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.

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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 since it changes terms for those officials currently on the ballot.

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This coming Saturday, November 8 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, The Bridgehampton Childcare & Recreational Center will present an evening of powerful expression through the rhythm of words and the soul of music featuring an outstanding literary presentation by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and an art exhibition by Black female artists, accompanied by Ludmilla Brazil Trio.

Saturday’s event embodies The Bridgehampton Childcare & Recreational Center goal of offering cultural programming that resonate with and uplift the communities it serves, especially illuminating Black artists and intellectual leaders who can inspire the next generation.

The suggested donation for tickets is $20. The event will take place at The Center, 551 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike starting at 6:30 p.m.

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A federal judge yesterday said he would approve the $9 million settlement between Suffolk County and the mother of Thomas Valva, the 8-year-old Center Moriches boy who died in 2020 of hypothermia after being forced to sleep in his NYPD officer father's garage in subfreezing temperatures after Thomas' mother tearfully appealed to the judge for financial help.

"This situation is really urgent for me and my children," said Justyna Zubko-Valva, who spoke by telephone during the conference in federal court in Brooklyn to finalize the $9 million settlement reached in September. "We really need financial support."

Nicole Fuller reports in NEWSDAY that Zubko-Valva, who lost custody of Thomas and his two brothers two years before Thomas was killed on Jan. 17, 2020, by his NYPD officer father, Thomas Valva, and Valva's then-fiancee, Angela Pollina, told the judge that she doesn't receive any child support and is not working in order to stay home and care for her children, who she said are educated remotely.

The settlement was reached five years after Zubko-Valva filed a $200 million lawsuit against the county, several of its employees, the school district where Thomas attended and Valva and Pollina. She previously rejected a $3 million settlement.

Zubko-Valva's attorney, Thomas Bosworth, of Philadelphia, told Newsday the judge's approval of the settlement was required before payment could be dispersed because it involves minor children as beneficiaries.

"Because the case involves money going to minors, the case requires judicial oversight," Bosworth said.

Zubko-Valva will receive a portion of the settlement directly and another portion will be directed to a trust account for her two sons, said Bosworth, adding he could not specify how much his client would be paid and how much the children would receive.

The lawyers' fee in the case, which Bosworth told the judge is a flat fee of 33%, was also at issue during Wednesday's conference.

Bosworth told the judge that Zubko-Valva's previous attorney, Jon Norinsberg, "intends to assert a lien, which we would oppose."

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The annual Veterans Day ceremony at Calverton National Cemetery has been canceled this year due to the federal government shutdown, the cemetery announced yesterday. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the lapse in federal funding has made the cancellation unavoidable, the cemetery said in a statement posted on social media. “At this juncture, even if the lapse in appropriations ended imminently the cemetery would no longer have the time necessary to prepare the grounds and procure the assets necessary to conduct a proper ceremony,” the cemetery said. Calverton National Cemetery remains open to visitors during daylight hours. Committal services and interments continue at all national cemeteries during the shutdown, as do necessary administrative tasks, including determining eligibility for burial, scheduling burials and processing applications for headstones and markers. For more information visit the national Cemetery Administration page on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.

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In the wake of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral election on Tuesday, Rabbi Marc Schneier of The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach announced plans for the first Jewish day school in Suffolk County. Michelle Trauring reports on 27east.com that set to open in September 2027, the day school is in response to what Schneier anticipates will be thousands of Jewish families “leaving Mamdani’s climate of antisemitism,” he said yesterday, and moving to the East End and elsewhere in Suffolk County. “Every obstacle is an opportunity, and I see the opportunity for tremendous growth,” Rabbi Schneier said, “for tremendous growth in terms of Jewish identity and the Jewish population here in the Hamptons. “I think it’s a very sad day for New York,” he added. Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who will become the first Muslim and person of South Asian descent to be NYC mayor does not support Israel's right to exist as a sovereign Jewish state…often characterizing Israel as an "apartheid state".

“I’ve been very outspoken in opposition to Mamdani’s candidacy,” Schneier said. “His anti-Israel rhetoric and diatribe is steeped in antisemitic tropes. I don’t bifurcate, I don’t distinguish between antisemitism and anti-Zionism. The demonization of the state of Israel and the use of terms like ‘genocide,’ ‘occupation’ and ‘apartheid’ leads to attacks — physical attacks — on Jews.”

The idea for a Jewish day school in Westhampton Beach, to be housed on the grounds of the synagogue, has been floating around for several months, Schneier said. It would have both a general and Judaic studies curriculum, he said, and would be open to students of any and all faiths. “As a matter of law, it has to be open to everybody,” he said. “I don’t know if a non-Jewish family would want their children to participate in religious services, chapel services, Jewish studies, but again, a Jewish day school cannot be discriminatory in any way.” Schneier said he aims to expand the current facilities, but would house the school on the current campus for now.