Officer patrols, police dogs, drones and a helicopter are being deployed as security precautions in Nassau County to avoid potential local retaliation over the United States' and Israel's ongoing bombing of Iran. Matthew Chayes and Maureen Mullarkey report in NEWSDAY that local measures are focused on houses of worship, popular gathering spots, and places of mass gatherings, particularly last night at Jewish institutions celebrating the holiday of Purim, as well as at mosques and Islamic schools, according to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who spoke at a news conference yesterday about the county's security efforts.

"People sometimes lash out in different ways that's not anticipated," Blakeman said. "Whether it's Christian, Muslim or Jewish, Sikh, whatever, we will be out doing stops at all of those institutions to make sure that we have a presence and that we keep them informed."

As is typical when an international conflict could reverberate locally, authorities across Long Island, New York City and beyond said they have stepped-up security to deter, detect, and combat terrorism and other violence.

There are no known credible local threats, officials have said.

Michael Martino, a spokesperson for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, cited a statement over the weekend from Romaine and the county’s police force that patrols were being stepped up at government buildings, "critical infrastructure" and religious institutions.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the NYPD and other agencies were "taking proactive steps, including increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations out of an abundance of caution."

Stepping up patrols and putting into place other counterterrorism measures involves hundreds and potentially thousands of police officers, according to John Miller, the police department's former deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism who as a journalist once interviewed Osama bin Laden.

Miller noted that there are finite resources, and ordinary policing doesn't stop.

"That also means there’s a city of eight and a half million people that still needs policing. People will still call 911, there will still be emergencies, there will still be nonemergencies where people expect a response," he said. "And that’s the kind of thing where, when you start to scrape the bottom of your personnel numbers you just have to account with overtime."

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A single-engine plane that took off from Long Island MacArthur Airport last night with two people on board later crashed in the Hudson River north of upstate New Windsor, according to a spokesperson for the Town of Islip. The pilot of the Cessna 172 and a passenger survived the crash with injuries not considered life-threatening, said Caroline Smith, the town spokesperson, in an email to Newsday. Islip Town owns MacArthur Airport.

Zoe Hussain reports in THE NY POST that data from Flightradar24 showed that the privately owned plane left from Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma around 6:55 p.m. Monday and crashed into the major waterway about an hour later. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the safe rescue of the two people “another miracle on the Hudson,” in a post on X last night. “Thank God both the pilot and passenger of a single-engine plane that performed an ice landing near Newburgh have been located with only minor injuries,” she wrote. New York Rep. Pat Ryan also posted on X that his office has been closely monitoring reports of the crash. “I’m in touch with officials on the ground, who have shared that both passengers are safely out of the water & have been evacuated by EMS,” he said.

New York State Police from Troop F, headquartered in upstate Middletown, responded to the crash. Trooper Jennifer Alvarez told NEWSDAY, "We are still investigating, and more information will be released as it becomes available."

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The Greenport Civic Association celebrates its first anniversary with its First Annual Membership Meeting this evening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 768 Main Street, Greenport. Guest speakers will be Southold Town Board member Alexa Suess and Southold Town Trustee Liz Gillooly, both of whom are Greenport residents. Greenport School Superintendent Beth Doyle will also join the conversation.

“The Greenport Civic Association connects residents to discuss and address pressing local issues. Our initiatives emphasize inclusivity, education and advocacy.”

Tonight’s Greenport Civic Association forum starts at 6 p.m. in the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 768 Main Street, Greenport, N.Y. 11944

Further info available online here.

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Interview rooms with handcuff bars, holding cells and weapon storage areas are among the extensive renovations proposed to turn Internal Revenue Service office space in Holtsville into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing and detention center, according to architectural drawings submitted to the Town of Brookhaven. Sandra Peddie reports in NEWSDAY that Brookhaven Town officials, who said they weren't aware of the plans' extent until Newsday contacted them, said yesterday they are rejecting the plans because holding cells are illegal under the town code for buildings zoned for office use.

"It’s not a permitted use," Town Attorney Annette Eaderesto said. "That’s not an office."

The Town of Brookhaven’s decision does not stop the project, however. Eaderesto said the applicant must now try to secure a zone change or use variance for the Barretts Avenue property, which is privately owned and leased to the federal government. Both requests would require public hearings. Attorney Keith Archer, of Melville, who represents the applicant, 5000 Corporate Holdings DE LLC, did not respond to calls or an email from NEWSDAY.

The Town of Brookhaven’s rejection appears to be the first time a local municipality has exercised oversight of an ICE expansion plan on Long Island. The Holtsville proposal needs town approval because the U.S. government doesn't own the property.

“If the federal government was to buy this property, the town would have no say,” according to Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico.

Coming just weeks after ICE leased space in Woodbury for 40 attorneys, the plans further signal ICE’s efforts to grow Long Island operations, immigration advocates say.

"The expansion of ICE operations is a valid fear," said Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, a nonprofit Latino advocacy group.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), who represents Holtsville and chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement he'd been in touch with ICE and "there are currently no plans" for a Holtsville detention center. His office didn't respond to NEWSDAY requests for clarification, given the town's confirmation of the submitted plans.

