The Jamesport-based Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons says a record number of turtles have been killed this spring on the North Fork as the animals emerge from hibernation. Just last week, 36 turtles were found dead or had to be euthanized because of traumatic injuries, the nonprofit organization said in a press release yesterday. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons founder Karen Testa called the rate at which turtles are being killed by motorists this spring “alarming.” What’s been happening is something she hasn’t seen before in the 12 years she’s been running the rescue organization. “In one day, we lost 10 turtles,” she said. This year’s toll so far is double last year’s, Testa said. Several of the 36 turtles killed or euthanized because of traumatic injuries last week had lived for 40 years, Testa said. Testa has two words she wants every resident and visitor to hear and heed: “Slow down!” The “turtle carnage” is taking place because people are driving too fast and are not looking out for them, she said. “Turtles are just waking up from six months of hibernation right now. They’re very slow,” Testa said. And they’re being hit by cars, many with their eggs exposed, she said. One of the most deadly roads for turtle crossings is on Osborn Avenue near Middle Road in Riverhead. Others are County Road 51 in Riverside and Chapel Road in Greenport. There are wetlands on both sides of the roads in those locations. The turtle strikes continue despite signs being posted in areas known to be the most dangerous for turtles. Other turtles died after they were hit by lawnmowers or weed wackers.,There are likely many more turtle injuries and fatalities that aren’t being reported, Testa said.

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Long Island letter carriers were attacked by dogs 65 times last year — more than in all of New York City combined and equal to the number in top-ranked Los Angeles, according to new statistics from the U.S. Postal Service. Robert Brodsky reports on Newsday.com that the data, released as part of the Postal Service's 2024 National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign, which runs through Sunday, shows that mail carriers in Suffolk County were attacked by canines 34 times in 2023.

Suffolk County's dog attack total ties with Philadelphia's for ninth-most nationwide.

The high number of attacks on Long Island stems from residents' propensity for dog ownership and the number of single-family homes versus apartments, the Postal Service said.

The five boroughs, which have nearly triple Long Island's population, reported 50 dog attacks on postal workers last year.

In total, there were 296 dog attacks on letter carriers in New York State last year, down from 321 in 2022, the data shows.

And Long Island is already on pace in 2024 to surpass last year's numbers.

Tips to keeping the letter carrier safe from your dog

• Ensure the dog is on a leash or inside your home when a letter carrier is delivering mail.
• Check and see that your dog isn’t near you if you need to open your door for a letter carrier.
• Be aware of the general time your letter carrier delivers mail and ensure your dog is not outside during that time.

Source: United States Postal Service

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The Ladies Village Improvement Society of East Hampton’s Annual Fair is Bigger than Ever in 2024.

LVIS invites you to join them this coming Saturday, June 8th, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on the LVIS Grounds, 95 Main Street in East Hampton, N.Y.

Started in 1896, the Fair has remained a major source of funding for the LVIS financial commitments in the East Hampton community. These include the care and maintenance of Trees, The Nature Trail, The Village Greens, Scholarships for high school seniors and preservation of local landmarks. Hundreds of LVIS members and other volunteers, the LVIS staff, and a huge number of donations from local businesses and individuals make this coming Saturday’s festivities possible and fun for folks of all ages.

Plus, the Carousel is BACK!!!

When:

Sat, Jun 8, 2024 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Where:

LVIS Grounds

95 Main Street, East Hampton, NY, USA

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is quietly maneuvering to delay a plan to toll drivers entering Manhattan’s central business district, just weeks before it is slated to go into effect, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Dana Rubinstein and Grace Ashford report in THE NY TIMES that the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing plan, which has been decades in the making, is slated to start June 30. Drivers using E-ZPass will pay as much as $15 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.

But even as Ms. Hochul believes that congestion pricing is good environmental policy, she has concerns that the timing’s less than ideal, according to a person familiar with her thinking. The governor feared that it might deter commuters from returning to the central business district, which has yet to fully recover from the pandemic.

Ms. Hochul’s gambit, if successful, could also help her fellow Democrats in the House who might otherwise face angry voters in an election year. But it would be a devastating blow to advocates and organizers who have worked for more than a decade to bring this change to New York City.

