Officers from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency…ICE…swept into Hampton Bays and Westhampton Beach yesterday, setting upon immigrant laborer gathering spots and several local businesses that employ or are frequented by the undocumented and making several arrests as part of the largest local federal immigration sweep since the start of the second Donald Trump administration. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that on Wednesday morning more than a dozen federal officers arrived in a caravan of what appeared to be their personal cars and mustered at the Hampton Bays Fire Department on Montauk Highway, from where they set out in a fleet of unmarked minivans, SUVs and two large white vans that witnesses to some of the apprehensions said were used like paddy wagons. Immigrant rights activists said that at least four people were arrested in Hampton Bays shortly after the officers fanned out from the firehouse. Arrests were made at the Hampton Bays 7-Eleven, outside the Dunkin’ Donuts and at a Latino-owned deli on Montauk Highway. The federal agents then quickly moved on to Westhampton Beach, where they stopped at the property adjacent to the 7-Eleven on Mill Rd. The agents were also reported to have visited at least two other businesses in Westhampton and made arrests — though the total number of arrests made is not known. Each of the raids yesterday did quickly draw an audience of angry residents — some who just happened upon the agents, others who were drawn there by calls or alerts on apps set up to track where immigration agents are — who took videos and pictures of the officers, the arrests and the aftermath. Many directed harsh — often obscenity laced — invectives toward the officers.

By about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday the federal agents had dispersed, returned to the Hampton Bays Firehouse and retrieved their vehicles and departed.

Minerva Perez said about 40 vehicles were parked at the Hampton Bays firehouse Wednesday morning, including vans that detainees were loaded into.

Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan said the town had not been alerted to the federal operation prior to the agents’ arrival and Town Police officers did not participate in any way — though a town officer did respond to the scene of a collision in Westhampton involving an ICE agent to conduct an accident investigation. A Southampton Town officer and detective were seen by witnesses at the scene for nearly an hour.

***

Despite bipartisan support to pass a measure extending the length of terms for Suffolk County legislators, pushback has already emerged from Democratic Party leaders, including possible litigation to overturn the voter-approved referendum. Suffolk’s Democratic Party Committee Chairman Rich Schaffer told Newsday Tuesday night he believes the referendum will “be found unconstitutional,” forcing lawmakers to run again in 2026.

The proposition received just over 57% approval, according to unofficial results yesterday from the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that voter approval of the referendum allows the legislators elected Tuesday to serve a four-year term. Those who take office Jan. 1 would run for reelection in 2028, however, due to the state shifting local elections to even years. Lawmakers said even-year election was the driving force behind the referendum to avoid three elections in four years.

Jesse Garcia, chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, said he believes the measure will stand up to a legal challenge.

He said the legislation to present the referendum to voters was approved in a bipartisan vote.

Republicans introduced legislation called the Term Limit Preservation Act in June. Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine signed the measure into law this past July.

Several experts Newsday interviewed recently questioned the legality of the measure...

Some results from east end elections yesterday include the race for south fork Suffolk County Legislator, 2nd District, where incumbent Democrat Ann E. Welker won reelection with nearly 70 percent of the votes.

In Southampton, Democratic Town Board candidate Tom Neely was the top vote-getter, followed by incumbent Republican Cyndi McNamara, in the three-way race for two seats. Incumbent Councilman Rick Martel will not return to the board. Democratic Town Supervisor Maria Moore was reelected, running unopposed. Overall turnout for the vote was low, with fewer than 12,000 voters casting ballots during early voting, with mail-in absentee ballots and at the polls on Tuesday. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that in the most stunning results of the night, all five Democratic candidates for the Southampton Town Trustees cruised to easy victories over the five Republican candidates, unseating veteran incumbents Edward Warner Jr. and Scott Horowitz and Trustee Chip Maran. Warner Jr. is the longest serving member of the board, elected in 2005 to succeeded his father, who served as a Town Trustee for more than 30 years.

In East Hampton, Democratic Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez won, running unopposed, along with her town board running mates Ian Calder-Piedmonte and Cate Rogers. The 4 Trustee seats in East Hampton Town were also won by Democrats.

