Trump administration steps into ongoing contract issues with MTA and LIRR unions

The Long Island Daily

President Donald Trump has formally stepped into the ongoing contract fight between the MTA and five Long Island Rail Road unions, assigning an “emergency” mediation board to try to resolve the dispute. The White House yesterday published an executive order “establishing an emergency board to investigate disputes between the Long Island Rail Road Company and certain of its employees represented by certain labor organizations.” Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that the move came in response to a request made Monday by five labor organizations representing around half of the LIRR’s 7,000 union workers. The request delayed a potential strike by the unions that could have otherwise begun as early as tomorrow morning..

“Ask and you shall receive,” Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and spokesman for the coalition of LIRR unions involved in the dispute, said in a statement Tuesday. “We are confident that the members of that board will find our coalition’s contract proposals exceedingly reasonable.”

The unions represent several LIRR trades, including locomotive engineers, machinists, ticket clerks, signal workers and electricians. The MTA wants the organizations to accept a three-year contract with 3% raises in the first and second years, and a 3.5% raise in the third year — the same terms accepted by several other MTA unions, including at the LIRR.

But the holdout unions say the 9.5% total wage increase doesn’t keep up with the high cost of living in New York and on Long Island and effectively amounts to a wage cut. Union leaders on Monday said they've accepted the three-year, 9.5% terms, but want a fourth year at a 6.5% raise.

The board will come up with nonbinding recommendations on a resolution to the dispute. As dictated by federal law, the establishment of the board delays a potential work stoppage for 120 days, or through mid-January 2026. A second board could then be empaneled, pushing a strike deadline to mid-May of next year.

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Governments on the North Fork are seeking out the best way to address the preponderance of short-term rentals in the upcoming weeks. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the public will have a chance tomorrow during a Greenport Village Board public hearing at 6 p.m. to address Greenport’s latest proposals regarding short-term rental codes.

Meanwhile, the Southold Town Board is expected to hold a Sept. 30 code committee meeting to discuss changes to its code, which currently sets a minimum stay at 14 days but has proved to be difficult to enforce. A task force last year recommended a permitting process to allow individual people to provide short-term rentals in their homes.

While both Greenport and Southold have long been areas where the housing mix has included seasonal and full-time residents, short-term rental websites that make it easy to pair property owners with renters have led to the commercialization of residential neighborhoods and decreased the stock of long-term housing, according to the town. Southold’s task force found last year that more than 40 short-term rentals listed in Southold are listed by just four property management companies.

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The Riverhead Community Awareness Program (CAP) is seeking community volunteers to teach the Too Good for Drugs Prevention Program to fifth and sixth grade students at Pulaski Street Intermediate School in Riverhead.

Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the volunteers would teach eight monthly presentations at Pulaski Street Intermediate School assisted by peer leaders in grades 8-12, according to a Riverhead CAP press release. The commitment to the program is approximately two hours per month during the 2025-2026 school year, with a flexible training schedule. Both English and Spanish speaking volunteers are needed.

The program is an “evidence-based, skill development program” designed to mitigate the risk factors — and enhance protective factors — related to alcohol, tobacco, and other substance use, according to Riverhead CAP. The lessons help develop skills linked by research to health development and academic success, including “social and emotional skills for setting goals, making healthy choices, building positive friendships, communicating effectively, and resisting peer pressure,” according to CAP.

For more information about becoming a CAP volunteer, or to sign up, please contact Prevention Supervisor Cynthia Redmond at [phone] or [email protected].

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The traffic light that was installed, temporarily, on Hill Street and Halsey Neck Lane in Southampton Village as part of a two-week pilot program…which began September 8…and also included left-turn restrictions off both Captains Neck Lane and Lee Avenue …turned Halsey Neck Lane into a parking lot according to residents there. Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the light was removed less than halfway into the pilot program after public feedback about how it had made the situation worse. Gigi Howard, who lives in a home on Halsey Neck Lane spoke at Southampton Village Hall last Thursday about how their automated driveway gate was constantly opening and closing during rush hour as motorists who had come down the street decided to make U-turns in various driveways and head in a different direction.

