Friday, May 18, 2012
Looser restrictions mean more and bigger fish for anglers.
Ask the average fisherman and he’ll tell you that the less restriction on fishing the better. More fish, bigger fish and a longer season means more fun out on the water. Just this month, the New York State Department of Conservation loosened restrictions on fluke, porgy and black sea bass, meaning that the agency thinks the populations of those species are healthy and plentiful. “These regulation changes reflect improvements to populations of scup [porgy], black sea bass and summer flounder [fluke],” said Kathy Moser, DEC Assistant Commissioner for Natural Resources, in a statement announcing the expansion. Moser pointed to porgy – a popular game fish among kids and adults – as being particularly robust. Fishermen and bait and tackle shop …
Monday, May 14, 2012
Living on an Island, it’s hard not to find fresh seafood. But what local spot has you hooked?
It’s one of the joys of living on Long Island, the abundance of fresh seafood and the sheer number of places where the local oysters are shucked and slurped by the dozen, where bright red lobsters drip with drawn butter and fillets of fish from fluke to tuna come baked, broiled or fried. So this week let’s find out what local seafood restaurant has you hook, line and sinker. Readers’ Choice is a new weekly feature where we ask you – our readers – to tell us your top picks on the businesses and local attractions that get your loyalty. Each Monday we’ll list our nominees recommendations. Did we leave your go-to spot off the list? Go ahead and add it in comments. On Friday we’ll tabulate all of the poll votes, comments, recent directory …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Councilwoman Jane Bonner introduces resolution to withdraw the fees, but the town board votes it down.
The Town of Brookhaven on Tuesday upheld the beach and marina parking fees established about a month ago, despite an attempt by one town council member to comb through the town budget to find savings that would offset the cost of repealing the fee. The Town Board voted 3-4 against rolling back the fee, with council members Jane Bonner, Tim Mazzei, and Dan Panico voting in the minority. By working with various town officials, Bonner said she was able to find $625,000 in offsets within the town budget to withdraw the fee without sacrificing overtime costs budgeted for town operations. Her plan included eliminating three positions that are currently vacant due to the town's hiring freeze. She called it "painless ways to come up with the cuts …
Monday, April 30, 2012
How did you do on our town code quiz? Find the answers here.
Last week, we posted a quiz testing our readers' knowledge of Brookhaven's town code. Here are the answers. “No person shall run or operate any boat engine for the purpose of charging batteries, running auxiliary equipment or testing between the hours of ___ and ___ ” “Unattended, such machines constitute a threat to the safety and welfare of the community.” Which machine? “No residential or nonresidential luminaires shall be taller than ____ feet from the natural grade to the lowest light-emitting part of the fixture.” Maximum fine for feeding waterfowl or pigeons: True or False: Town board members may issue summonses. “A ‘noise disturbance from a barking dog’ shall be defined as that created by a dog barking continuously or …
Friday, April 27, 2012
Town council seeks more public comment on the new version of the plan.
Members of the community will have the chance to publicly comment on the newest iteration of the Carmans River Protection Plan, after the Brookhaven Town Board passed a resolution that set two public meetings on the issue. The meetings will be held at Town Hall on May 30 at 6 p.m. and June 2 at 1 p.m. with the goal of soliciting community input – a key component that the original plan lacked, according to First District councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld. "They had these meetings but they had them called 'the Carmans River protection plan' and only had them at Town Hall," Fiore-Rosenfeld told The Village Times Herald in a recent interview. "How many people from Three Village are going to show up to a meeting for a river they've never heard …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Public hearing extended 10 days after opposition to new legislation.
At Tuesday's Broohaven Town Board meeting, the public hearing period for new legislation that would ban the planting of bamboo and regulate existing bamboo by extended by 10 days. According to a report in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers, Councilwoman Kathy Walsh, R-Centereach, introduced the bill. If passed, bamboo planting by any resident or corporation in the Town of Brookhaven would be banned. Also, owners of pre-existing bamboo must "confine such species to prevent the encroachment, spread, invasion or intrusion" to any neighboring property. The proposed law would set fines of $500 to $2,000 for violations. Those with bamboo would have 15 days to confine it. Second offenders face a fine between $1,000 and $3,000 with a maximum …
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Councilwoman Bonner is working on a resolution that would repeal the beach and marina parking fees, but needs more time to do so.
The Brookhaven Town Board on Tuesday tabled a discussion of the new parking fee it recently enacted for town beaches and marinas, voting unanimously to postpone the resolution until the next board meeting on May 8. Councilwoman Jane Bonner originally intended to present a resolution that would repeal the resident fee for beach and marina parking, originally established the first week in April. Bonner said she is working with town agencies to find $625,000 in budget savings that would allow the town board to consider repealing the parking fees; for instance, she said, the parks commissioner gave up $25,000 in overtime allowances to make up part of the difference. However, Bonner said, they remain $175,000 away from their goal. Additionally…
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Temporary closure, announced on Monday, follows heavy rainfall on Sunday.
Due to extreme stormwater runoff during Sunday's rains, the Department of Environmental Conservation announced on Monday that shellfish harvesting is temporarily closed in Mt. Sinai Harbor. Shellfishing is prohibited through April 30, DEC officials said. According to a DEC statement, "Extraordinary volumes of stormwater runoff carry bacteria and viruses into the creeks, coves, harbors and bays and may cause shellfish in the affected areas to be hazardous for use as food." In addition to Mt. Sinai Harbor, over a dozen other locations across Long Island were shut down by the regulatory agency. Rainfall exceeding three inches was measured in all of the affected areas, according to the DEC. Individuals can call 631-444-0480 to hear a recorded …
Tuesday marks the presidential primary in New York State, but we're more curious about the upcoming Congressional election. Who do you pick?
Though Tuesday marks New York State's presidential primary day, we're looking ahead two months as it appears quite clear the Republican nomination appears locked up. On June 26, local Republican voters will hit the polls to choose their nominee in the 2012 congressional race. While one candidate - Randy Altschuler, who lost by a slim margin to incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop in 2010 - has party support, he will still face opposition from George Demos. Both ran in a three-way primary for the GOP nod in 2010, as Altschuler won with 45 percent of the vote and Demos finished second, earning 30 percent. Altschuler has also earned the endorsement of the Conservative Party and unlike two years ago, the Independence Party endorsement. We're …
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Residents of other townships on Long Island have already been paying for parking.
While many residents are upset by the parking permit fee they'll have to pay starting in May to visit Brookhaven's beaches and marinas, the town's move is not without precedent. At least six other townships on Long Island have already been charging for beach access parking, including resident access. The Town of Brookhaven announced earlier this month that for the first time it would start charging residents a $25 fee for a two-year parking permit to park at town beaches and marinas with manned entrance booths. According to a town spokesman, the money will go into Brookhaven Town's general fund. The anticipated revenue is around $625,000 for the season. Brendan J. O'Reilly, Erica Jackson, and Joseph Pinciaro contributed to this story.
nanci huner
4:09 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
Great article. Good information.... Will follow the story more ›