Greenport grapples with downtown vacancies; Hochul announces new restrictions on ICE; and more East End news

Schools should do more to limit technology in the classroom but calls from the nation's second-largest teachers' union to impose sharp new restrictions on computer use — including a ban on screens for the youngest students — go too far, several Long Island educators said this week.The American Federation of Teachers’ president, Randi Weingarten, laid out the union’s proposals in a speech Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The AFT’s 1.8 million members includes about 130,000 New York State United Teachers members in Nassau and Suffolk counties, the union said.Maura McDermott reports in NEWSDAY that the union’s recommendations include an immediate ban on screens, including computer-based assessments, for students in kindergarten through second grade, as well as prohibitions on the use of artificial intelligence in elementary schools and on so-called “social companion” AI chatbots for those under 16. Weingarten cited Jonathan Haidt’s widely discussed book “The Anxious Generation” as an inspiration for the proposals.Students are “drowning in tech,” Weingarten said at the National Press Club. Educators and parents, she said, “cannot manage the tech juggernaut on our own.”The use of technology in the classroom has been a hotly-debated topic around the nation, with some states exploring measures to limit students' use of digital devices or artificial intelligence.Local educators have seen “very positive results” from the state's ban on students’ smart devices in schools, including better behavior and more interactions between students, and restrictions on in-class technology also would be welcome, said Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association“There's studies that show too much screen time is not good for the developing brain, so obviously we would support that,” he said. Plus, he said, “the use of artificial intelligence by students has to be closely monitored” to make sure the technology is being used in ways that are age appropriate.However, Vecchio said it is important for local officials to maintain control over decisions such as which vendors to work with and what policies to implement, “as opposed to a one size fits all mandate.”***By early afternoon on a recent Tuesday, Greenport was bustling. Tourists sauntered between boutiques, friends caught up over coffee at sidewalk tables, music spilled from open doors.But even against a busy backdrop, empty storefronts, "for lease" signs and dim windows are hard to miss as business owners and village officials grapple with a surge of downtown vacancies.Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that as the summer begins, with day trippers trekking from western Long Island and tourists arriving on marina docks, business leaders are launching a plan to fill empty stores, ideally beyond the three-month sprint from Memorial Day to Labor Day.Nearly a dozen storefronts remain vacant, largely concentrated across the waterfront on Front Street. Though there are glimmers of hope as several new shops and restaurants plan summer openings, a publicly funded business district is pushing to bring a burst of new business to the North Fork village.Rich Vandenburgh, the president of the Greenport Business Improvement District, described a “perfect storm” of challenges, including several retiring shopkeepers, coupled with rising rents, seasonal pressures and consumer trends.“We’ll find ways to bridge the gaps and get good quality folks in there, and hopefully have them be there year-round," Vandenburgh said in an interview. “Unfortunately, some of the landlords are looking for rents that are Southampton, East Hampton kind of rents that are just prohibitive."There are several vacancies on Main Street in Greenport, including a former candy store and pizzeria.Among the most prominent vacancies is The Arcade, a longtime general store that closed in 2017. The sprawling landmark, founded in 1928, once sold everything from beach towels and toys to sewing kits and household goods.Today, real estate posters fill the large windows of the 16,600-square-foot building. An online listing asks for a monthly rent of $27,667.Residents are split over the right path forward as a debate brews. One former mayor favors more forceful tactics, such as seizing properties by eminent domain.***This Sunday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton presents acclaimed pianist Olga Vinokur – who will return to the library for an afternoon of classical piano music. She has been praised by the New York Times for her “exquisite performance” and “the strength and consistency of her artistry.” From Great Romantics to American Favorites Sunday’s program will include pieces by Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Gershwin among others. Reservations required.Visit the R.M.L. website at rogersmemorial.librarycalendar.com/event/olga-vinokur-piano-78124That’s this coming Sunday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Rd, Southampton, NY 11968(631) 283-0774***Roughly a week after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced new restrictions on federal immigration agents, including a mask ban, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security made clear it was girding for battle.Grace Ashford and Hamed Aleaziz report in THE NY TIMES that in an internal memo, the department’s general counsel assured agents that they were “not legally required to comply with state and local mask prohibitions while carrying out their official duties.”The memo, dated May 15 and reviewed by The New York Times, added that officers should “freely perform their authorized duties without concern for state interference or fear of prosecution.”The guidance signals that the agency has no intention of cooperating with a wave of legislation across the country that aims to curtail immigration enforcement.New York is the latest to join the fray, enacting legislation that bans masks, allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be sued for constitutional violations, and prohibits agents from searching “sensitive locations” like hospitals and schools without a warrant signed by a judge.“If you are enforcing the law, you should not be hiding from it,” Jen Goodman, a spokeswoman for Governor Hochul, said in response to the news that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, was already preparing to disregard New York’s mask ban. “Any ICE agent who comes to New York and violates our laws will be held accountable.”The state will also prohibit informal and formal arrangements, called 287(g) agreements, between counties and ICE that had allowed the federal agency to use local law enforcement and jails to arrest and detain people suspected of being in the country illegally.In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said it does not comment on leaked materials. But it called mask bans like New York’s “despicable and a flagrant attempt to endanger our officers,” arguing that agents wear face coverings only to protect themselves and that under the Constitution, state and local politicians “do not control federal law enforcement.”“To be crystal clear: We will not abide by unconstitutional bans,” the statement said.The Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, said earlier this month that New York’s legislation would make his agency’s work “more dangerous and less efficient.”“When I lose those 287(g) programs, I lose those jails, that means I’ve got to send more officers into the street to look for more people you released,” he said in an interview with The Washington Examiner.Lawmakers and immigrant advocates say that New York’s legislation, which was included in the state budget formally passed Wednesday evening, does not go far enough. Even though informal agreements between ICE and local law enforcement are prohibited, there is nothing in the law explicitly preventing the police from calling immigration officials after, for instance, a traffic stop involving someone potentially subject to deportation.Governor Hochul, who fought against creating a blanket rule to ban such calls, said yesterday that police officers still should not be calling immigration just because someone is speaking Spanish.“Why would you call ICE in that situation?” she said. “That is not your job.”***More details are emerging about the death of Cesar Albarracin Guncay, a sixth-grade student from the Sag Harbor Union Free School District who died this week following a rafting accident during an annual school trip to the Poconos.Kathryn G. Menu reports on 27east.com that according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a party of five boaters was traveling the Lehigh River in East Penn Township, Pennsylvania. The group was in an inflatable raft as part of a larger guided excursion when the vessel capsized, ejecting everyone on board. Guncay did not immediately resurface, prompting a search and rescue operation that eventually recovered the child. According to the commission, everyone else on the boat was recovered safely. Guncay was one of 74 students on the school trip.A release issued by the Carbon County Coroner’s Office stated that emergency personnel were dispatched to reports of a drowning near mile marker 99 of the D&L Trail along the Lehigh River. The 12-year-old boy had already been removed from the water and was being transported by the Lehigh Fire Department Dive Team to an area known as “Marvin Gardens.”Guncay was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. An autopsy was scheduled for yesterday. An ongoing investigation is being led by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat...