Red flag warning in effect again for Long Island

Long Island Morning Edition

Long Island homeowners living in flood-prone areas can apply for funds from $20 million in state money to reduce the risk of flooding or make their homes more energy efficient. Jonathan LaMantia reports in NEWSDAY that the latest round of the state’s Resilient Retrofits Program will fund projects such as installing flood vents, sump pumps and backflow preventers. The money also could be used to add insulation, electrify heating systems or install energy-efficient appliances, according to an announcement from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Of the $20 million, at least $3 million will be allocated for Long Islanders, with other funds going to regions around the state and some money available without regard to region.

"We are committed to building resilient communities and ensuring more New Yorkers are protected from extreme weather before it occurs," Hochul said in a statement.

Applications are available online at cdli.org/howwecanhelp/nys-resiliency-retrofits-program.

Households with incomes up to 120% of area median income can apply. On Long Island, that cap is $131,200 for single-person households, $149,950 for couples and $187,450 for four-person households, according to standards set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Rising sea levels are expected to pose a growing threat to Long Island’s coastal communities. Sea levels are expected to climb 13 to 25 inches in the next 25 years, according to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. That will coincide with the average flood insurance premium on Long Island nearly doubling within the next five years compared with rates in 2022, according to an earlier Newsday analysis of FEMA data.

Homeowners can apply for up to $50,000. Half the award will be given as a grant with the remainder given as a loan with a 3% annual interest rate.

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The mood was bright at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the East Hampton Historical Society’s new Museum Collections Storage Center at the Mulford Farm in East Hampton last week. Christopher Walsh reports on 27east.com that the Historical Society’s collection includes nearly 20,000 artifacts that are presently stored in several locations, including the Osborn-Jackson House, Clinton Academy and the Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran Studio. Along with serving as a centralized location, the new 5,700-square-foot center will be climate-controlled. The storage center will be built on the site of a 1976 barn that will be demolished. It will resemble that structure, said Steve Long, the Historical Society’s executive director. “Our Campaign for Collections Stewardship was matched by a major capital grant from the New York State Council on the Arts,” Long said. While funding for the new storage center is secured, the East Hampton Historical Society hopes to outfit it with state-of-the-art mobile storage equipment, “which isn’t cheap,” Long said, so the campaign continues. “By getting involved, you will enable us to preserve our cultural heritage for generations to come.”

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Father Michael Vetrano, pastor of Southampton’s Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary delivered the invocation and benediction for this Monday’s Veteran’s Day Ceremony at Agawam Park in Southampton Village.

“Abraham Lincoln, at Gettysburg, at a very crucial time in history, spoke about honoring memory,” stated Father Mike. “President Lincoln said that he could not and no one could make the ground holy any more than the lives of those who were given in service and fought bravely and served so honorably.”

“The healing of any division would be because of that honorable service, and the energy that came from that love of each other and love of the land that possesses the freedom we cherish,” he added. “Help us, out of the gratitude in our own hearts, to honor the memories of those who’ve served so bravely, and who continue to serve and carry forward the inspiration and vision of this United States of America.”

Sacred Hearts Pastor Mike Vetrano speaking of healing through passages from President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address in Southampton on Veterans Day 2024.

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Average residential electric utility bills are projected to increase more than $7 a month next year as LIPA anticipates higher debt-service costs and slightly increased usage by customers in 2025. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the bill increase reflected in the Long Island Power Authority’s proposed $4.336 billion operating budget for 2025 is below the amount that would trigger a rate review by the state, and considerably below this year’s increase of about $20 a month. LIPA and its contractor, PSEG Long Island, have not been subjected to a rate review by the NYS Department of Public Service since 2016, due chiefly to delivery rate increases kept below 2.5%, even as other portions of the bill have seen increases.

LIPA’s 2024 operating budget was $4.19 billion.

In a budget to be presented at a LIPA board meeting today, the utility is proposing average bills of just under $194 a month in 2025, compared with monthly bills this year that totaled an average $186.71. Average usage next year is expected to increase slightly to around 723 kilowatt-hours per month, compared with this year’s 715 kilowatt-hours, an increase that reflects an improved economy and an increase in electric cars and electric heat pumps.

