Gov. Hochul and NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation announce statewide burn ban

A NYS Supreme Court justice ordered a marijuana dispensary in Southampton to temporarily shut down Friday for operating without town approvals. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the Town of Southampton sought an injunction to halt Charlie Fox cannabis dispensary from operating on the north side of County Road 39 adjacent to the Tuckahoe School playground. The dispensary, which has a state license to sell marijuana, opened Sept. 16 despite a lack of town permits and approvals.

Town code enforcement issued a cease-and-desist order once the business opened, according to court records.

"Since [Charlie Fox] continued to open, we felt that we had to bring the application for the restraining order to have him close until he gets his approvals," Southampton Town Attorney James Burke told Newsday this weekend. "We had to treat them like any other business. Forget about the cannabis issue — any kind of retail business, you can't just open without any town approvals," he said.

Court records show the business was cited for not having site plan approval, no building permit for interior alterations, no updated certificate of occupancy and other violations. The property was previously used as a car service and repair business.

Justice Paul Hensley signed the temporary restraining order on Oct. 3 barring Charlie Fox from "the use and occupancy" of the site until at least Oct. 15, when both parties are due back in court.

Charlie Fox co-founder James Mallios confirmed Saturday that the dispensary is closed.

"That's sort of the temporary legal timeout that we have while the court adjudicates this," he told Newsday.

The court-ordered shutdown is the latest in the dispensary's legal saga Mallios described as "unbelievably frustrating."

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When Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger donned a bathing suit and jumped into the waters of Shinnecock Bay last week to play the “victim” in a simulated rescue drill, he helped bring attention to a unit of the Southampton Fire Department that flies under the radar.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the Water Rescue Squad is made up of fire department members who put in the time and energy to undergo the extra training required to assist in water-based search and rescue efforts. The water rescue team, made up of members of all the department companies, assists agencies like the United States Coast Guard and Southampton Town Bay Constables. The water rescue squad has two vital pieces of equipment at its disposal: a 23-foot center-console boat and a quick-deploy 10-foot inflatable boat. The squad also has 14 members who are certified rescue swimmers, and many of them are cross-trained as EMTs with various local agencies, meaning they can provide immediate medical assistance, if necessary, out on the water. The squad’s training also includes ice rescue procedures, and the swimmers are equipped with special gear that allows them to enter icy water for rescues, if necessary. Alfie Callahan is the squad leader, and is assisted by Christopher Gaynor.

The Southampton Fire Department Water Rescue team responds to calls in the general vicinity of the Southampton Fire District, and is funded by taxpayers in the district.

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Governor Kathy Hochul, with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, this past Thursday announced a statewide burn ban in effect due to increased fire risk and continued dry conditions. The ban will be in effect for 14 days from Oct. 2 to Oct. 15 and will be revaluated prior to expiration. New Yorkers can help prevent fires in communities and in the backcountry by complying with the prohibition on most outdoor fires and protect water supplies by continuing to conserve water whenever possible. The statewide burn ban now in effect prohibits the starting of outdoor fires for purposes of brush and debris disposal, as well as all uncontained...