hughes said Friday after confirming ballots with elections officials and representatives from both parties. “I’m certainly thankful the voters of Southold have given me the opportunity to help the people in the court get back on track — to bring credibility back to the...| read more ››

Suffolk Board of Elections and absentee ballots to decide Brookhaven council race

Nov
12
2015

Suffolk County Board of Elections officials are expected to convene as soon as next week to open 460 absentee ballots that could determine who wins a contested Brookhaven Town council seat.
The undecided race between Democratic incumbent Connie Kepert and Republican challenger Michael A. Loguercio Jr. could shape up as a near-repeat of the 2013 contest in Brookhaven's 4th Council District, when Kepert beat Loguercio by four votes after two months of recounts and court challenges.

Neither Kepert nor Loguercio has claimed victory or conceded this year. Unofficial results showed Loguercio, a Longwood school board trustee, leading Kepert by 261 votes. In 2013, Loguercio held a 94-vote lead on election night but lost after court rulings threw out many...| read more ››

Cuomo nixes Port Ambrose, proposed natural gas terminal off Jones Beach

Nov
12
2015

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo Thursday killed a 3-year-old proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal 19 miles off Jones Beach amid fears that it could cause an environmental catastrophe or become a terrorist target.
The deepwater docking station known as Port Ambrose was to supply the downstate region with cheaper natural gas brought in from the Caribbean by tankers.

But Cuomo, in formally announcing his veto, said al-Qaida has threatened to target such facilities and superstorm Sandy was powerful enough to damage infrastructure built to survive 100-year storms.
Cuomo also said the fuel port would harm vital commercial squid and scallop fishing and conflict with a major wind farm proposed for the same waters.
"When you...| read more ››

Suffolk legislature passes $2.9 billion budget

Nov
5
2015

Suffolk County lawmakers passed a $2.9 billion budget Wednesday that relies on more than $117 million in one-time revenue and an "optimistic" sales tax forecast to balance the spending plan.
Lawmakers said they were forced to make difficult choices: more than $10 million in cuts to bus services, reduced payments to nonprofits and increased fees to register vehicles and file mortgages.

"It's a tough budget," said Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory, (D-Amityville).
The budget passed, 15-3, with Minority Leader Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), Legis. Tom Cilmi (R-Bay Shore) and Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) voting no.
Passage came a day after the election. The Democrat/Republican split is still 12-6, although Legis. Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) was ahead of Republican...| read more ››