As anticipated, the Southampton Town Board passed resolutions last week to extend the moratorium on the licensing and construction of battery energy storage systems {BESS} in town by six months, and to contract with a Hauppauge consulting firm, VHB, that will help chart the path forward to an eventual — if not inevitable — construction of a BESS plant somewhere in town. That path is anything but clear following the Southampton Town Board meeting last Thursday, which featured a public hearing on the moratorium before it was extended, with input from numerous stakeholders that included the attorney representing Canal Southampton Battery Storage, which is a project of Rhynland Energy. The company is seeking to build a BESS facility in Hampton Bays. Tom Gogola reports on 27east.com that the public hearing and votes took place against the backdrop of a recent draft report from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority that was undertaken by Governor Kathy Hochul after three New York BESS facilities caught fire last year, including at a 5-megawatt lithium-ion BESS plant in East Hampton.
The draft report issued 15 recommendations focusing on fire safety, plant security, robust inspections and establishing new training protocols for local first responders who may be called out to fight a fire at a BESS facility. Public comment is open on the state authority’s draft report on BESS facilities through March 5. Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said the town would have its own response.
Most Republican and Democratic state lawmakers agree on two things: All school buses in the state need to transition from diesel to emission-free buses, and that it won’t be an easy feat. Keshia Clukey reports on Newsday.com that school districts across the state and Long Island have started to create their plans for meeting the state mandate requiring school buses to be zero-emission by 2035. But it’s proving to be a complex task that might require additional legislation.
Several Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, have proposed changes such as tweaking state transportation aid and giving districts the ability to amend their transportation contracts. Republicans are saying the deadline should be pushed back entirely.
Education advocacy groups and many school leaders have expressed concerns about the cost of replacing their fleets, potential issues with power grid capacity, and questions about whether electric batteries and chargers can meet their needs.
The New York state budget requires all new school buses sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2027 and that all school buses in operation be electric by 2035.
The state is making $500 million available, along with federal funding, to help districts make the transition.
Many school leaders and bus contractors are worried that they may not meet the deadline, citing concerns over costs, power grid capacity and battery life.
An unexpected change in venue for the annual Westhampton Beach St. Patrick’s Day parade fundraiser left the committee that puts on the annual parade scrambling this week to get the word out so that folks in the area would know where to attend the “party of the year.” Bill Sutton reports on 27east.com that scheduled for Saturday, March 2, beginning at 7 p.m., the fundraiser — which accounts for most of the $25,000 or so needed to put on the parade — will be held at Westhampton Beach Brewing Company at the Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton. The 2024 Westhampton Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be held this year on Saturday; March 9th.
The NYS Board of Regents wants to change an outdated formula to fund schools equitably, but state and local politics may be obstacles to fixing a system that analysts say leads the state to spend more on school aid each year. Michael Gormley reports on Newsday.com that the Board of Regents’ proposal calls for a $1 million study by independent education finance experts to identify improvements to the school aid formula. The formula includes benchmarks from a quarter-century ago that are still used to determine a district’s financial need and to allocate funding, despite the dramatic changes in schools and the communities they serve.
Many Democrats and Republicans agree the formula needs to be updated to more fairly distribute state aid to schools based on current conditions, such as poverty and enrollment. But some say the effort could continue to be thwarted if it means the formula dictates their school districts should get less state aid year-to-year.
The current school aid formula was implemented in 2007 and was considered a major political victory at the time. It consolidated 30 measures of a school district’s needs and wealth. The goal was to ensure greater fairness in providing aid to all schools, with more money going to the schools in most need, often in communities too poor and with too little tax base to supplement funding from local property taxes.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the legislature could consider the Regents' proposal as they begin negotiations over the 2024-25 state budget, which is due by April 1.
The Regents' review likely will face opposition.
But, supporters say failure to revise the formula is costing some poorer districts critical funds while providing an unfairly large share to some wealthier districts.
The Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation donated more than $8.2 million in privately raised money to East Hampton Town last week to fund the bulk of the construction of a planned swimming pool and cultural center inside the cavernous empty half of the historic Playhouse building.
Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that with the foundation’s donation in hand, the East Hampton Town Board last Thursday, approved the nearly $14 million contractor bids for the construction of the pool and other facilities and said the work could begin as soon as this April and be completed by late summer 2025. The Town of East Hampton will contribute $5.5 million toward the construction — it increased its contribution by $500,000 last week — and the New York State Legislature has earmarked $1.7 million for a grant to support the second-floor cultural center component of the project. “This is probably one of the largest community projects in Montauk for which funds have been privately raised, an accomplishment that is a testament to our community’s philanthropic and civic-minded members,” the foundation’s president, Sarah Iudicone, said in celebrating the town’s advancing the project. “We will continue to fundraise as construction moves forward to plan for programming and to provide services that fulfill community needs.”
The Cutchogue Civic Association will take a comprehensive look at the Town of Southold’s community housing plan at a meeting tomorrow evening from 6 to 7 p.m., at the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library, titled, “Southold Town Community Housing Plan: Who, What, When, Why, Where and How?” Beth Young of EAST END BEACON reports that Southold Council member Jill Doherty and town planning officials will discuss what the community housing fund is and when it will go into effect, why a plan is needed and who is intended to benefit, where community housing can be located, and how the fund will be administered. A question-and-answer period will follow their presentation. The meeting is open to the public, and all are encouraged to attend. That’s tomorrow from 6 to 7 p.m., at the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library.
Two recent cases involving the removal of defendants' religious garments while in the custody of law enforcement are shining the spotlight on policies governing those practices on Long Island.
Michael O'Keeffe reports on Newsday.com that in Suffolk County, a policy that permits police officers to remove religious head garments from defendants came under fire last month after an East Setauket woman sued the county. The lawsuit prompted newly elected Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine to order a review of the policy.
In Nassau County, advocates for Long Island’s Muslim community are calling on Nassau officials to develop a clear policy on religious garments. Nassau leaves decisions regarding religious headwear to the police department and sheriff’s office. The lack of a clear and codified policy, Muslim community advocates warn, could lead to abuses, either through ignorance or prejudice.
The issue surfaced in a Nassau County courtroom in October, when Acting Supreme Court Justice Philippe Solages told an attorney for a Muslim defendant that the woman had to remove a niqab, a religious garment that covers most of the face, to verify her identity. New York State Court officials are reviewing the incident. Long Island is home to an estimated 80,000 Muslims, with dozens of mosques and Islamic centers across Nassau and Suffolk, and it is important for law enforcement officials to understand and respect the growing community’s beliefs, advocates say.
The New York City Police Department and other police departments across the nation have in recent years adopted policies allowing arrestees to wear religious garments.
Courts at the state and federal level in New York have similar policies regarding religious garments.
Inmates at Suffolk County jails are also permitted to wear hijabs and other religious head coverings, according to Vicki DiStefano, a spokeswoman for Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. They are allowed to wear the garments during the mug shot process as long as their faces are clearly visible, she said.