The Express News Group hosted its latest Express Sessions live event, "Can the Winter Be Brisk for Businesses in East Hampton?" on February 1 at Rowdy Hall in Amagansett with East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, The Anchor Society founder Bess Rattray, Honest Man Restaurant Group owner Mark Smith and Hal Zwick, the director of commercial real estate at Compass Hamptons. Traditionally, merchants in East Hampton Town and its villages make their money in the busy summer season, then have variou...
Feb 06, 2024•43 min
At least two dozen applications for cannabis licenses for retail dispensaries in Southampton Town, mainly along Route 27 and Country Road 39, have been filed with the New York State Office of Cannabis Management. Most of these locations are likely placeholders for applicants who don’t need to have a lease or own a prospective building in order to apply for a license. This week, the editors and reporter Tom Gogola discuss what it all means, what might happen next in the process and how many of th...
Feb 01, 2024•56 min
Brenda Simmons and Dr. Georgette Grier-Key of the Southampton African American Museum and reporter Cailin Riley join the editors on the podcast this week to discuss the Hamptons Civil Rights Back Story audio tour, which includes four “stops,” each with a narrated audio segment, as well as photos, exploring an aspect of Black history in the area. The project is available on the TravelStorys app.
Jan 25, 2024•44 min
A proposed senior center for the Town of East Hampton comes with a $31.6 million price tag, and the Town Board is considering exercising its right to exempt itself from zoning and move the senior center forward without regulatory review. Some skeptics have spoken up recently to urge the town to take a more measured approach, legally and financially, and make sure everything they are proposing is justifiable and done smartly. Reporter Michael Wright joins the editors on the podcast this week to d...
Jan 18, 2024•48 min
Since 1963, a sprawling 84-acre stretch of Shinnecock Hills has had a college presence, first as Southampton College, then, starting in 2006, as the Southampton campus of Stony Brook University. Over the years, some things have stayed the same — the campus is a focal point for marine science and a bastion of the arts — but the vision for its future has varied. Today, Stony Brook has plans to build a new $300 million hospital on the site, which could spark a new era for the campus. In the meantim...
Jan 16, 2024•38 min
Reporter Stephen Kotz joins the editors to discuss the first in a three-part series appearing in Express News Group newspapers looking at the college campus in Shinnecock Hills once known as Southampton College and now known as Stony Brook Southampton.
Jan 11, 2024•40 min
The first offshore wind turbine to power New York State went into service on December 6, and 11 more turbines are slated to be completed soon, bringing the long-aborning South Fork Wind project to fruition. Reporters Michael Wright and Tom Gogola join the editors on the podcast to discuss South Fork Wind and the future of wind power for Long Island.
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 6 min
In this week's edition of 27Speaks, the editors talk about organized retail and car thieves targeting the South Fork, a home being built in Riverhead for Habitat for Humanity using insulated concrete forms, the arrest of a man accused of defacing sites in Montauk with antisemitic graffiti, and Kidd Squid’s new Brew for The Bay Sag Harbor, a limited edition beer that, in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension, will be sold to raise funds and awareness for eelgrass revitalization and oys...
Dec 14, 2023•56 min
The Rolling Stones and Rowdy Hall are on the same page: "I must have it painted black." On this week's 27Speaks podcast, reporter Michael Wright joins the editors to discuss the saga of Rowdy Hall facade at its new Amagansett location. After the East Hampton Town Architectural Review Board refused to approve a black facade, the owners of Rowdy Hall had it painted black anyway and are taking the town to court to defend the move.
Dec 07, 2023•1 hr 9 min
The editors discuss how the Southampton Fire Department made birthday wishes come true for an 11-year-old boy with autism, the public's right under the Freedom of Information Law to access elected officials' writings, a fentanyl-smuggling scheme at the Suffolk County jail in Riverside and two films that will screen at Hamptons Doc Fest — “26.2 to Life” by Christine Yoo about prisoners running a marathon at San Quentin, and “999: The Forgotten Girls of the Holocaust” by Heather Dune Macadam.
Nov 30, 2023•48 min
Maria Moore, the current mayor of Westhampton Beach Village and the supervisor-elect of Southampton Town, joins the editors on 27Speaks to discuss the 2023 election and her plans when she assumes office in January 2024.
Nov 23, 2023•53 min
Sag Harbor Village, with a new mayor at the helm, appears poised to tackle an important planning project, including an update to its zoning code and the potential for the creation of a comprehensive plan, which would serve as a blueprint for the village’s development future. Considering the various pressures the village faces, including a proposal for a new residential and commercial development that could transform the west side of Sag Harbor behind Main Street, continuing concerns about water ...
Nov 21, 2023•39 min
Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, the longtime East Hampton Town councilwoman elected town supervisor on November 7, joins the editors on 27Speaks to discuss her agenda as she prepares to take the helm in January.
Nov 16, 2023•47 min
This week on 27Speaks, the editors each bring a recent news story to the table for discussion: antisemitic graffiti in Montauk and the community's reaction, the ideas that came out of an Express Sessions panel on solving the South Fork's traffic's woes, and the third-quarter market reports for Hamptons real estate.
Nov 09, 2023•52 min
For 14 months straight, Heart of the Hamptons has seen a monthly increase in the number of people coming to the food pantry it operates out of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Roman Catholic Church on Hill Street, and that streak shows no signs of ending, especially as the organization heads into what are typically its busiest months of the year. Executive Director Molly Bishop joins the editors on the podcast this week to discuss the underlying causes of the growth in need and to share how H...