Customers who hold their usage steady next year will see lower average bill increases of around $5.38, LIPA said.

LIPA customers will get the chance to weigh in on the increases during three public hearings scheduled for November, and the LIPA board will vote on the budget at its December meeting.

LIPA is in the process of reviewing bids for management of the grid when PSEG's contract expires at the end of 2025.

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A red flag warning is in effect again today for Long Island and New York City regions, the National Weather Service said in a statement this morning. The warning remains in effect until 6 o’clock tonight. There is no rain in the east end weather forecast for the next week. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that north winds of 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph today combined with relative humidity as low as 25 to 30% mean weather conditions are conducive to the rapid spread of wildfire should a fire ignite. The NWS issues a red flag warning when those conditions exist or are forecasted. Residents are urged to use extreme caution with any potential ignition sources, including smoking materials. The governor has announced a statewide temporary ban on all outdoor burning.

Today’s red flag warning is the seventh issued for the Long Island region since Oct. 25.

Compounding the risk is the long period of unusually dry weather in the region. Since Sept. 1, less than an inch of rain has fallen in Eastern Suffolk, according to data recorded at the National Weather Service in Upton, Long Island. Normal rainfall during that period is close to 10 inches (9.97 in.) according to weather service data.

The exceptionally dry period coincides with the arrival of autumn, when dry fallen leaves carpet the ground, creating a bed of what firefighters call “dry fuels” in the woods.

Several brush fires have erupted in Riverhead in the past week, beginning with a small fire in a thicket of bamboo off Harrison Avenue a week ago, believed to have started by a campfire there.

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The prices of food and drinks in the airports that serve the New York City metro area, already a pet peeve of many travelers, are set to take a sharp upward turn next year.

To cover the rising costs of labor at the three big airports it operates — LaGuardia, Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International — the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has proposed rule changes that would allow restaurants and shops to raise their prices and tack on a 3 percent surcharge.

Together, the changes could result in a 7.5 percent increase in January to prices that have long been the subject of complaints from travelers. Patrick McGeehan reports in THE NY TIMES that the Port Authority said the increases would help the concessions cover the costs of rising wages and better benefits for their employees. The agency, which sets the rules for the businesses that operate inside the airport terminals, has proposed gradual increases in the minimum wage for workers there.

The first wage increase, 75 cents an hour, would come in January, according to the proposal announced yesterday by the agency and the two governors who control it, Kathy Hochul of New York and Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey. Two more raises of 75 cents an hour each would occur in July 2025 and January 2026.

Those would be the first increases by the Port Authority since it raised the base wage for airport workers, in several steps, to $19 in September 2023.

The proposal requires the approval of the agency’s commissioners, all of whom are appointed by the governors of the two states.

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Two members of the Gosman family of Montauk who pleaded guilty in 2021 to a single count each in an illegal fishing conspiracy avoided prison time at their sentencing in federal court yesterday but were ordered to pay more than $247,000 each in restitution.

Both also received two years' probation and a $100 special assessment. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Bryan and Asa Gosman, who manage the Gosman’s wholesale fish business at the company's recently sold Montauk compound, provided "crucial" evidence against their former friend and business partner, commercial fisherman Christopher Winkler, also of Montauk, officials said.

Winkler in October was found guilty of five counts, including criminal conspiracy, mail fraud and obstruction of justice, after a jury trial, and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. He’s expected to report for prison today. The family business, Bob Gosman Co. Inc., also pleaded guilty in the case and agreed to four years' probation and a $50,000 fine, prosecutors said.

Federal District Judge Joan Azrack at the Central Islip sentencing also ordered Winkler to pay restitution of $725,000, to be paid to the New York State Marine Resources account.

Judge Azrack praised both Gosmans for their "critical" cooperation in the Winkler case and for their assistance in "several" other unspecified probes.

Asked if the government's decade-long probe of the commercial fishing business was ongoing, Christopher Hale, a federal prosecutor who brought the case for the Department of Justice, said after the proceeding, "We are always investigating fisheries crimes on the East Coast, including New York."

Sentencing in the case comes as the Gosman’s Dock family business was sold last month. The transaction was mentioned during the court proceedings given that both Gosmans will financially benefit from the $40 million-plus transaction.

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.