Riverhead Town Board passes law changing when town elections are held

Long Island Morning Edition

Four New York pet stores have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block a ban on the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at pet stores set to take effect in the state on Dec. 15. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the lawsuit, filed Friday in State Supreme Court in Suffolk County, seeks a judgment declaring unconstitutional the “Puppy Mill Pipeline Law,” enacted in December 2022, and a permanent injunction against implementation and enforcement of law.

The plaintiffs, operators of pet stores in Suffolk, Nassau, Kings and Bronx counties, allege that the state law violates the due process requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because it is not a “rational means” to achieve a “legitimate legislative purpose.” Their complaint argues that federal and state laws already on the books adequately protect animals and consumers. The “Puppy Mill Pipeline Law,” banning retail sales of companion animals by pet stores, will force responsible pet stores out of business, according to the complaint, without evidence that it will improve the health of animals or protect consumers better than existing laws and regulations do.

California in 2017 became the first state in the nation to enact a ban on the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits by pet stores. Its law took effect in January 2019.

New York’s law is modeled after the California statue.

A Los Angeles Times investigation this year found that the state’s law banning the retail sale of companion animals by pet stores “had a major unintended consequence — driving the puppy trade further underground.”

NYS Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R,C-Riverhead), who voted for the “Puppy Mill Pipeline Act,” says she has grown concerned by reports of the unintended consequences of California’s similar law and would now like to see the effective date of New York’s law delayed.

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The Riverhead Town Board passed a local law last week requiring elections for town supervisor, town council members and other local officials be held in odd-numbered years. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the law was passed in direct opposition to a state law enacted last year that mandates most local elections in counties outside of New York City be held in even-numbered years, which would make them coincide with state and federal elections.

New York Democrats, who control both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s mansion, said the law will increase participation in local races, since turnout is typically higher in even-year elections.

Republicans have argued the law was an attack on local control and that holding local contests in the same year as state and federal elections would drown out local issues. Several municipalities across the state, including Nassau and Suffolk counties, sued the state to invalidate the law.

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Republicans say voters in this month’s national and state election showed a "realignment" of New York politics, while Democrats say they need to heed some hard lessons to unify the party. But independent political experts say both parties are oversimplifying the nuanced signals voters are sending. Michael Gormley reports in NEWSDAY that this time, Republicans nationally and in the state successfully focused on the need for greater affordability, less crime and stricter immigration enforcement. They painted the Democratic progressive wing as radicals who are out of touch with reality. The result was that Republicans returned Donald Trump to the White House, took control of Congress and narrowed the presidential vote margin in Democratic-dominated New York to the slimmest margin in three decades. Analysts, however, question whether they can do it again without Trump at the head of the ticket the next time. For all the GOP gains, Democrats won back three congressional seats in New York State and easily won a U.S. Senate seat. Voters also overwhelmingly passed a progressive constitutional amendment. Though Republicans picked up a State Senate seat, Democrats still control both houses of the NYS Legislature.

Still, the national setbacks for Democrats have prompted calls for more moderation in messaging and more of a focus on bread-and-butter issues on which the party was based, but which now share space with more progressive social issues. Analysts question whether Democrats can quell their progressive wing and unify the party to regain the middle-class suburban vote.

Republicans "can’t spike the football just yet," said Lee Miringoff, political scientist and pollster at Marist College.

"Many Democrats stayed home, which … speaks to their lack of successful messaging, and not necessarily a triumph for the GOP approach," Miringoff said. Yet Republicans "still face major headwinds in New York state, especially in the suburbs, where their congressional tally was weaker."

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The number of students in Long Island's 124 school districts who passed state English tests dropped to less than half the total tested, though the region continues to outpace the state in achievement, Albany data shows. John Hildebrand and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that more than half of students in grades 3-8 scored proficient on state math tests, though passing rates in that subject also were down on long Island from last year, according to the NYS Department of Education.

State leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, have declared that promoting basic literacy is a priority and that all districts, by January, will be introduced to phonics-based instruction as a means of achieving that goal. Phonics emphasizes letter sounds in teaching young students to read.