The tolling scheme was designed to reduce traffic congestion in Manhattan and produce $1 billion a year in revenue for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the region’s subways, buses and two of its commuter rail systems…Metro-North and the L.I.R.R. That revenue, in turn, would fund the system’s vast capital construction needs.

To fill the $1 billion yearly gap, Governor Hochul is considering proposing a tax on New York City businesses. Such a tax would require the approval of the Legislature, which is far from assured, especially with just two days left in the legislative session.

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The North Fork Audubon Society will not change its name to remove reference to John James Audubon, the namesake of the longtime American birding organization who was a slaveholder, racist and opponent of abolition, the group’s president said yesterday. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that most of the group’s membership, who shared their thoughts about the name change with the organization’s board, favored keeping the reference to Audubon, who was the country’s dominant wildlife artist and naturalist, President Peggy Lauber said in an interview. The organization’s board of directors voted to keep the name in late February and announced the decision during last night’s general membership meeting, she said.

“Everyone was saying, ‘we need to stay focused on connecting people with nature,’” Lauber said. “And then we felt that that was vital to that mission, to keep the name.”

The National Audubon Society decided last March to retain the Audubon name after a year-long process of examining Audubon’s personal history. Some local chapters of the Audubon Society, which are independent nonprofit organizations, decided they would change their names despite the decision…including the New York City Audubon Society which is now NEW YORK CITY BIRD ALLIANCE, INC.

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The recently formed Hampton Bays Alliance will meet this evening at 7 p.m. in the Hampton Bays Public Library, 52 Ponquogue Avenue in Hampton Bays. Learn about the planning process and how it works in the Town of Southampton. Members of the Town of Southampton planning department and Planning Board will discuss the work they do, how they do it and what can be expected when applications affecting the Hampton Bays hamlet are filed.

The Hampton Bays Alliance is a nonprofit civic association founded to provide a civil and respectful space for members of the Hampton Bays community to learn about the various public and private community development projects affecting the hamlet, to exchange and develop ideas regarding the revitalization and conservation of Hampton Bays, and to promote policies and improvements that will benefit members of Hampton Bays residential and business communities for generations to come.

For more information visit hamptonbaysalliance.com

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Fewer foreign migrants moving to New York City and Long Island could be an imminent local outcome of President Joe Biden’s order yesterday throttling illegal crossings at the Southern border. Matthew Chayes and Robert Brodsky report on Newsday.com that Biden's announcement of federal restrictions came as the city has surpassed a milestone: 200,000 migrants processed into the homeless shelter system since the local crisis began in spring 2022. Tens of thousands remain in shelter.

The order took effect at 12:01 a.m. today. There will still be a lag to the extent its ripples are felt locally — because the migrant journey between the Southern border and New York takes time, sometimes a week via bus.

“It should have a downstream effect in New York and other major cities, but we won’t see it immediately. It’ll take a while to be carried out, and it also depends how many people the Border Patrol actually apprehends, versus how many escape and come in,” said Cornell Law School professor Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, who co-authored the treatise “Immigration Law & Procedure” and also codirects a clinic at the university to help people apply for asylum. He added of the Biden order's potential effect: “It could be significant, but we won’t know for a while how significant.”

Some immigration advocates predicted the order would lead to fewer migrants eventually moving to Long Island.

“It would certainly affect people who’d be arriving here in the next year or so,” said Patrick Young, a professor of immigration law at Hofstra Law School.

For more than two years, New York City has been the flashpoint in the metropolitan region's struggle with an unending influx of migrants from Latin America and other regions. Until earlier this year, when a court loosened the rules of a decades-old legal settlement, the city was required to provide indefinite room and board to anyone in need.

On Tuesday, N.Y.C. Mayor Eric Adams welcomed the federal order.

“200,000 people entered our city, 200,000 people,” Adams said. “Larger than other cities, 200,000. Whatever could be done to slow the flow … I’m all for.”

Last week, about 1,200 more migrants came to the city, said Anne Williams-Isom, Adams’ deputy overseeing the crisis. Adams has said the crisis has already cost the city billions.