On the north fork in the Suffolk County Legislator race in the First Legislative District, Democrat Greg Doroski won an upset victory over Republican incumbent Catherine Stark, 52.09% to 47.88%, 11,219 votes to 10,311votes, according to the unofficial results.

Incumbent Southold Town Councilman Brian Mealy has been declared a winner by NEWSDAY.

***

Suffolk County voters approved a referendum yesterday to extend the length of terms for county legislators from two to four years in a rebuke to the state shifting local elections to even years. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that winners in the Suffolk races will serve a truncated three-year term and can run for reelection in 2028. If the referendum, Proposition 2, had failed, they would have had to run again in 2026, essentially restarting the campaign shortly after being sworn into office in January.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine signed the Term Limit Preservation Act in July after it was passed with bipartisan support through the legislature, allowing the measure to appear on the Election Day ballot.

The proposition also changes the county’s 12-year term limit law to allow a legislator who reaches a 12th year in the middle of a term to be extended. For example, Legis. Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset), who won Tuesday, reaches her 12th year in 2027. Kennedy can continue to serve through 2028.

Republicans, in campaign materials, have urged voters to pass the proposition. Mailers from the Suffolk County GOP Committee said "Vote yes to term limits," although the proposition does not change the current 12-year term limits.

The Suffolk Democratic Party did not mention the proposition in campaign materials, according to campaign manager Keith Davies.

Suffolk Democratic chairman Rich Schaffer said late yesterday that Democrats planned to challenge the legality of the referendum in an effort to invalidate it.

"I believe that it will be found unconstitutional, and that then the races would have to be run again next year," Schaffer said.

***

With all 22 Riverhead election districts reporting, a political newcomer, Democrat Jerry Halpin, a local church pastor, leads incumbent Republican Supervisor Tim Hubbard by a razor thin margin in the race for Riverhead Town supervisor. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Halpin leads Hubbard by just 21 votes out of 7,761 votes cast, 3,891 to 3,870, according to unofficial results published by the Suffolk County Board of Elections early. this...

Today is Election Day 2025. The polls in New York State opened at 6 a.m. They close at 9 p.m.

If you have already voted you cannot legally vote again.

Registered voters must use your assigned polling place today, which you can find online at the NYS Board of Elections website: voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/. This is where you can also check your registration status.

If you have an Early Mail ballot, you cannot vote in person on a machine; you must use an affidavit ballot.

For questions, contact the Suffolk County Board of Elections at (631) 852-4500.

Or visit their website: suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/BOE

Contested elections on the east end include:

Suffolk County Legislator, 1st District

• 1 Seat Open
• Gregory P. Doroski / Democrat – WF
• Incumbent Catherine L. Stark / Republican – Conservative

Suffolk County Legislator, 2nd District

• 1 Seat Open
• Incumbent Ann E. Welker / Democrat – WF
• Raheem Soto / Republican – Conservative

Town Clerk, Town of East Hampton

• 1 Seat Open
• Michael Hansen / Democrat – WF
• Jeffrey A. Miller / Republican

Town of East Hampton, Council Member

• 2 Seats Open
• Incumbent Ian A. Calder-Piedmonte / Democrat - WF
• Incumbent Cathy A. Rogers / Democrat – WF
• James P. Foster / Republican
• Scott W. Smith / Republican

Supervisor, Town of Riverhead

• 1 Seat Open
• Jerome Halpin / Democrat
• Incumbent Timothy C. Hubbard / Republican – Conservative

Council Member, Town of Riverhead

• 2 Seats Open
• Kevin M. Shea / Democrat
• Mark A. Woolley / Democrat
• Incumbent Robert Kern / Republican – Conservative
• Incumbent Kenneth T. Rothwell / Republican - Conservative

Supervisor, Town of Shelter Island

• 1 Seat Open
• Gordon Gooding / Democrat
• Incumbent Amber F. Brach-Williams / Republican – Conservative

