Long Island business leaders yesterday expressed concern of the potential economic impacts from an LIRR union strike, while also warning that unprecedented raises for railroad workers could be "unsustainable." Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that leaders from seven Long Island business advocacy and economic development groups, in a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, expressed their "deep concern regarding the negative economic impact of a potential strike" by five Long Island Rail Road unions.

The leaders noted that the strike, which could begin May 16, would come a week before Memorial Day as Long Island enters its peak tourism season.

"The railroad takes tens of thousands of New Yorkers each week to Long Island beaches, golf courses, and wineries," they wrote. "Thousands of small businesses rely on summer tourism to survive."

The business groups also expressed concern that "unprecedented raises to the minority of the LIRR workforce will be economically unsustainable for a mass transit system with chronic fiscal woes." The labor organizations represent about half the LIRR’s union workforce.

The letter was authored by representatives from the Association for a Better Long Island, the Long Island Association, the Hauppauge Industrial Association of LI, the Long Island Builders Institute, the Long Island Contractors' Association, the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island and Discover Long Island.

Hochul spokesman Sean Butler said the governor's position is that "a strike would hurt LIRR workers and riders alike. It is critical that both sides come to the table and negotiate in good faith."

Asked to comment on the letter, MTA officials pointed to remarks made Wednesday by the agency's chief financial officer, Jai Patel. In the event of a strike, Patel said, "Riders will be frustrated, the local economy will struggle and trust in our service will erode."

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Just in time for summer, East Quogue got a new Christmas tree last week.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the blue spruce tree that has served as East Quogue’s public Christmas tree for many years was getting bare and suffering from needlecast and residents had recently begun talking about a replacement after the winter, resident Christine Grant said.

The Town of Southampton created a hamlet park district last fall, which directs funds from development project fees to a kitty for beautification projects. But buying a new Christmas tree would have tapped the bulk of the fledgling park district’s funding.

Two residents, Cathy Zambetti, and her husband, John Picone, stepped in and instead offered to cover the cost of purchasing a new tree. Grant and her husband, Chris Connolly, who own Aspatuck Gardens, were able to source a 20-foot Norway spruce from a North Fork tree farm and got Southampton Town Parks & Recreation staff to remove the old tree and excavate a hole for the root ball of the new one.

That’s when the small town stuff really kicked in.

The tree arrived on a rainy morning last week and proved to be so heavy that the equipment the town brought to move it into place couldn’t lift it.

“So we did the classic Mayberry, small-town thing: We texted our friend Michelle Meduski, who knows everybody in town,” Connolly said. “She knew a company who had an excavator and they came right over and it turned out that they were East Quogue people, so it was pretty cool how it all worked out.”

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The Town of Southold is holding an Environmental Expo and Repair Café with the North Fork Environmental Council (NFEC) tomorrow from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the town’s Peconic Lane Recreation Center.

The public can bring their household items — including small appliances, clothing, toys and bicycles to be repaired, and their knives to be sharpened. “It’s a great community event, with neighbors helping neighbors to make things work again, with the added bonus of keeping those things out of the waste stream,” said Margaret deCruz, the NFEC Repair Café chair.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that numerous environmental organizations will also have tables at tomorrow’s event. Compost coaches from the Long Island Organics council will give demonstrations and offer tips on how best to compost at home, and organizations ranging from Group for the East End to the Peconic Baykeeper, Peconic Estuary Partnership, ReWild North Fork and UpSculpt will also offere information and inspiration on how to preserve our local natural resources.

Tomorrow’s Environmental Expo and Repair Café is from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at Peconic Recreation Center, 920 Peconic Lane, Peconic, NY 11958.

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Southampton Town gave residents of Riverside a look at some of the practical aspects of its new $44 million sewer district this week. The town’s consultants say they anticipate the system coming online in late 2029 or early 2030.

Funding the Riverside Wastewater Recovery System has been a project in the works for more than a decade, and it has been seen as a necessary tool in the revitalization of this neighborhood across the Peconic River from downtown Riverhead. The neighborhood, however, is in the Town of Southampton.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that investment within this community has stagnated in recent years, in part due to the inability to install more septic systems in an area with a high water table adjacent to the river.

The sewer district received a major boost in the fall of 2025, when it received $19 million in funds through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Consultants working with Southampton Town on the sewer system outlined some of its features for the crowd of residents who gathered at the Flanders Community Center Wednesday night. Many had been asking the town to come talk to them since it began redesigning some elements of its 11-year-old Riverside Revitalization Action Plan last year.

The sewage treatment plant has been downgraded to 290,000 gallons per day of effluent from an original 800,000 gallons.

The latest plan for the neighborhood, as presented by Paul Knight of the firm Historical Concepts, calls for allowing the construction of an estimated 532 housing units, ranging in style and sized from 450 to 1,200 square feet, along with 198,000 square feet of commercial space.

Mr. Knight shared potential scenarios for commercial space in which 72,000 square feet could be offices; 45,000 could be retail; 15,000 could be restaurants and 20,000 could be a grocery store, with smaller portions of square footage available for gyms and dance studios, cafés and delis and bars.

The engineering firm Arcadis is asking Riverside residents to fill out a detailed survey about their existing septic systems and other engineering aspects of their homes, to help them get a better idea of how each home will tie into the system.

The survey is expected to be posted soon online.

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A few years ago, North Haven Village officials orchestrated a move of the village’s historic old schoolhouse — for decades located on a piece of land at the corner of Payne Avenue and Ferry Road — to its current location on the property of North Haven Village Hall.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the village-owned land that the schoolhouse had been on has been vacant since then but won’t be for much longer.

At the last Village Board meeting, North Haven Mayor Chris Fiore and his fellow trustees unanimously approved a resolution to put that property up for sale. Before they could even list it, the following day, a potential buyer reached out with a cash offer of $1 million for the property.

Mayor Fiore said that putting the property up for sale essentially amounted to a no-brainer for the village…pointing out that the sale of the property represents a smart financial investment at a time when the village could really use one.

For the second straight year, the Village of North Haven has been forced to pierce the state’s cap on tax levy increases, with a 10 percent rise in property tax in store for residents this year.

“We have been advised the sale of the former schoolhouse property could generate in excess of $1 million. This will guarantee our fiscal safety for years to come.”

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The Dandelion Festival at KK’s The Farm in Southold this Sunday is on a mission to spread the word about the benefits of the dandelion leaf, flower and root, and its vital role as early season food for bees and other pollinators.

Stop down any time between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to learn more.

EAST END BEACON Editor Beth Young and Climate Local Now columnist Mark Haubner join a panel discussion at the festival at 11:30 a.m.

There will be workshops, farm tours, live music, kids crafts, dancing and hula hooping.

Bring a picnic.

The event is free.

Dandelions will make you wise this Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm at KK’s The Farm on Main Road in Southold.

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s Wednesday ruling limiting the use of race in creating congressional district maps will not impact New York’s current map, but the decision reignited calls among Democrats for state lawmakers to move forward on a plan to amend the state Constitution to allow for mid-decade r...