Sunrise Highway to be closed tonight 10pm to 5am

Long Island Morning Edition

The problem is clear: LIRR train windows are not.

Sun-damaged plastic windows on the majority of the Long Island Rail Road's electric fleet have become a frequent target of complaints among the LIRR’s 280,000 daily commuters, many of whom say they often can’t tell what stop they're at because of the hazy view from their seats.

Seaford commuter Paul Erickson likened the murky view to "an impressionist’s painting."

"In the last couple years, it seems like a lot of them are glazed over ... It’s almost like there’s a piece of waxed paper put over the window," said Erickson, 52, a daily LIRR rider for 17 years. "People would like to relax on the way home, and part of that relaxing is looking out the window." The problem is not unique to the LIRR. Sister-MTA railroad Metro-North also has been dealing with near-opaque windows, as has NJ Transit, which recently announced a $15 million window replacement effort.

Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that despite growing complaints from LIRR riders and unsuccessful experiments aimed at improving visibility, the railroad's president said there are no plans to replace the windows. Instead, the railroad will prioritize preventing the problem on future train cars, which likely are still years from being rolled out. LIRR officials said the damage is primarily due to ultraviolet sun rays and is concentrated on the south-facing windows of the LIRR's M-7 electric trains, which are around 20 years old and make up the majority of the railroad's fleet. Because "experiments" to improve visibility were unsuccessful and labor intensive, officials say replacing windows would not be cost effective. So, the LIRR is focusing on preventing the problem on future trains, which will return to using glass windows.

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This past Tuesday, two East Hampton Town residents, one the chairwoman of the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee and the other a former town councilman, issued withering critiques of the Town Board’s apparent negotiation of a new lease for the Maidstone Gun Club, the Wainscott organization that has been closed by court order for almost two years.

Christopher Walsh reports on 27east.com that the Maidstone Gun Club’s lease expired one year ago. Prior to that expiration, in November 2022, a judge granted a temporary restraining order barring the use of all the club’s facilities after a bullet determined to have been fired at the club struck a Merchants Path house, one of several similar alleged incidents. Several property owners sued the club and the Town of East Hampton as a result of errant bullets allegedly striking their houses.

Word of the nearly completed negotiation of a new lease for the private club, following expiration of the 30-year lease for which it paid $100 per year, prompted renewed calls for the town to reject any future lease agreement and put the land to a use that would benefit the wider community.

Members of the East Hampton Town Board typically do not reply to speakers during the public comment portion of its meetings, and Tuesday was no exception.

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The New York State Department of Transportation has issued a travel advisory for tonight in Hampton Bays.

All westbound lanes on State Route 24 (Riverhead-Hampton Bays Road) between Montauk Highway (Suffolk County Route 80) and Sunrise Highway (State Route 27) in Hampton Bays, will be closed tonight beginning at 10 p.m. until 5 o’clock tomorrow morning to facilitate the removal of an overhead sign structure.

For access to State Route 24 from eastbound Montauk Highway, motorists should continue eastbound to Squiretown Road northbound to Old Riverhead Road westbound, according to the advisory. From westbound Montauk Highway motorists should proceed to Bellows Pond Road northbound for access to State Route 24.

So, tonight, Route 24 between Montauk Highway and Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays will be closed from 10pm to 5am tomorrow.

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A reconstruction of the dune system at Ditch Plains Beach in Montauk could be eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement, the East Hampton Town Board was told this past Tuesday. Last December and January, three storms ravaged the coastline of the popular surfing and recreational beach, leaving the beach profile essentially nonexistent and portions of the dune ripped away, exposing the landward neighborhood to flooding. Christopher Walsh reports on 27east.com that the Town of East Hampton retained experts to determine the quantity of sand needed to restore the beach and issued a request for proposals that called for restoration of the dunes along most of a 2,700-linear-foot stretch of shoreline running from just west of the main parking lot east to the edge of the stone revetment fronting the Montauk Shores mobile home park. A first-phase project, to restore the beach, happened in June and saw some 5,800 cubic yards of sand deposited on the beach, providing a safe recreational area for the summer season. In the spring, the Town of East Hampton retained South Carolina-based Coastal Science and Engineering for the post-summer, second phase of the project: restoring the dunes that protect the neighborhood from breaches, flooding and damage to residences and infrastructure. Town officials are expected to meet with the DEC on October 24, and the town has already submitted a preliminary application. Given the reality of sea level rise and the frequency and intensity of storms, Councilwoman Cate Rogers said, the town and its residents will “have to take a hard look at what we value.” This, she said, will mean changing to accommodate new realities, not just at Ditch Plains but along the entirety of East Hampton Town’s coastline.

