Parking restrictions in New Suffolk could be implemented this summer
Sweeping changes to parking rules in New Suffolk could be implemented as soon as this summer.
After a parking study and community meeting, the town may take steps both to place more restrictions on where and when people can park in the hamlet, as well as to improve enforcement of timed spots and town beach stickers.
According to a plan presented Tuesday by deputy supervisor Jill Doherty and town engineer Michael Collins, parking by permit only would be extended to cover the entire grid area from New Suffolk Road south to First Street. No parking would be allowed along Main Street or portions of Jackson, First and Second streets. A small stretch along First Street would be reserved for 15-minute parking, while the majority of parking across from the shops and restaurants would be limited to three hours seasonally.
Historic Orient home receives landmark status This old house
Jessica Frankel and Robert Hanlon in front of their historic Orient home which recently earned landmark status from the Town of Southold. (Credit: Jeremy Garretson)
When Robert Hanlon and his wife, Jessica Frankel, bought the old Orient home on the Main Road that belonged to members of the Young family for generations, they knew it was very special. And they were determined to keep it that way.
The house, built in 1869, was a typical North Fork farmhouse. The land farmed by the Youngs extended to salt water north and south of the Main Road. Over the years, the farmland shrank as parcels were sold, but the house, other than a 1909 renovation, remained largely the same and stayed in Young hands until 1999.
Supporters at PBMC Tuesday evening during a fire department parade. (Credit: Tara Smith)
As the annual holiday festivities subsided with the start of January, business began to return to normal across the North Fork. On. Jan. 1,at the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead, newly elected town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar spoke of her commitment to the “health, welfare and safety of our residents.”
In Southold Town, a standing-room-only audience packed into Town Hall as Supervisor Scott Russell, and councilwomen Jill Doherty and Sarah Nappa took their oaths of office. Soon after, the new board began discussing issues at hand, such as the future of “McMansions.”
New pavilion proposed for Tasker Park in Peconic Tasker Park in Peconic. (Credit: Rachel Siford)
In an era of social distancing and warnings against indoor gatherings, outdoor public spaces are playing a more crucial role for local families and community groups.
And while there’s no shortage of preserved land, hiking trails and parkland in Southold, there are few options for outdoor meeting areas.
That could change with a new pavilion proposed for Tasker Park in Peconic.
Recreation supervisor Janet Douglass presented plans for the 20-foot by 40-foot structure at a work session last Tuesday, saying that even before the pandemic, multiple groups vying for public meeting space had put a strain on indoor recreation facilities.
Plum Island Lighthouse
After more than a decade of uncertainty, the mandated sale of Plum Island may be off the table as part of a federal spending bill that could be approved this week.
U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced Wednesday that a provision in the 2021 federal spending bill will permanently block the sale until local entities decide what the 840-acre island’s fate should be.
In a press release, Mr. Schumer said the spending bill includes $18.9 million for cleaning up the island, which will remain under federal ownership through the Department of Homeland Security.
“We’re closer than ever before to saving Plum Island.”