Nov 01, 2023•47 min
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone visited Southampton in late August to announce that the county plans to seek proposals for “innovative traffic solutions” for a seven-mile stretch of County Road 39 from Hampton Bays to Southampton Village. He joined also the Express Sessions conversation on October 26 at Union Sushi & Steak in Southampton, with panel of local and county public officials exploring what those innovations might entail. The addition to Bellone, the guests included Suffolk ...
Oct 30, 2023•44 min
The editors lift the veil on the endorsement process — how the editorial board interviews candidates for village, town, county and higher office then decides the best candidates to endorse.
Oct 26, 2023•42 min
The new issue of The Express Magazine has a special focus on local food by East End growers, producers and chefs. Reporter Cailin Riley joins the editors to discuss the stories appearing in the Harvest issue.
Oct 19, 2023•53 min
There is no easy solution for the South Fork’s affordable housing crisis, which is striking schools, police departments and volunteer emergency corps hardest. A new idea is to use some of those same properties where men and women are employed, or where they volunteer, to build affordable housing and to give them an inside track at a place they can truly call home, in exchange for their employment or volunteering. Sag Harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella floated the idea as a Village Board member to...
Oct 17, 2023•37 min
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney joins the editors and reporter Tom Gogola on the podcast to discuss how his office is confronting crime in Suffolk County, including on the East End.
Oct 12, 2023•53 min
A proposal unveiled in August would transform Lake Agawam in Southampton Village, making it into a destination garden designed by artist and landscape designer Peter Marino. This comes as village officials have worked in recent years to try to reclaim the lake — one of New York State's most polluted water bodies — in part with a major new plan to use an algae skimmer to filter the lake water. Restoring Lake Agawam to its rightful place as a centerpiece attraction of the village is a major undert...
Oct 06, 2023•45 min
In a new series of articles, The Express News Group is highlighting former residents of the South Fork who have gone on to live in interesting places and work in exciting careers. On the 27Speaks podcast this week, the editors and reporters discuss some of the people covered so far and the plans for the series as it continues.
Oct 05, 2023•36 min
The 11th annual SouthamptonFest is this weekend, Friday, September 29, to Sunday, October 1, in Southampton Village, bringing family friendly fun with arts, entertainment, food and more. On this week's podcast, Southampton Village Deputy Mayor Gina Arresta and SouthamptonFest organizer Nancy Kane join the editors to discuss the festivities planned.
Sep 28, 2023•39 min
The U.S. General Services Administration has postponed its planned auction of 14 acres north of Stewart Avenue in Westhampton with 24 duplexes, two single-family units and a workshop to give Southampton Town, a private developer and other partners time to come up with a plan to acquire the property for affordable housing opportunities. However, neighbors south of Stewart Avenue are urging the town not to turn the units into affordable homes and to step aside while the GSA auctions off the surplu...
Sep 21, 2023•54 min
Destructive southern pine beetles have been sweeping through the South Fork for several years, killing pitch pine trees. Standing dead trees are ideal fuel for wildfires, and they may also topple or drop branches onto roads and people. Southern pine beetle management has involved cutting down affected trees and often leaving them in place, but despite these efforts, the infestation continues to spread. To discuss how East Hampton Town is combating southern pine beetles and the risks, reporter Mi...
Sep 14, 2023•37 min
The number of COVID cases has ticked up in recent weeks, just as flu and RSV seasons approach. To discuss what East End residents should be doing to protect themselves and others from communicable diseases this fall and winter, Melody Butler, the director of infection prevention and control at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, joins the editors on the podcast this week.
Sep 07, 2023•56 min
East End Food, a nonprofit that exists to promote local growers and food producers, has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years and expanded its reach. This summer, it introduced the East End Food Passport, and work on the new East End Food Hub in Riverhead, with a commercial kitchen for producers and farmers market stalls for vendors, is underway. Kate Fullam, the executive director of East End Food, joins the editors on 27Speaks this week to discuss the organization's roots and its plans for...
Aug 31, 2023•46 min
On August 10, Water Mill resident Judith Sherman looked through her binoculars at a bird in a distant tree. The bird, an osprey, was in distress and hanging from a branch, its leg tangled in a mass of rope and fishing line. So Sherman called the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays, and before long, wildlife rescue volunteer Missy Hargraves was on the case and ready to help. In this week's podcast, the editors and reporter Tom Gogola talk with Hargraves about the harrowing sce...
Aug 24, 2023•38 min
Each summer, The Express News Group brings interns into the fold to help produce the content that fills the newspapers' pages. As August winds down, we often like to get the perspective of interns and find out what they learned during their time with us, what stories they found most compelling to cover and if journalism might be a field they will pursue in the future. This week, 2023 Arts & Living intern Caitlyn Foley of Westhampton Beach, who will soon start her senior year at Villanova Uni...
Aug 17, 2023•43 min
In recent weeks, developer Adam Potter announced new plans for a 1.4-acre site he owns in Sag Harbor Village, bounded by Rose and Bridge streets. Saying he had learned from criticisms of earlier proposals, Potter’s somewhat scaled-back plan includes retail space, 39 apartments, some of which would be designated as affordable housing, a community center, a performance venue, classrooms and a small park. This week, the editors and reporter Steve Kotz discuss the details of the new proposal and con...
Aug 10, 2023•39 min