Town of Shelter Island, Council Member

• 2 Seats Open
• Elizabeth Hanley / Democrat
• Gregory P. Toner / Democrat
• Thomas M. Cronin / Republican - Conservative
• Incumbent Margaret A. Larsen / Republican – Conservative

Town Clerk, Town of Southampton

• 1 Seat Open
• Mark A. Bernardo / Democrat
• Incumbent
• Sundy A. Schermeyer / Republican – Conservative
• Peter M. Collins / Working Families Party (WFP)

Council Member, Town of Southampton

• 2 Seats Open
• Thomas F. Neely / Democrat
• Incumbent Richard W. Martel / Republican – Conservative
• Incumbent Cynthia M. McNamara / Republican – Conservative
• Ieshia O. Galicia / Working Families Party
• Andrew Smith / Working Families Party

Town Clerk, Town of Southold

• 1 Seat Open
• Abigail C. Field / Democrat – WF
• Incumbent Denis Noncarrow / Republican – Conservative

Superintendent of Highways, Town of Southold

• 1 Seat Open
• Incumbent Daniel J. Goodwin / Democrat – WF
• Greg E. Schlachter / Republican – Conservative

Town Justice (Fishers Island), Town of Southold

• 1 Seat Open
• Katharine P. Stevens / Democrat – WF
• Stephanie K G Hall / Republican – Conservative

Council Member, Town of Southold

• 2 Seats Open
• Incumbent Brian O. Mealy / Democrat – WF
• Alexa N. Suess / Democrat
• Nicholas Planamento / Republican – Conservative
• Christopher M. Talbot / Republican – Conservative

Assessor, Town of Southold

• 2 Seats Open
• Dana M. Forlenza / Democrat – WF
• Leah M....

Amid the Suffolk Board of Elections' plan to no longer provide voting machines for non-county races, school districts and villages are bracing to potentially face thousands of dollars in new expenses, according to school and village officials. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that leaders of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association recently met with BOE commissioners to discuss ways to ease the impact on districts, while the Suffolk County Village Officials Association is preparing a letter to county leaders pushing back on the decision.

The pushback follows an Oct. 7 memo BOE commissioners wrote to clerks of school districts, fire districts, library districts and villages that they would no longer provide voting machines starting Jan. 1 as it transitions to new touch screen voting machines.

Longwood school district Superintendent Lance Lohman, co-chair of the legislative committee for the superintendents association, said he and other leaders met with the BOE commissioners and deputy commissioners Oct. 21 in a "productive" meeting. He said the commissioners were "very receptive" to concerns raised by the superintendents and offered to assist districts through the transition.

He said he understood the reasoning the commissioners explained, saying the BOE is facing "some real challenges," from the time it will take to train staff on the new Suffolk County machines to the burden of the even-year election schedule, which merges local elections with gubernatorial and presidential contests.

The BOE offered districts and villages on a "first come first serve basis" the chance to request some of its 425 used Dominion ImageCast Evolution voting machines. The board set a Nov. 15 deadline before any unclaimed machines would be offered to other counties for sale, according to the memo.

***

A kayaker who went missing Saturday in the waters near Shinnecock Bay with his friend was found dead last night by New York State Police divers, authorities said. Janon Fisher and Alek Lewis report in NEWSDAY that the body of Shane Garcia, 27, who went out on the water with Aaron Montemarano, 25, was recovered by police after a two-day search using drones, ATVs and helicopters, according to Town of Southampton police spokeswoman Det. Sgt. Gina Laferrera.

NYS police and the Southampton Town marine patrol found the two men's kayaks and paddles washed up on shore around Shinnecock East County Park at 12:30 p.m. yesterday, police said.

Montemarano had not been found as of Sunday evening.

"The water search continued until it became too dark," Laferrera said in an email statement last night. "The search efforts for the second missing kayaker will continue early tomorrow morning."

Garcia sent a photo of himself and Montemarano to his girlfriend on Saturday, but when he didn't return that evening, she became alarmed and called police to report him missing, authorities said.

Officers found Garcia’s car in Hampton Bays, at the end of Shinnecock Road and began to search the water.

The two men were paddling near the Ponquogue Bridge when the photo was taken, police said.

