Sen. Gillibrand harshly criticizes proposed cuts that would harm clean water initiatives

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was on the east end yesterday to harshly criticize the proposed $8 million in funding cuts in President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget for the National Estuary Program, which supports clean water initiatives, including those on Long Island.

Deborah S. Morris reports in NEWSDAY that Senator Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) announced she helped write a bipartisan letter to her colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee in May, seeking $50 million — $10 million more than the 2025 operating plan — for the program, including $1 million for each National Estuary Program site and $4 million for a competitive grant program. Gillibrand said the letter offers detailed information on the program and potential negative impact of a funding cut.

“A lot of the spending cuts by this administration up until now have been almost blind spending cuts, just cutting everything in half,” she said. “There’s no analytical rigor to any of their decisions.”

The National Estuary Program is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect and promote 28 nationally significant estuaries in the United States. The Peconic Estuary and Long Island Sound are included in the program, organizers said.

A 736-page document released by the EPA last month, titled "Justification of Appropriation Estimates for the Committee on Appropriations" and provided to Newsday by Gillibrand's office, shows Trump cutting the program's funding to $32 million for 2026.

The program is a vital resource for its participants to maintain clean water and protect it from environmental threats such as “excess nitrogen pollution, pathogens, and harmful algal blooms,” Gillibrand said.

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A key public hearing for the town square project will take place this evening at 6 p.m. in Riverhead Town Hall, where the Riverhead Town Board will hear testimony to determine whether the town square designated master developer is a “qualified and eligible sponsor” to fulfill the requirements of state law. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that a company owned by Joe Petrocelli, who has successfully restored and/or developed various downtown properties, including the Long Island Aquarium, Hyatt Place East End, the East Lawn building, the Preston House and Howell House, was designated by the Town Board as the master developer for the Riverhead Town Square in April 2022.

Since then, the Town of Riverhead has worked on additional designs and plans for the town square project and has negotiated a master development agreement with Petrocelli and is now ready to move forward with the sale of town-owned property, including the building at 127 East Main Street to Petrocelli for redevelopment, and with the buildout of other features of the town square project that are to be undertaken or managed by Petrocelli.

The agreement contemplates Petrocelli’s construction of a five-story mixed-use hotel/condominium building with up to 76 hotel rooms, 12 condominium units, ground-floor retail and restaurant space and 12 underground parking stalls.

The town also plans to enter into a consulting agreement with Petrocelli’s company to perform the services of construction manager for other Riverhead Town Square features, including an amphitheater, a playground, a public gathering space, walkways etc. for a fee of 7% of the total project cost for construction.

That public hearing is this evening at 6 p.m. in Riverhead Town Hall.

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Six recent graduates from four local high schools have been selected for an intensive training program through the Construction Career Charitable Fund (CCCF) — an East End initiative that supports students pursuing careers in the skilled trades over traditional college pathways.

The 2025 CCCF cohort includes Brandon Morales, Matthew Criollo, Edwin Ochoa Castro, Jorge Esteves, Davon Palmore, and Kalea Robinson....