New York City adopted that system on a large scale last fall. However, the city's school system experienced a decline in English scores similar to statewide results in the spring, amid speculation that teachers might be having difficulty getting used to new instructional techniques.

"Long Island Education: Costs and Outcomes," an annual publication sponsored by educational and business groups in Nassau and Suffolk, makes the point that test scores tend to mirror socioeconomic conditions. That is to say, students generally score better in districts with high income and property wealth than in districts with lower wealth.

In the Nassau-Suffolk region, 48.1% of students tested in the spring of 2024 scored proficient or better on tests of English Language Arts, down from 52.5% in 2023. Statewide, the latest average was 46.3%, down from 47.9%.

On math tests, 57.7% of Long Island's students who participated earned ratings of proficiency or better, down from 58.4% last year. The latest statewide average was 52.3%, up from 50.3%.

John Hildebrand and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that results varied widely in the 124 public school districts across Long Island, ranging from more than 70% proficiency in English in the highest-achieving districts to less than 30% for the lowest achievers. Similar mixed results were recorded for five public charter schools, which are run independently. Scores also differed by county — for example, with an average proficiency of 56.9% in Nassau and 38.7% in Suffolk on English tests.

State education authorities posted scores on their website Nov. 14 without commenting on results. Locally, school leaders speculated that score declines might be related in part to the state's expansion of computerized testing, which has reportedly bewildered some younger students unused to toggling and other technical tasks. A long-lasting test boycott on Long Island appeared to wind down a bit, with 36.5% of students opting out of the latest assessments, compared with a peak of more than 50% in 2017.

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The building at 120 North Sea Road in Southampton that for many years was home to Schmidt’s Market has sold. Martha and Fran Pineda, the owners of Red Horse Market in East Hampton, bought the Southampton Village building for $6.5 million at the end of last month. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the deal was closed on October 30 by Hal Zwick of Compass Realty. The buyers were represented by Alfredo Barreto of Saunders.

The building was on the market for almost two years before selling. The last asking price before the sale was $6.95 million.

Schmidt’s Market closed at the end of 2022 after operating in Southampton Village out of the North Sea Road location for more than 40 years. Several months later, they found a home west of the canal, and now operate in Quogue out of the building that was formerly home to Quogue Market on Quogue Street.

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In the 1600s, Dutch traders began trading for wampum made by the Shinnecock Nation, one of the first forms of currency in the region. Today, a link to the Netherlands might have an impact on a project in Hampton Bays. Joseph P. Shaw reports on 27east.com that it’s a tenuous link, for sure, but at a gathering in the governor’s mansion in June, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands met with Governor Kathy Hochul — and Shinnecock leaders were invited to participate.

At the gathering, Lance Gumbs, who is vice chairman of the Shinnecock Nation Council of Trustees, and a longtime tribal leader, who also serves as the vice president of the National Congress of American Indians, said he delivered a message to Governor Hochul.

“Look, we are not the enemy. … I go all over the country to various states and various tribal communities. And I see the partnerships and the way things are done in some of these states that have great relationships with their tribes.”

Gumbs said that what he wanted was a government-to-government relationship between the sovereign Shinnecock Nation and New York State, which would both resolve existing disputes — a legal battle over the electronic “monuments” the nation erected along Sunrise Highway in 2019, for one — and pave the way for future projects.

First on the list: a proposed “travel plaza” now under construction just west of the Shinnecock Canal on the nation’s Westwoods property, which could benefit from direct access from nearby Sunrise Highway.

This summer, the result was a summit of sorts, with New York’s tribes meeting for the first time with the governor and a panel of state officials — including Marie Therese Dominguez, the commissioner of the NYS Department of Transportation, who had a constructive conversation with Gumbs and other Shinnecock leaders.

In an extended Q&A with Joe Shaw of The Press Newspaper Group Lance Gumbs Says Agreement With State of New York for Highway Access Would Benefit Everyone