Nassau County Trump rally expected to cause significant traffic disruptions

Long Island Morning Edition

PSEG Long Island has embarked on a monthslong storm-resilience project in East Hampton Village, Springs and Northwest Harbor. The utility announced the continuation of its “Power On” program last week to improve the reliability of the energy grid, part of a multiyear effort. “We are working hard to reduce the number of outages that occur during severe weather by strengthening the electric lines that directly power homes and businesses,” stated Peggy Keane, PSEG Long Island’s vice president of construction and operations services. Christopher Walsh reports on 27east.com that work began this month and is expected to continue for approximately four months. Contractors will work along distribution lines in the aforementioned areas and provide traffic cones, flaggers and signs at the worksites as needed. Storm-hardening improvements for the East Hampton / Springs area include replacement of existing utility poles with poles capable of withstanding winds up to 135 mph. New poles will be approximately the same height as the existing poles, will have a stronger base and will be placed no more than 5 feet from the existing pole locations. PSEG Long Island also will install shorter cross arms atop some poles to help wires deflect falling limbs instead of catching them. Existing wire will be replaced with more resilient and durable wire, and worn equipment will be upgraded or replaced as necessary. According to PSEG, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Long Island Power Authority funding was used to complete storm hardening and reliability work on more than 1,000 miles of distribution mainline circuits.

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A vacant bank in the heart of Mattituck is set to be redeveloped for affordable housing.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the developers, Hard Corner Partners LLC, cleared a key hurdle after the Southold Town Board voted to grant additional sanitary system capacity, which will increase the septic flow required for 12 apartments at the corner of Love Lane and Pike Street. Plans also call for two retail shops and a 16-seat cafe.

The board voted 6-0 to grant seven credits to the project at an Aug. 27 meeting, a move Southold Town officials said will help address housing needs while encouraging reuse of an existing building.

Supervisor Al Krupski said the project is in an ideal location and will add to the town’s “limited” affordable housing stock.

The 17,447-square-foot building has been vacant since 2017, when Capital One bank closed the branch and moved to a new location.

Property records show Hard Corner Partners purchased the property for $1.7 million later that year.

Charles Salice, one of the developers, has sought to redevelop the site for nearly eight years. Earlier versions of the plan called for a 56-seat restaurant, retail and commercial spaces with one affordable apartment.

In an interview, Salice said plans were redrafted after the pandemic.

“Post [COVID-19], the concept of what we were doing … wasn’t as conducive to the needs of the community,” he said, adding that redevelopment can revitalize the long-unoccupied corner, which is in walking distance of a LIRR train station and bus stops, shops and supermarkets. “It creates foot traffic, it helps the merchants,” Salice said.

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The League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and the North Fork will hold a public information meeting on “How to Confront Misinformation and Build Trust in the 2024 Election” next Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. in the LTV Studios, 75 Industrial Road in Wainscott. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the speakers will be Professors Don Waisanen and Sonia Jarvis of Baruch College/CUNY. A panel discussion will be moderated by Andrea Gabor and will include Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreation Center Executive Director Bonnie Cannon and OLA of Eastern Long Island Executive Director Minerva Perez. Next Tuesday’s program will explore the role of a trustworthy news media in a democracy, and how to identify and combat mis- and dis-information on the internet, digital platforms, and via AI. New, original research survey findings will also be presented showing how much “trust in elections” U.S. citizens have in 2024, and what might be done to build civic connections and legitimacy in this environment. League of Women Voters volunteers will be at the meeting to register voters and provide information and answer questions about this year’s election.

Also, voter registration forms are available at the State Board of Elections website - elections.ny.gov. Those with questions can contact the Suffolk County Board of Elections at 631-852-4500 or suffolkvotes.com. Election Day 2024 is on Tuesday November 5.

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An increasing number of manufacturers and service businesses plan on using some form of artificial intelligence in the coming months, a recent survey from the New York Federal Reserve found.

Over the past six months, 25% of service businesses reported they had used some form of AI in their operations, compared with 16% of manufacturers in the same period, according to two surveys released by the New York Fed last week. Victor Ocasio reports in NEWSDAY that results from the Fed’s monthly Empire State Manufacturing Survey, which goes out to roughly 200 manufacturing executives in New York, and the monthly Business Leaders Survey, which goes out to 200 service industry executives throughout the state, northern New Jersey, and southwest Connecticut, were used in the AI report.

Forms of AI use referred to in the survey included virtual agents of chatbots, machine learning, text or data analytics, generative AI, voice recognition and robotic automation. Among service firms that had used AI in their operations in the past six months, 10% reported some reduction in staffing, while 5% said the adoption of AI tools required the hiring of employees. Among manufacturers, the use of AI had no impact on staffing. Service businesses include all industries outside of manufacturing and government, including law firms, finance, leisure and hospitality, education, and health care providers.

Business observers said it made sense that manufacturers might find less immediate use for AI tools, as much of the work they do was hands-on and involves proprietary processes and software.

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To celebrate and recognize Hispanic Heritage Month a Latin Dance Night, hosted by the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton will be staged at the Bridgehampton Community House this coming Friday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that this Friday’s Latin Dance Night will follow the same format as it has from its inception in 2022. Attendees will participate in a half-hour salsa dance class taught by Scott Trevor from Touch Dance Studios — which hosts weekly classes at the community house — and after that will participate in two hours of live music and dancing. Dayton, Ritz and Osborne has agreed to cover the cost of tickets for attendees once again this year, and chips and salsa will be donated by Sabrosa. Participants are not required to bring a partner but can if they want. It’s an adults-only event (18 and older) and alcohol is not permitted. While the event is free, the library is asking attendees to sign up ahead of time. Tickets are available on the Hampton Library website calendar at myhamptonlibrary.org or through Eventbrite.

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Former President Donald Trump is holding a campaign rally at Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum this evening which is expected to draw thousands and cause significant traffic disruptions. As reported in NEWSDAY, the rally aims to support Long Island candidates and generate enthusiasm for down-ballot Republican candidates, with over 60,000 ticket requests for the 16,000-seat venue. Security will be tight with heavy police presence, road closures, and a designated "First Amendment Zone" for counter protesters. Trump supporters have already begun gathering outside the coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island.

The rally is expected to be shown on video monitors to an overflow crowd in the parking lot.

Only ticket holders will be allowed to enter the parking lot at the Nassau Coliseum’s main entrance on Hempstead Turnpike.

The parking lot gates to the Coliseum were scheduled to open at 8 o’clock this morning, and the doors to the arena will open to ticket holders at 3 p.m., ahead of the 7 p.m. rally.

Nassau County officials said commuters around Uniondale, East Meadow and Hempstead should brace for delays, while police and the U.S. Secret Service plan to shut down roads around the Coliseum from noon until about 10 p.m.

Organizers said they ran out of tickets over the weekend for this evening's rally. There was no charge for those tickets.

However, local Republicans are promising to make the travel worth Mr. Trump’s while. The NY TIMES reports that Joseph G. Cairo Jr., the chairman of Nassau County’s Republican party, has organized a high-dollar fund-raiser on the sidelines of today’s rally that is expected to net several million dollars.

An invitation obtained by The New York Times offered tickets priced at $5,000 for reserved rally seating and $30,000 for a photo with the former president. For $250,000, the deep-pocketed few could enjoy the “V.I.P. Experience”: a brief chance to meet Mr. Trump, take a photo with him and lock down a “premium seat.” (Tickets for general admission were free.)