The proposed ICE facility would be located in the same building that also houses U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes applications for legal immigration. ICE agents have arrested people showing up to the building for routine appointments before moving them to cells inside the federal courthouse in Central Islip.

Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino said in a statement: "Suffolk County is not involved in any decision related to ICE."

Suffolk does not have an ICE cooperation agreement, and the county sheriff does not honor ICE administration warrants or detain individuals for ICE. Suffolk County is still in litigation over a $112 million lawsuit regarding the jailing of immigrants, sheriff's office spokeswoman Vicki DiStefano said in a statement.

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Justin Timberlake has filed suit against the Village of Sag Harbor, its police department and police chief to prevent the release of body camera footage from the pop star's 2024 drunken-driving arrest, with the actor and musician arguing it would "devastate" his privacy, according to newly released court filings. Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that Timberlake and his attorneys are seeking a temporary restraining order from a Suffolk County Supreme Court judge to block the release of the footage, captured by police during his traffic stop and arrest on June 18, 2024, as part of a Freedom of Information Law request by members of the media, according to the March 2 court filing.

The footage depicts Timberlake "in an acutely vulnerable state during a roadside encounter with law enforcement, capturing intimate details of petitioner’s physical appearance, demeanor, speech, and conduct during field sobriety testing, the subsequent arrest, and petitioner’s confinement following arrest over the next several hours," the filing states.

Release of this footage, according to Timberlake attorney Michael Del Piano, "would cause severe and irreparable harm to petitioner's personal and professional reputation, subject petitioner to public ridicule and harassment, and serve no legitimate public interest in understanding the operations of government. Disclosure of this footage would constitute an unwarranted invasion of petitioner’s personal privacy."

Timberlake pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired by alcohol, a noncriminal lesser charge, and was sentenced to 25 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $500 fine.

On Sunday, Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke Jr., wrote to Sag Harbor Police Chief Robert Drake asking him not to fulfill the FOIL request on the basis that it would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

On Monday, Sag Harbor village special counsel Vincent Toomey denied Burke’s request.

The application filed yesterday in Suffolk County Supreme Court names Timberlake as the petitioner and the Village of Sag Harbor, its police department and Chief Robert Drake as respondents.

Media organizations seeking video footage under FOIL requests with the Sag Harbor Village Police Department include The Press Newspaper Group, the Associated Press, NewsNation, WCBS-TV, NBC Network News, Fox News Digital, TMZ, the New York Post, Guardian News & Media, “Extra,” “Entertainment Tonight,” News 12 Long Island, ABC News, Court TV, KOMO-TV Seattle, In Touch Weekly, Us Weekly, The Daily Beast, Daily Mail, The U.S. Sun, JT Documentary LLC and Law & Crime Network.

***

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island & North Fork invites LWV members, prospective members and interested residents of the Shelter Island and North Fork communities to a program titled “LWV: History, Mission and Future” this coming Thursday, March 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

Held in the Peconic Landing auditorium, at 1500 Brecknock Road in Greenport, Thursday’s event offers an opportunity to explore the rich, over 100-year legacy of the League and discover how to become an active participant in democracy.

As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, the League welcomes people with diverse perspectives and ideas to attend, for an evening of education and civic engagement, complemented by light refreshments.

The Hamptons, Shelter Island and North Fork Chapter runs debates for local public office, voter registration drives, educational programs on the democratic process and forums about issues relevant to the East End of Long Island.

“LWV: History, Mission and Future” is this coming Thursday, March 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

For information about the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island & North Fork, visit its website at lwvhsinf.org

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A newly expanded beach on the western edge of the inlet to Lake Montauk took the brunt of the recent blizzard that swept through the region, eroding the shoreline back by what appears to be about a dozen feet.

But the new beach, called a feeder beach, is designed to funnel the sand from the east side of the beach, near the jetty, down toward the more sparse areas along the road toward Culloden Point, creating a self-sustaining source of sediment in the face of erosion.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that formed over the course of this winter, the newly expanded beach was one of the fruits of the recent 17-foot deepening operation during which two dredges, Oyster Bay and Scrod II, arrived in Montauk at the behest of East Hampton Town officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sand lifted out from the floor of the inlet was pumped westward over the jetty onto Sunset Beach, before being molded into a shape outlined by the Army Corps.

Through the course of the project undertaken over the course of the past winter, the Army Corps piled 95,000-plus cubic yards of sand from the surface of the inlet onto the beach.

Due to the extent of rock buildup in the inlet — and the resultant lack of sand — the Army Corps was unable to stretch the sand as far down the newly expanded beach as had been originally planned. While that rock posed an issue for filling in the full beach, its removal was crucial for moving the dredging project forward and ensuring safe navigation of the inlet.

“What you’re seeing for the first time in nearly two decades is actually the proper deepening of the channel,” said East Hampton Town Councilman David Lys. “They ran into a lot of hardpan out there, which ended up breaking a lot of the equipment of the contractor. But overall, the Army Corps guaranteed a navigational depth of 17 feet, plus potential of 2 feet overburden cut, which we hope will maintain the channel for a longer time period now, and also make it safer to navigational means.”

Meanwhile, the new dune at Ditch Plains, constructed in the fall, fared well in the recent storm, given the severity. The water did not appear to have breached the fenceline marking the start of the fresh dune.