The only possible hope for something approaching a solution, Trustee Roy Stevenson explained at the end of the meeting, is the ongoing effort of Southampton Village officials, led by Deputy Mayor Len Zinnanti, in combination with Southampton Town officials, to appeal to the county to reinstate the pilot program from last spring that kept traffic moving on County Road 39.

“Even that isn’t a solution,” Stevenson said. “It will definitely help. But right now, there are just a lot of cars and not enough space, and we’re dealing with it. We are working our butts off, and it’s really frustrating to be working on a problem that is intractable. But we’re doing everything we can.”

The Village of Southampton is paying the traffic engineering firm VHB to collect data on both the north and south sides of Hill Street.

Ryan Winter from VHB said that he should have data from the two-week pilot program, which ends tomorrow evening, available to present at the next work session, set for Tuesday, September 23.

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With the affordable housing crisis in mind, the East Hampton Town Board has reached consensus on a handful of sweeping changes to the way it regulates accessory dwelling units. Next up will be Planning Board comments in advance of a public hearing. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that recently the East Hampton Town Board has settled on accessory dwelling units, or a small, apartment-like structure located on a lot with a larger single-family house, as a key tool in combating the affordable housing crisis. In recent months, ADU policy changes have maintained a frequent place on work session agendas. There is a limit of 40 ADUs allowed in each hamlet, but changing that number is not currently in the East Hampton Town Board’s sights. To reach consensus, the board agreed ADUs could be built on lots as small as 15,000 square feet; the Town Board would allow five vehicles per lot. The changes did not, and do not, call for an income limit for property owners or tenants. East Hampton Town Attorney Jake Turner discussed enforcement of the pitched rules. The rules come with added teeth, he said, including sworn statements of compliance from property owners. The board plans to send the matter to the Planning Board for comments in advance of a public hearing, which will be scheduled at a later date.

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The Shelter Island Friends of Music presents The Rhythm Future Quartet in a free concert this coming Saturday, September 20th at 6 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, 32 North Ferry Road Rte. 114 on Shelter Island.

Rhythm Future Quartet performs a mix of swing era music classics along with original compositions, with hints of classical music, and inspired by Brazilian music and rhythmic grooves from around the world.

The concert is free.

The performance will begin promptly at 6 pm and last for 75-90 minutes.

You are invited to join a reception with the musicians immediately following Saturday evening’s concert!

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The Town of Riverhead will pay the owners of a downtown bar $170,000 to settle an eminent domain proceeding, paving the way for development of a boutique hotel as part of a new town square. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the Riverhead Town Board voted 5-0 last night to approve the agreement with SNR Bar 25 Corp., which has run Craft'D at 127 E. Main St. since 2019. Under the stipulation, the business agrees to vacate the building by Sept. 30 and the town must pay the $170,000 by Oct. 15.

Finalizing the settlement means the town’s master developer, Joe Petrocelli, can demolish the building. In its place, Petrocelli plans a $32 million mixed use building with hotel rooms, penthouse condos, shops and a restaurant.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said yesterday demolition could happen by the end of October.

"By time he gets that cleaned up and his final drawings and everything are done, he'll be ready ... by spring to put shovels in the ground," Hubbard said of the timeline.

Riverhead has owned the bar building since 2021 and began the eminent domain process in April to acquire the remaining years on Craft’D’s lease. A judge granted the town’s eminent domain petition on Aug. 27.

SNR Bar 25 Corp. did not challenge the eminent domain action in court, though its co-owner Sean Kenna had asked the town to reconsider at public meetings earlier this year.

State law allows governments to take private property if they pay the owner "just compensation" and the seizure is for public use.

Riverhead Town's use of eminent domain was unpopular among some residents who believed the taking didn’t constitute a public benefit since the property is being transferred to a private developer.

"The actions of this board have basically destroyed an important, vital community institution," Riverhead resident John McAuliff told the board at yesterday’s meeting, adding that he believes the town will "regret ... this humongous boutique hotel that is going to affect the character of the town square."

It’s unclear if the bar is searching for a new location. The business announced it would close Saturday and hold a "drink the bar dry" party as a last hurrah.

According to a project timeline Petrocelli presented this summer, the hotel is expected to open in June 2027.