Earlier, police said that the men were in a lime green, two-person ocean kayak, but later said two kayaks had been found.

Southampton police marine and patrol units, assisted by a Suffolk police helicopter, searched for the men in and around Shinnecock Bay on Saturday night, Southampton police Sgt. Michael Walsh said. At 6 a.m. Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard also joined the search, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call the Southampton Town police detective division at 631-728-3400 or the town police TIPS hotline at 631-728-3454. Information can also be sent to police by email, to crimetips@southamptontownny.gov .Southampton police asked anyone who may have information about the remaining missing kayaker to contact...

This week, New York and two dozen states sued the Trump administration over its plan to stop funding SNAP during the shutdown effective tomorrow. Governor Kathy Hochul said New York would use $106 million in state funds for emergency food assistance for food banks and meal programs. Hochul appeared at a Harlem food pantry yesterday declaring that the looming suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a moral crisis for the country. If the government shutdown is not resolved by tomorrow, as many as 3 million New Yorkers and 160,000 Long Islanders will be among 42 million Americans at risk of missing the benefits, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced.

Declaring a “food emergency," Hochul said no state can “backfill" to make up for federal dollars put into the program, which she said was about $650 million monthly in New York. But she said $106 million from state coffers will be dedicated for emergency food assistance in the state. That would provide over 56 million meals to stock food pantries and distribution centers, she said.

In Washington, D.C., New York's Democratic senators — Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand — attacked President Donald Trump for not allowing nearly $5 billion in emergency contingency funds previously designated for the food assistance program to be used during the shutdown.

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was accompanied by five New York House Republicans — including Long Island’s Andrew Garbarino and Nick LaLota — at a simultaneous second event at the U.S. Capitol. He called on Schumer and Senate Democrats to avoid the food-funding interruption by simply helping Senate Republicans advance a House-passed bill to reopen government.

The GOP news conference was intended to have a New York bent. Johnson opened by accusing Schumer, the Senate minority leader, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — both of Brooklyn — of “desperately” putting their own political survival ahead of the nation by appeasing a Marxist and rising “radical socialist wind” in their own city and state.

***

The battle over the timing of local elections has moved to federal court. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the New York State Republican Committee, joined by three counties and eight Long Island towns — including Riverhead — filed a federal lawsuit yesterday in Central Islip challenging New York’s Even-Year Election Law. Also listed as plaintiffs are the Nassau and Suffolk Republican committees and 16 Republican town and county officials and candidates. The suit marks the latest chapter in a months-long fight over whether the state can move most local elections to even-numbered years — a change Republicans argue erodes home rule. The plaintiffs argue that the law violates the First Amendment and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by suppressing local political speech, increasing racial polarization, and undermining the independence of self-government. The Even Year Election Law, passed by the State Legislature in June 2023, was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul that December. The law aligns most local elections outside of New York City with federal and state elections held in even-numbered years. Democrats who control both chambers of the Legislature and pushed for its adoption say the measure is intended to boost voter participation in local elections. Supporters of the law argue that higher voter turnout in even-numbered years — when state and federal offices are on the ballot — will mean more people voting in local contests than is typical in odd-numbered years, when turnout is a fraction of that seen in even years. Opponents don’t see it that way at all. The measure was vehemently opposed by Republicans, who argued it was an attack on local control in counties outside of New York City, in an effort to influence the outcome of local elections in traditional GOP strongholds....

Long Island's two food banks, which supply hundreds of pantries and soup kitchens for the region's indigent, are ramping up efforts as a nearly month-long government shutdown is set to cut off a critical federal food assistance program this coming Saturday. Olivia Winslow reports in NEWSDAY that about 78,939 Suffolk County households, or 124,604 individuals, according to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits as of July.

Without SNAP, many of them are expected to turn to Long Island's food pantries. Officials say they will be trying to meet the need.

"If people are hurting they can come to us, or they can come to our network [of food pantries]. We’re happy to help," said Michael Haynes, vice president of government relations, advocacy and social policy at Long Island Cares / The Harry Chapin Food Bank, based in Hauppauge. "We have the food ... We’re here to help and we know what we've got to do." But the need may be too great amid the shutdown.

