August 25th, 2023 - Town of Riverhead Files Lawsuit To Recover Title For Vail-Leavitt Music Hall

Gov. Kathy Hochul said yesterday the state would not force counties outside of New York City to accept migrants, essentially throwing cold water on Mayor Eric Adams’ request that she order communities on Long Island and elsewhere to provide shelter. Yancey Roy and Matthew Chayes report on Newsday.com that earlier Thursday, Newsday reported the Adams administration filed a letter in relation to a court proceeding, saying Hochul should issue an executive order to “preempt attempts by certain localities to stymie the city’s efforts to place new arrivals in accommodations outside the city." Further, the Adams administration suggested specific state-run facilities for sheltering, including Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base on Moen Street in Westhampton Beach; Pilgrim Psychiatric Center on Crooked Hill Road in Brentwood; and the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center in Nissequogue River State Park. Hochul didn’t address Adams’ request specifically, but she said a 1981 consent decree that established a right-to-shelter mandate in New York City cannot be imposed on New York’s 57 other counties. “Which is one of the reasons we cannot, and will not, force other parts of our state to shelter migrants. Nor are we going to be asking these migrants to move to other parts of the state against their will,” the governor said in a briefing at the state Capitol. Instead, the state will seek, as it has done previously, to work with communities outside the city that are open to receive migrants. “That said, I do believe we have a moral imperative to help these new arrivals,” the governor said. “I’m grateful to the counties that have welcomed and supported the migrants, and we’ll continue to partner with them. But…there does not appear to be a solution to this federal problem any time soon.”***The President’s Council of Suffolk County Officials voted Wednesday night to ratify a new contract between Section XI, the governing body of scholastic sports in Suffolk County, and its referees for the upcoming season. Gregg Sarra reports on Newsday.com that the three-year agreement between the officials and Section XI will call for incremental raises of $3 per game in the first year and $5 per game in the second and third years for all sports. Tom Combs, the executive director of Section XI, said he was satisfied that there is an agreement but disappointed that it took such a long time. “We can finally get to work on our schedules, which begin Monday,” Combs said. “It’s good that we’re going to have officials and it’s not going to affect the student-athletes. That was our main concern. We did not want to delay or jeopardize the fall season in any way." The Suffolk high school season opens with non-league games in boys and girls volleyball, boys and girls soccer, and field hockey on Monday. The cost for officials in 2022-23 was $3.3 million in Suffolk and that number will grow to approximately $3.6 million for the 2023-24 school year. Combs has said that more than 1,300 officials work in Suffolk through the school year. Under the previous contract, referees and umpires for varsity baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse and gymnastics made $131 per event last season. Varsity football officials made $134 per game, and varsity wrestling referees were paid $139 last season. ***The Town of Riverhead has filed a lawsuit to recover title to the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall property. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the town’s summons and complaint was filed Aug. 2 in Suffolk County Supreme Court seeking a court order granting title to the town under a “reverter clause” in