New York’s top court appeared to be as divided as ever yesterday on a lawsuit seeking to redraw congressional districts in the state, leaving a judge specially appointed to the court for this case as a potential wild card.

The Court of Appeals held oral arguments in Buffalo on a suit filed by Democrats seeking to scrap the current district boundaries and redraw them for 2024. Yancey Roy reports on Newsday.com that Republicans — who hold 11 of New York’s 26 seats after gaining four in ’22 — want the court to leave well enough alone. At stake is not only congressional boundaries in New York but also potentially control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which Republicans hold by a scant five seats. The legal issues involved in the New York lawsuit revolve around a reading of the state constitution and the Court of Appeals' previous involvement in redistricting. It also touches on technicalities about timeliness and grounds for a challenge.

The political handicapping revolves around whether any members of the court changes their minds about last year’s redistricting case or whether a new jurist will be the difference maker.

Just last year, the court — in a 4-3 decision — declared a map drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature was unconstitutionally gerrymandered and effectively handed mapmaking duties to a court-appointed “special master.” In their new lawsuit, Democrats contend the special master was a short-term solution to make sure a set of maps was in place for Election Day 2022.

The NYS Court of Appeals typically takes at least four weeks to issue a decision, although it is possible that the political calendar implications of ordering new maps could motivate a quicker ruling.

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Gas prices have dipped on Long Island and are expected to linger in the cheaper range through the Thanksgiving weekend travel period and into the slower winter driving season, experts said.

Sarina Trangle reports on Newsday.com that a gallon of regular gas cost an average of $3.51 yesterday in Nassau and Suffolk, which is down about 30 cents from the average a year ago, according to AAA. Prices traditionally decline in autumn and bottom out in the final months of the year, according to industry analysts. But this fall's drop seems significant, since it has gone below 2022 rates, according to Robert Sinclair Jr., a spokesman on Long Island for AAA Northeast.

"Demand for gasoline is lower than a year ago, when it was more expensive," Sinclair said, noting that inflation has probably prompted some to cut back on buying gas. "People are paying for food, clothing, and housing, and then maybe there's not a whole lot left over for what might be called nonessential driving trips."

The average daily price for a gallon of regular gas on Long Island was $3.52 Tuesday, down from about $3.87 on Sept. 20, according to the Oil Price Information Service, a research and analytics service. Costs were lowest in 2023 on Jan. 1, when the average daily price per gallon of regular gas was $3.18 in the region.

Gas prices start declining in mid-September each year as wholesalers and gas stations start offering a fuel blend that's formulated for cooler weather and cheaper to make, Lafakis said. Americans also take fewer road trips in the winter, contributing to less demand that also pushes prices down, he said.

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The Southampton Village Board and other stakeholders have been working toward a possible compromise on the proposed plan to close Pond Lane to vehicular traffic and create a world-class public garden on two vacant parcels of land on the street currently owned by the John Paulson Foundation and another adjacent parcel already owned by the Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund program. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the plans, first introduced to the public at a board meeting in September, have animated and divided the community for months, with a group of residents speaking out in strong opposition to the plan, mainly because of the closure of Pond Lane which runs adjacent to Agawam Park. Southampton Village Trustee Roy Stevenson laid out what a potential compromise could look like during his comments to the board and those in attendance at the November 9 meeting. He said he does not want to see the plan fall apart, not only because he believes the conversion of the land into a world-class park — with gardens designed by famed architect and Southampton Village resident Peter Marino — would be a lasting and cherished gift for the community, but also because Southampton Town has already agreed to purchase one of the Paulson lots in order to satisfy a land “swap” that is necessary so the Village of Southampton can install $10 million algae harvesters at another site. He said the algae harvesters, which the village acquired with town and federal grant funds, are crucial in the effort to clean up the long-polluted lake and restore it to its former glory.

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Last Saturday, Vietnam veteran Tom Guldi, born and raised in Southampton, delivered a stirring speech at the Veterans Day ceremony in Southampton Village’s Agawam Park, hosted by the Commission on Veterans Patriotic Events. By the end, Guldi was accepting hugs from people he’d never met. “After being home for 51 years, I felt it was time to share my story,” he said.