"For every meal that the food bank provides a community, SNAP can provide nine," Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest, Long Island's other major food bank, said. "We can’t compete with that — with food or with dollars. That’s the government's promise to people who are struggling. We’re just asking the government to support that promise."

Island Harvest, based in Melville, is looking to increase its supply to distribute to about 300 member agencies that help vulnerable Long Islanders.

This year, the food bank has distributed "well over" 21.5 million pounds of food across Long Island, said Shubin Dresner.

Long Island Cares supplies 366 member agencies, an assortment of food pantries run by religious groups, veterans service agencies, child care programs and shelters, Haynes said.

It operates six food pantries stretching from Valley Stream to Hampton Bays, and distributes more than 1 million pounds of food each month according to Haynes. He said Feeding America and U.S. Department of Agricultural data indicate an estimated 313,000 Long Islanders are food insecure.

***

Two days before what could be one of the most pivotal days in the history of the WNBA, the league’s most pivotal player was on Long Island yesterday speaking at the bi-annual luncheon of the Long Island Association. Barbara Barker reports in NEWSDAY that Caitlin Clark is the most recent heavy hitter to be featured at the fundraiser for Long Island’s leading business organization. Past speakers have included former presidents and vice presidents of the United States and famous male professional athletes.

Clark, 23, is the youngest guest speaker ever at the event.

Appropriately enough for a big time business gathering since Clark is the first women’s basketball player to figure out how to make superstar money. This was underscored by the fact that she made more for her 30-minute appearance yesterday than her $78,066 she earned playing for the Indiana Fever this season. It has been widely reported that Clark charges $100,000 for a 30-minute zoom appearance and it can be assumed the figure is higher for an in-person event. The WNBA star spoke just two days before the players’ collective bargaining agreement is set to expire. Clark, who made $11 million last year in endorsements, has repeatedly supported her fellow players in their bid for better pay. According to Forbes, the franchise evaluation of the Fever has increased from $90 million before Clark was drafted two years ago to $370 million this season. Clark was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. Her exciting style of play has inspired younger athletes around the world, including some local girls who were in attendance Wednesday. Clark told them, “Just enjoy it. It goes so fast...I’m only 23 but I feel I was just in high...

As temperatures dip, Long Islanders who rely on assistance programs to help them meet rising costs to heat their homes are finding one critical federal source frozen out: the Home Energy Assistance Program.

The federal shutdown has put on hold the annual funding for HEAP, delaying indefinitely the ability of those most in need to apply for and receive bill assistance to heat their homes. Sign- ups for the program normally takes place Nov. 3. Last year, about 70,000 Long Islanders received $19 million from the program

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that New York State received $287 million last year to fund HEAP, and the average benefit was just under $1,000 per home per season, the state said. The funding is aimed at the young, the elderly and those with low or moderate incomes.

Last week, the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, notified social services agencies across the state that applications for the program were being delayed "until further notice," the agency said. The state isn't able to provide heating assistance "until mid-November at the earliest," a spokeswoman noted.

PSEG in a statement said delays in opening of HEAP "will impact many Long Islanders during a time when they may need assistance the most." The utility will hold community information sessions at three locations across the service territory starting next week to offer help.

PSEG’s information session in Suffolk County next week can be attended on Monday; November 3 from 1:00 p.m. — 5:30 p.m., Stop and Shop Parking Lot, 999 Montauk Highway, Shirley.