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East Hampton Town is planning to buy a 30-acre parcel at historic 66 Wainscott Main Street for $56 million, using the Community Preservation Fund, in what would be the largest CPF purchase in the town’s history. The East Hampton Town Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed purchase this evening at 6 p.m. The meeting can be viewed live on LTV’s YouTube channel.

Beth Young in EAST END BEACON reports that the property, which abuts Wainscott Pond, is a former farm dating back to 1648 owned by the Osborn family. It was purchased for $66 million by neighbor Ronald Lauder, who wanted to see the property preserved.

“This remarkable 30-acre parcel has long been recognized as a key asset in preserving the community’s character and natural beauty,” according to East Hampton Town’s announcement of the planned acquisition, which noted that Mr. Lauder is willing to sell the parcel to the town “for considerably below fair market value.” The announcement points out that, “This property, featuring stunning views of Wainscott Pond, is included in the Town’s Community Preservation Fund project plan and is situated within several protected districts, including the Agricultural Overlay District and the Harbor Protection Overlay District. The acquisition will help safeguard vital wetlands and maintain the area’s ecological integrity.”

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Sag Harbor Cinema continues its “Projections” series this coming Sunday, October 20, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., with South Fork Bakery. This event is free to the public and will feature a panel discussion titled “Educate, Employ, Empower, and Beyond: Meaningful Employment and Opportunities for Adults With Disabilities.” The panel discussion will be anchored in the work of South Fork Bakery and supported by East End organizations that align with its mission. There will also be a presentation of local filmmaker Sam Hamilton’s most recent Sag Harbor Story about South Fork Bakery.

Robby Stein, Sag Harbor Cinema Advisory board member and South Fork Bakery board chairman, will moderate the discussion and the Q&A that follows.

Sag Harbor Cinema founded the “Projections” series in 2021 with the goal to amplify the work and the mission of other East End nonprofit organizations by providing a space to have conversations and to build audiences using the cinema’s facility, network, and digital presence.

Reserve at sagharborcinema.org.

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Many Long Island taxpayers didn't see as much of a savings from the 2017 federal tax overhaul as those in most other states, and some have ended up paying more to the government, according to a Newsday analysis. As reported in NEWSDAY by Keshia Clukey that's largely because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which took effect in the 2018 tax year, capped state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, at $10,000, hitting those with high incomes and high property values particularly hard.

But the tax act also helped many who weren't strongly impacted by the cap on SALT by reducing tax rates, boosting the child tax credit aimed at cutting taxes for families, and doubling the "standard deduction," which changed the way the majority of taxpayers filed their taxes and thus reduced the number of people itemizing.

"Overall, the TCJA [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act] as a whole was probably favorable to sort of moderate- and lower-income taxpayers because the standard deduction was bigger," said Brian Schultz, a tax partner at Plante Moran, one of the largest accounting firms in the nation. The act also simplified the tax code and was a benefit for most business owners and the ultra-wealthy who had investments, he said. But while the tax act may have put dollars back in some taxpayers' pockets, the upper middle class "probably didn’t get as much benefit, especially if they were in a state that had a high state income tax because of the SALT cap," Schultz said, adding that the cap was "detrimental to a lot of upper middle class taxpayers" in those states.

The cap has drawn the ire of politicians in high-tax, high-income, blue states such as New York, where residents, especially homeowners, often relied on the SALT deduction to reduce their federal taxes. Some politicians from New York, which relies heavily on millionaires for tax revenue, also feared higher taxes would drive high earners to move to states with lower taxes.

With the SALT cap and other portions of the tax act set to expire at the end of 2025, it has become a major campaign issue heading into November for the presidential and congressional candidates. The fate of the tax act will be decided by the winners of this November's election.

Mentioned in this episode:

Long Island Morning Edition is part of Your Election 2024, a special collection of programs, series, and resources from The WNET Group to illuminate election issues on-air, online, and on YouTube leading into the November 5th elections. Find more at wliw.org/yourelection2024.