Week in Review: Day Camp Fight Continues; Group for the East End Moves Out

Here is a roundup of the week's local news, including top headlines and some stories you may have missed.

Click on the headlines for more on each story.

Day Camp Opponents Implore Zoning Board to Reopen Pool Decision
Leaders of the Little Fresh Pond Association, a community group fighting a proposed day camp in North Sea, are asking the Southampton Town Zoning Board to Appeals to reopen a December decision to permit a new pool on the property and accusing the developer of misrepresenting and omitting facts.

But Jay Jacobs, the owner of the Majors Path parcel and the operator of a number of day camps, said Friday that he has done everything properly and he is the one being victimized by misrepresentations and, sometimes, outright lies.

Skip Heaney Named Legislative Director of Business Alliance
Patrick "Skip" Heaney, a former Southampton Town supervisor and more recently the commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development & Workforce Housing, now has a new job: legislative director for the Southampton Business Alliance.

The SBA is a not-for-profit that advocates for the business community in Southampton. Heaney was one of the seven co-founders of the alliance 20 years ago, being a business owner himself then. He said Thursday that his new job will be to make sure business owners have a voice on legislation that is up for consideration.

Group for East End Moves Out of Bridgehampton
The Group for the East End moved out of its Bridgehampton office on Dec. 31, 2012, and will now operate exclusively from its Southold location — though the president says the environmental advocacy nonprofit will remain as focused as ever on serving both the South Fork and the North Fork.

“We’re consolidating just for economic purposes," President Bob DeLuca explained Thursday. "Our coverage is still the same.”

Deer Overpopulation Prompts DEC to Expand Hunting Grounds in Hamptons
With deer populations continuing to increase across Suffolk County, including the East End of Long Island, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that it will open a special shotgun season for deer hunting with more areas open to sportsmen.

Aerial Photos: Marine Sciences Building Rises at SoMAS
Construction of Stony Brook Southampton's new wet lab is well underway.

How to Dispose of Your Christmas Tree in Southampton
Jan. 6 marks the Epiphany, the traditional day to take down the Christmas tree, and for those who get a real tree each year, the day also poses the challenge of how to dispose of it.

Southampton Town Ice Rink Won't Open This Year
The rink's liner needs replacing.

Erosion Control Districts Vote Feb. 2 on Beach Renourishment
Property owners in the newly formed Bridgehampton and Sagaponack erosion control districts are set to vote Feb. 2 on a $26.5 million plan to shore up beaches by strategically depositing sand. The hope is that the beach renourishment will protect homes from storm damage and protect Southampton Town's greatest recreational assets — the beaches themselves.

Backhoes and bulldozers were put to work in December around Sagaponack to put beaches back together following Superstorm Sandy.

Still exposed weeks after Superstorm Sandy and a subsequent nor'easter struck the East End, a rusty steel bulkhead sticks out more than 9 feet high out of the ground in Water Mill.

The bulkhead is at the easterly end of Flying Point Road, near the Mecox Cut and The Water Mill Beach Club. Southampton Town Trustee Fred Havemeyer said the bulkhead is typically covered to within 4 or 5 feet of the top, but the storms in October and November changed that.

Aerial Photos: The Old Boathouse Lies in Ruins
Southampton Village lost an unofficial landmark on Meadow Lane's bayside when Superstorm Sandy hit.

Ex-Con Given Probation After Fleeing From Cops Drunk
Kyle Soukup — who served time for manslaughter — was given five years probation, time served and a year without a license after pleading guilty to felony charges.

Crimes Nearby: Driver Arrested in Fatal Hit-and-Run in Riverhead
Also: Suffolk County SPCA charges woman who allegedly abused two pit bull puppies.

Village Police Log: Parolee Leads Cops on High Speed Chase
Also among recent arrests in Southampton Village, an East Hampton woman charged with assault and a Southampton man accused of shoplifting.

Among many more burglaries, $8,000 worth of jewelry taken in Sag Harbor and $5,000 worth of copper pipe stolen at a Quiogue home.

Town Police Log: Sag Harbor Man Charged After Trespass
Also among the week's arrest reports, a King Kullen in Bridgehampton faces shoplifters.

Village Police Log: More Arrests Made in Main Street Brawl
Two Mastic Beach teens arrested following mass fight in November. Also this week, man charged with throwing a bicycle at a car.

Southampton Hospital's First Baby of the Year: Yael Abreul
Yael was born Jan. 1 at 6:06 p.m.

VIDEO: Tour Parrish Art Museum in 60 Seconds
If you haven't had the time to head to Water Mill to see the new Parrish Art Museum, here is your chance for a quick look.

7 Buildings Empty in Southampton
A look at some of the vacant properties Southampton Patch reported on in 2012.

Mysterious Black Cloud Spotted off Old Town Beach
A dense black cloud with no obvious source was seen over the Atlantic Ocean Thursday, and the birdwatcher who spotted it is seeking answers.

Poll: Should Police Firing Range Be Closed on School Days?
A number of Patch readers had very strong feelings on the recent news that the mayor of Southampton Village has ordered the village police to stop using their firing range in Tuckahoe Woods while the nearby Tuckahoe School is open.