Lee Zeldin to be appointed head of Environmental Protection Agency

Long Island Morning Edition

During a few brief remarks to the community members gathered around the crackling indoor fireplace on the main floor of the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton Village on Saturday afternoon, Mayor Bill Manger referenced a quote from Albert Einstein to emphasize the importance of the library’s new $2 million revitalization campaign: “The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.” That advice from the famed physicist, Manger said, still rings true in Southampton Village, where the Rogers Memorial Library has been an important community asset and gathering place since it first opened at its former location on Jobs Lane in 1896, thanks to a bequest made by Harriet Jones Rogers. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that in 2000, the library moved to its current location in a new building on Coopers Farm Road. The main library and Cooper Hall, adjacent to the library on the same property, encompass a total of 26,500 square feet, and it serves 40,000 people annually. On Saturday afternoon, Manger was on hand, along with NBC news anchor and Southampton Village resident Chuck Scarborough, Library Director Liz Burns, Foundation Board President George Crawford and other library trustees and patrons for a reception to announce and kick off the library’s revitalization campaign. The $2 million project will pay for a large-scale interior renovation and upgrades inside the library, which is celebrating 25 years in its current location. Work on the Rogers Memorial Library revitalization project is expected to start this coming January. Scarborough added that, just like in the news industry, libraries have had to adjust how they do business to try and reach people where they are. “That’s exactly what’s going on here,” he said. “Times change and the library had to adapt. The library has expanded its scope so dramatically to respond to the community, and this is yet another necessary step to continue to evolve.”

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Veterans were honored yesterday at a Veterans Day ceremony in Riverhead. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the annual ceremony in Riverhead takes place at the World War Memorial on West Main Street. The memorial monument was erected after World War I, to honor the Riverhead men who fought in the war, including nine who sacrificed their lives.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard called on residents to always remember that freedom isn’t free. The freedom and the lifestyle we enjoy today was achieved through “tremendous sacrifice of past generations of service members and their families, by current members of the armed forces and will continue with the future generations of citizens who step up to serve this nation, because freedom isn’t free,” Hubbard said.

The supervisor urged residents to speak with veterans who are willing to talk about their service, to learn about their experiences. He spoke of his father-in-law, Albert Woolley, who served in the military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

The annual ceremony is organized by the Riverhead Combined Veterans Committee.

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President-elect Donald Trump flipped numerous Democratic strongholds on Long Island on his way to taking a decisive majority of local voters for the first time in his three presidential campaigns, according to a Newsday analysis of unofficial results. More than 53% of voters in Nassau and Suffolk cast their ballots for Trump. His raw vote total in the two counties has increased each time he has run: from over 642,000 in 2016 to 707,969 in 2020 and now more than 762,000 this year, records show. He won Suffolk for the third consecutive election and captured Nassau for the first time, becoming the first Republican to win there since 1988. Paul LaRocco and Keshia Clukey report in NEWSDAY that in Suffolk County, Trump turned Huntington and Babylon from towns that went for President Joe Biden in 2020. He won comfortably in Islip, Brookhaven and Smithtown, garnering between 57% and 64% of the votes in those typically Republican areas. Harris' only Suffolk victories came on the east end in Southold, Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island towns, mirroring the national trend of Democrats making gains among the educated and affluent. Trump won over 57% of the vote in Riverhead. Blue-collar voters, among all demographics, made their preference clear, said local political leaders in both parties, blaming the Biden/Harris administration for an economy that saw decades-high inflation. Suffolk GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia said there was a "softening" in majority-Hispanic areas such as Central Islip and Brentwood that Harris still carried. Republicans, he said, appealed to those voters’ more conservative and faith-based values. "Suffolk County is the largest county in the country to have gone for Donald Trump in three successive elections," Garcia said.

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Bridgestone surprised area Club kids and families this past Friday, when they delivered a new passenger van donated to Boys & Girls Club of Shinnecock Nation. The new van will provide Club kids with transportation to and from their Clubhouses and other enrichment activities, addressing one of the biggest hurdles families face and giving more kids and teens access to high-impact, out-of-school programming. The donation is part of the Bridgestone Driving Great Futures initiative, which has raised more than $25 million to help kids and teens gain access to Boys & Girls Clubs resources across the U.S. since 2015.

Boys & Girls Club of Shinnecock Nation is one of 10 Clubs nationwide this year to receive a new passenger van from Bridgestone

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Former U.S. Congressman Lee Zeldin will be appointed to head the Environmental Protection Agency, President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement he posted yesterday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Zeldin has “a very strong legal background” and “has been a true fighter for America First policies,” Trump said in the statement. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the success of Trump’s environmental agenda now rests with Zeldin, a native Long Islander and conservative Republican from Shirley who represented the First Congressional District from 2015 to 2023. Environmental groups like the League of Conservation Voters gave Zeldin poor marks for an “anti-environment” voting record while in Congress. The organization said Zeldin had the worst record on environmental issues in the New York Congressional delegation.

However, Adrienne Esposito, executive director of not-for-profit Citizens Campaign Fund for the Environment in Farmingdale, praised Zeldin for the work on the environment he has done on Long Island dating back to when he was a state senator.

"The good news is: He lives here. He understands that climate change is real. He understands the value of protecting coastal waters, estuaries, the marine environment and drinking water. I know that because I worked with him on all those issues," Esposito told Newsday on Monday.

"The first Trump administration was an environmental nightmare. We're hoping and we need Lee Zeldin to bring perspective and strength to the Trump administration to do the right thing here and protect us," Esposito said. "We're hoping that all the work he's done for his constituents will carry over into the federal policy."

Laura Figueroa Hernandez and Tom Brune report in NEWSDAY that Zeldin, a Shirley, Long Island Republican, announced the appointment on social media yesterday, calling it “an honor."

In a statement to Newsday, Zeldin said: “As a proud Long Islander I am looking forward to serving in President Trump’s cabinet as EPA Administrator. Together, we will restore American energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, lead the world in Artificial Intelligence advancements, and cut through the red tape holding back our workers from greater economic mobility – all while conserving our environment, ensuring clean air and water access, and protecting the health of the American people.”

The appointment was one of several announced by Trump’s presidential transition team on Monday…including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville), the top ranking House Republican in the state of New York. She was named United Nations ambassador.

Zeldin’s appointment comes after years as one of Trump’s most visible backers — he served on Trump’s impeachment defense team, delivered prime-time speeches in support of Trump during the 2020 and 2024 Republican National Conventions and frequently appears on Fox News in support of Trump. Zeldin voted against certifying the 2020 election and challenged the constitutionality of electoral votes from several states.

Zeldin, who previously represented New York’s 1st Congressional District spanning Long Island’s East End, ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022, but his loss by 6.4 percentage points was one of the closest New York gubernatorial races in decades. State Republicans often credited him with helping House Republicans in New York to flip six congressional districts won by President Joe Biden in 2020.