Michelle Trauring reports on 27east.com that shortly after he graduated from Southampton High School in 1970, Guldi enlisted in the Army, completing his basic training at Fort Polk in Louisiana before going on to military police training at Fort Gordon in Georgia. Then, despite his fear of German shepherds, he volunteered to be a sentry dog handler. “To me, this seemed to be a great opportunity to work with and learn how to handle highly trained and disciplined dogs,” he said. For six weeks, he trained in Okinawa, Japan, and learned just how capable and deadly the dogs could be. When he deployed to Vietnam in 1971, the soldier met the dog that would become his protector, his best friend — a 3-year-old German shepherd named Fritz. The tattoo in his left ear read: “0M95.” Together, stationed first at Cam Ranh Bay and then Nha Trang, they guarded the most sensitive military areas, from ammo dumps and petroleum storage areas to helicopter bases. With Fritz by his side, Guldi said he felt confident. While he was spooked by the variety of war zone sounds heard in the night, Fritz was a source of calm — unless an intruder alerted them. As the war drew to a close, Guldi began to realize he’d have to say goodbye to Fritz…his best friend. Half of Guldi’s company would never make it back to the United States — Fritz among them. “As I look at the pictures of us in Vietnam, one thing really stands out: how young we were. Vietnam is where we grew up and where we lost our innocence.”

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East Hampton Town Justice Lisa Rana has ruled that Airbnb records that showed a Montauk property owner had rented his property 59 separate times in 10 months cannot be used as evidence against the man, because the records were acquired by an improperly issued and executed subpoena. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the town attorney’s office had asked for and was granted a subpoena issued by Justice Stephen Tekulsky and sent to Airbnb’s headquarters in California, demanding that the company submit the records of payment for rentals of the cottages at 65 South Elroy Drive in Montauk, which is owned by Harvey Elgart. The company complied with the subpoena and handed over payment records showing dozens of rentals, in stark violation of the town’s residential rentals law, which allows just two rentals in a season, of 14 days or less.

Elgart was charged in East Hampton Town justice court with a multitude of violations and town officials said they hope that using subpoenas to uncover records of extensive violations of town rental laws could be a key to effectively addressing such violations.

But Elgart’s attorney, Lawrence Kelly, argued that the subpoena that revealed proof of the illegal rentals was issued improperly and that the evidence received from it should be suppressed and the case against Elgart thrown out.

East Hampton Town Attorney Robert Connelly said that the town is considering appealing the decision and how it may proceed regarding employing subpoenas in short-term-rental cases in the future.

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The Shinnecock Indian Nation yesterday held a grand opening for its Little Beach Harvest cannabis dispensary on its territory in Southampton, ushering in a new avenue of economic development in a facility designed to blend in with the tribe’s bucolic surroundings. Mark Harrington reports on Newsday.com that tribal leaders were on hand to formally launch this newest tribal business following eight years of planning and development. It will sell scores of cannabis and hemp products for recreational and wellness uses for adults over the age of 21.

All products sold at the two-story facility are tested, and many are made by Shinnecock or other Native tribal members under a tribal licensing plan begun earlier this year. Several other Shinnecock tribal shops along Montauk Highway in Southampton already sell cannabis products.

Tribal leaders and officials from Little Beach said the 5,000-square-foot facility is just the beginning, with plans for an adjacent lounge on the property to expand Little Beach’s wellness business, with space for local entrepreneurs, events and potentially even weddings, said Chenae Bullock, Little Beach’s managing director.

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Roughly two million people convicted of crimes in New York State may be eligible to have their records sealed as part of a broad criminal justice initiative that will be signed into law today by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Grace Ashford in THE NY TIMES reports that under the so-called Clean Slate Act, people who complete their sentence and remain out of trouble within a set period — three years for misdemeanors, eight for eligible felonies — will have their convictions sealed. The most serious crimes — including sex crimes, murder and most other class A felonies — will not be eligible for automatic sealing.

New York will become one of a dozen states with such legislation, which is aimed at interrupting the cycle of recidivism by allowing formerly incarcerated people access to jobs and housing.

The law will go into effect a year from now, though it will take three more years to clear the records of those currently waiting.

The bill’s signing is a victory for criminal justice advocates who spent years lobbying stakeholders on behalf of the measure. By the time it passed New York’s Democrat-dominated Legislature earlier this year, it boasted an impressive coalition of business, labor, government and advocacy groups who preached of its economic, moral and public safety benefits. Unlike previous versions of the bill, the final law makes all class A felonies, except those related to drug possession, ineligible for sealing. Those concessions and others have helped to quiet opposition, including from law enforcement groups. While the major sheriffs', police and prosecutors’ associations have not come out in support of the measure, they have refrained from publicly criticizing it.

Many Republicans still oppose the bill because it may seal records that they believe ought to remain public, and point to the existing process for sealing records, in which a judge approves each request.