***

Project Most no longer plans to demolish the historic Neighborhood House to make way for a new community learning center. Project Most runs after-school and summer programs for children in East Hampton, including the Montauk Child Care Center. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that originally submitted in 2023, Project Most’s previous pitch was to tear down Neighborhood House on Meadow Way in East Hampton, which had been a community center of its own in the past, to build a new 7,623-square-foot two-story structure. It would have classrooms and a commercial kitchen on the first floor, and a caretaker’s apartment and additional classrooms on the second floor. The 4,418-square-foot basement was to be used for storage and as a multi-purpose space for athletics. But neighbors panned the idea, citing the building’s historic nature — it dates back to the 1800s — and its place within the historic Freetown neighborhood in East Hampton, which was settled in the 19th century by free people of African and Native American descent. Now, a year after the plans for Neighborhood House were last discussed, Project Most has returned with a revised plan. The most significant change is that it no longer plans to demolish Neighborhood House. Project Most is looking to undertake substantial renovations, while constructing an addition in the rear of the building. Neighborhood House first went up in the 1880s as a community center and hospital. This newest proposal calls for a 2,284-square-foot addition to the existing 4,232-square-foot first floor. The 1,096-square-foot second floor would balloon to 2,663 square feet total. The basement would measure 6,591 square feet. Project Most is capped at 75 students on the premises at a time, and it plans to staff the building with 15 employees. Once the new facility is constructed, Project Most plans to keep its existing programs at Springs School and John Marshall Elementary. The East Hampton Town Planning Board deemed the revised site plan appropriate and plans to send the project over to the Town Architectural Review Board, which will look at the historic sensitivity in its analysis.

***

The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) is calling on the creativity of local young artists with the launch of its 2025 Holiday Card Contest. Open to all students in

A lawsuit filed yesterday on behalf of four New Yorkers charges that the state’s congressional map unconstitutionally dilutes Black and Latino votes in a district that covers Staten Island and part of southern Brooklyn, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by The New York Times.

The case marked New York’s official entrance into the national gerrymandering arms race. Rewriting the state’s existing congressional districts represents one of Democrats’ best hopes of improving their chances in the 2026 midterm elections.

Filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, the lawsuit argues that the lines for the 11th Congressional District unfairly disenfranchise Black and Latino residents. The district is represented by Representative Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican member of Congress in New York City.

The combined Black and Latino population on Staten Island has grown from 11 percent to 30 percent over the past 40 years, the suit notes, arguing that the current boundaries “confine Staten Island’s growing Black and Latino communities in a district where they are routinely and systematically unable to influence elections.”

Ms. Malliotakis decried the case, calling it “a frivolous lawsuit trying to upend our congressional district.”

This lawsuit was filed by Elias Law Group, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that has handled much of the party’s redistricting litigation.

Grace Ashford and Nick Corasaniti report in THE NY TIMES that filing a lawsuit is a far less certain path to redistricting than having a partisan legislature simply draw new maps and pass them into law, which is what Texas did earlier this year. But New York placed its redistricting process in the hands of an independent commission years ago, in hopes of insulating it from partisan politics.

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, the official head of the state Democratic Party, pledged to “fight fire with fire,” saying: “If they’re going to rig the system, I refuse to sit on the sidelines and let our democracy further erode any more than it already has under the Trump administration.”

But Democrats may face an uphill battle convincing a judge that the current lines are unacceptable: It was just last year that they drew and approved the map, which Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, himself blessed as a modest but meaningful improvement over the previous lines.

***

National Grid is more than doubling the capacity of a compressed natural gas facility in Riverhead, with ongoing construction work preparing to make it capable of injecting up to 24 tanker trucks of gas into the system at a time. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the project, approved by the Town of Riverhead and Suffolk County, is part of National Grid’s state-sanctioned plan to improve gas capacity across the region on the coldest, most heavily used days of the year, the company said.

The 5.3-acre site, which abuts a retail building-supply yard and sits across from the Riverhead Post Office and along a Long Island Rail Road line, is listed in Suffolk maps as zoned for a gas regulation station.

The facility, which since 2019 has had the capacity to inject compressed gas from 11 trucks into the system at the plant at 8 Mill Rd., will more than double that with capacity for up to 24 trailers, to help meet demand, the company said in response to Newsday questions.

The ongoing work involves the removal of two legacy buildings at the site and underground cesspools, National Grid said, explaining that the work "represents an expansion to enhance reliability for customers on the East End of Long Island." The work also includes construction of a new maintenance and control building, according to a company website about the work.

Compressed gas at the site is stored within the compressed natural gas trailers, which are "brought to the site as needed, typically during...