27Speaks

This week, with the recent news that Friends of Bay Street has put the property at 22 Long Island Avenue in Sag Harbor on the market, the editors discuss what might come next, not only for the Bay Street Theater, which had hoped to build a new permanent home on the site, but the surrounding area as well.

The Maidstone Gun Club voluntarily closed its rifle range after a bullet struck a house nearby and a judge has ordered the whole facility to remain closed as the neighbors argue in court that the range should be shuttered permanently. In this week's podcast, senior reporter Michael Wright joins the editors to discuss where the court battle stands, the police investigation's conclusions and the fate of the gun club.

Sagaponack Village Mayor Bill Tillotson came under fire from some residents after the village placed a porta-potty on the roadside this past summer to accommodate laborers who work at estates in the village. Tillotson defends the move, saying it's about human dignity. The mayor joins the editors and reporter Cailin Riley on the podcast this week to discuss the controversy and the importance of public restrooms.

Throughout 2022, The Express News Group has presented a monthly series on climate change, The Rising Tide, which concludes this week with a look back on the threats that have been identified and the mitigation measures being proposed or implemented right now. On the podcast, the editors discuss the biggest takeaways from the series and the ongoing challenges climate change will present for the East End.

Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, the chair of the Legislature’s Transportation Working Group, joins the editors on the podcast this week to discuss the redesign of the Suffolk County Transit bus network, including a new on-demand bus service connecting the Southampton and Sag Harbor areas for the same price as a regular bus fare.

Suffolk County's Septic Improvement Program grants and similar grants issued by Southampton and East Hampton towns to subsidize nitrogen-reducing innovative/alternative septic systems will no longer be subject to federal income tax, a change that provides long-awaited relief to grant recipients and perhaps encouraging more participation in the future. The IRS announced the move this month in light of the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently determining that the grants should be exempt from income tax because they are primarily for the purpose of environmental protection. To discuss the history of the controversy and the implications of the outcome, senior reporter Michael Wright joins the editors on the podcast this week.

Crime is happening here on the East End, especially crimes involving the theft of luxury vehicles. But did you know that these thefts are occurring because owners are leaving their key fobs in the car? Common sense goes a long way in reducing opportunity. This week, police reporter Kitty Merrill and special guests Captain James Kiernan of the Southampton Town Police Department, Chief of Police Christopher Isola and Lt. Daniel Hartman of the Quogue Village Police Department, and (by text message) Det. Sgt. Herman Lamison of the Southampton Village Police Department join the editors to discuss how to avoid being a victim of this and other crimes and scams.

Jay Schneiderman, the current Southampton Town supervisor and a former Suffolk County legislator and East Hampton supervisor, has long had a passion other than politics: music. Recently, a song that Schneiderman wrote in collaboration with Grammy nominee Matt White debuted on an episode of “The Bachelorette” and was heard by some 25 million viewers of the ABC reality show. Schneiderman and White join the editors and reporter Kitty Merrill on the podcast to discuss their musical careers and how they came to work together, and they share a few original songs as well.

Listen to the 27Speaks podcast to whet your appetite for The Express Magazine before digging in to the new issue. It’s the holiday issue, and this week the editors discuss many of the articles and themes within it: heirloom cookie recipes, Greek pastries to raise funds for the Orthodox Church’s philanthropic initiatives, the secret to good gravy, cooking an extra turkey the night before the Thanksgiving feast so there are leftover ready to go for guests, and more.

Residents of the Sag Harbor School District approved, in a 638-521 vote on November 3, a plan to expend $3.28 million in capital reserve funds toward the purchase of five lots on Marsden Street for athletic fields directly across from Pierson Middle High School. But the deal also hinges on the Southampton Town Board agreeing to contribute $6 million from the Community Preservation Fund to the deal. In this week's podcast, the editors and reporter Cailin Riley discuss questions of whether it is an appropriate use of CPF money, why Sag Harbor needs more public recreational space and what would happen if the Town Board does not agree to allocate the funds. While the district has yet to make a decision regarding whether the athletic fields will be grass or artificial turf, the editors discuss the benefits of artificial turf as well as the concerns some parents have about their children using the playing surface.