Gov. Hochul plans to prevent local police departments from collaborating with ICE

Abandoned office buildings at Grumman Aerospace's former Calverton plant could be redeveloped into an indoor cannabis cultivation facility, but the Central Pine Barrens Commission must first give approvals. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the 20-acre property on the south side of Grumman Boulevard includes three buildings that were built between 1960 and 1988. They have been vacant since Grumman closed the facility, where the U.S. Navy once assembled and tested fighter jets, in 1996.Signature Partners, a Manhattan commercial real estate firm, is the site's new owner. Fenced in by barbed wire, the campus of former office buildings recently sold for $750,000, according to a deed filed with the Suffolk County Clerk's office in early January. The property was previously owned by TJ Enterprises LLC.Signature officials outlined preliminary plans to redevelop the property as an indoor cannabis grow facility during a meeting of the Central Pine Barrens Commission Jan. 21 meeting. The company needs a hardship waiver because the property is in the Central Pine Barrens Core Preservation Area and is considered new development, officials said.Development is not typically allowed in the environmentally sensitive area so as to protect the environment and groundwater, according to the commission's land use plan.In a Jan. 7 letter to the Pine Barrens Commission, the developers said a hardship waiver was unnecessary. The applicant seeks an “adaptive reuse” of existing buildings, rather than an entirely new development, the letter said.“We are not going to change the envelope of any of the buildings,” Signature Partners' CEO, Andrew M. Weiss Jr., said at the meeting. “It’s a restoration type of project.”Under the proposal, the existing buildings would be reused for cannabis cultivation following interior renovations, parking lot resurfacing, landscaping upgrades and improvements to septic systems, fire sprinklers and other utility connections, according to documents filed with the commission. Ten wooded acres would remain untouched, according to a concept presented to the commission. “We will do nothing to injure or impair the existing majestic pine trees,” the letter states.The property is in Riverhead Town’s “Natural Resources Protection” zoning district, which allows agricultural production. Cannabis is considered an agricultural crop under state law.Town site plan approval would also be required, though no official plans have been filed yet.“At this early stage, we are focused on making our application to the Central Pine Barrens Board. Once that is complete, we look forward to working with the Town of Riverhead to ensure that this long abandoned property is restored and can once again become a significant employer and taxpayer,” Weiss said in a statement.Weiss added that they plan to make a formal application to the Central Pine Barrens Commission for a hardship waiver. A public hearing would be held before the commission decides.***New York's gubernatorial front-runners, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, are using well-known political figures as proxies to attack each other, with Hochul linking Blakeman to President Donald Trump and Blakeman associating Hochul with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that this strategy looks to leverage the high negativity ratings of these proxies outside their own parties to energize voter bases, despite the risk that voters may not connect the intended dots. Analysts suggest that while using a bogeyman can be effective, it often results in low-information voting, ultimately disadvantaging voters."Gov. Hochul blasted Bruce Blakeman for putting his loyalty to Donald Trump ahead of New Yorkers" begins a recent Hochul campaign release."Donald Trump saying [Blakeman is] 100% MAGA. Pretty much the kiss of death here in New York," Hochul herself said in a recent television interview.Blakeman, for his part, keeps trying to tie Hochul to Mamdani, the freshly elected democratic socialist mayor. It’s not new: he used Mamdani as a foil in his 2025 reelection campaign for Nassau County executive."When you see what’s going on in the city of New York, they’re basically in turmoil right now with an administration that is antithetical to the values that we have here on Long Island," Blakeman said not long after his reelection in November."These proxies, or foils as I like to call them, are so deeply etched in people’s minds, politically, that there is no danger of confusing someone or not being clear of the criticism you are trying to make," Grant Reeher, a Syracuse University political scientist, said. "Every campaign wants to define their opponent before they can define themselves" to the public. However, even if using a foil works, Reeher said, in the end "the problem is the loser in all this is the voters.""To the degree you are swayed by this approach, you are motivated to vote against someone who isn’t even the person you are voting against," Reeher said. "You [campaigns] are trying to get them to vote in a very low information way."***The Town of Southampton Youth Bureau is offering teens a chance to gain valuable skills and confidence through The Babysitters Club, a free program designed to help participants become responsible, capable, and professional babysitters.Running on Thursdays from February 26 through April 2, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hampton Bays Community Center, the program is open to youth ages 14 to 18. Space is limited to 20 participants, so early registration is encouraged.Throughout the six-week program, teens will learn essential child safety practices, explore the stages of child development, and develop fun, age-appropriate activities for children. The curriculum also includes basic CPR and first aid-training, along with job readiness and leadership skills aimed at building confidence, responsibility, and professionalism.To register, visit southamptontownny.gov/ybactivities or call the Southampton Youth Bureau at 631-702-2425 for more information.***Beneath frozen ground and snow-covered grass, cesspool piping quietly cracks amid the pressure of expansion. Sewer and water lines are under increased stress as the ground shifts, said cesspool professional Salvatore Motta."In many cases, we're forced to bring in excavators just to dig through the frost before any repair can even begin," according to Motta, CEO of Melville-based Quick Drain. "This lack of access is a major reason winter repairs cost so much more."Arielle Dollinger reports in NEWSDAY that amid a stretch of extreme cold, homeowners on Long Island have been confronted with frozen pipes and cesspool backups — realities experts said could impact both home inspections and wallets because of emergency pricing."We're seeing flooded homes and broken lines nonstop with this cold, and a big reason is what's happening underground," Motta said. The winter usually brings more opportunity for various plumbing issues to expose themselves, said Phil DePaul, CEO of Farmingdale-based 1-Tom-Plumber.Plumbers handle hot water heating systems, he said, so winter generally comes with "a certain cadence or flow of weather-related calls." Frozen pipes, through which water is not flowing, often lead to burst or broken pipes, he added. The volume of calls about these issues has been above average of late because of the low temperatures and wind chill, he said. But when a homeowner calls about a frozen pipe, "Truth be told, there's only so much a professional can do when a pipe is actually frozen," DePaul said.Motta estimated a repair that could cost $2,500 in the springtime could cost $3,500 or more in the winter. He attributed this cost increase to frozen ground, longer repair times and additional labor and equipment."The combination of frost-related pipe failures, buried tanks and limited access is why winter plumbing emergencies are not only happening more frequently — but are far more disruptive and expensive for homeowners," Motta said.For this reason, Motta said preventative maintenance and knowing where the cesspool or sewer system is located before temperatures drop and snow falls can have a significant impact.***Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday said that she would push to bar police departments in New York from forming partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the latest in a recent effort by Democratic leaders to limit cooperation with President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Maia Coleman and Grace Ashford report in THE NY TIMES that the proposed legislation, called the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, would ban participation in so-called 287(g) agreements, which allow ICE to deputize local police to enforce civil immigration law. Though police officers in New York City are prohibited from collaborating with federal agents on civil immigration matters under the city’s sanctuary policies, a handful of counties in the state have passed such agreements.Last fall, the federal government announced that ICE would begin reimbursing local agencies that participate in the agreements, including by paying the annual salary and benefits of eligible officers.“We’re sending a strong message to ICE,” Ms. Hochul said during a news conference at her offices in Manhattan on Friday morning. “You will not weaponize local police officers against their own communities in the state of New York.”She was flanked by Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, and an array of district attorneys and other police...