Dear Quogue Residents,
Rain has finally returned to our beautiful Village! I never thought I would welcome a rainy day with a smile on my face. Please keep in mind, however, that we have been experiencing an extended drought. The Town of Southampton, Suffolk County, and the State of New York have all announced a state of emergency and have outlawed all outdoor fires through the end of November and possibly beyond. Unfortunately, it is going to take a lot more rain than we had yesterday before the drought conditions ease.
Given the glorious fall weather, work on the new building on Jessup Avenue is ahead of schedule. Framing is substantially complete and the owner assures me that, barring any unexpected glitches, the project will be completed by next summer.
On the theme of new projects, the Town of Southampton awarded a grant to the Village this year from the Community Preservation Fund (CPF) to construct a series of rain gardens and bioswales on Old Country Road to divert stormwater runoff before it can enter the Ice Pond at the Wildlife Refuge and, in turn, the headwaters of Quantuck Bay. The work began last week, and we anticipate that it will be substantially completed by early December.
I am excited to report that last week the Southampton Town Board approved a new grant application and awarded the Village over $1,000,000 in CPF funds for additional water quality improvement projects in the Village. We anticipate implementing these projects over the next year aiming to reduce untreated stormwater runoff from entering the Quogue Canal, Ogden Pond, Penniman Creek and Quantuck Bay.
For those of you who enjoy visiting the Wetlands Preserve off Dune Road, you may have noticed that we had to temporarily close the walkway last week for emergency repairs. With kudos to our Highway Department, I am pleased to report that the walkway is now reopened.
The Village Highway Department began picking up leaves last week. As has been previously explained, leaves must be on the shoulder of the street by December 15th in order to be picked up. The detailed instructions of the “dos and don’ts” are posted on the Village website. I repeat my suggestion to consider foregoing your fall clean-up, as doing so provides many benefits for the environment. Please check out this link which details the many positives of “Leaving the Leaves”. https://xerces.org/blog/leave-the-leaves
It is time to register and/or renew your alarm permit. The renewal form can be accessed HERE or can be downloaded from the Village website. Please complete the form and mail it back or drop it off at the Village office with your renewal payment by year’s end.
A reminder that the Town of Southampton property tax bills will be mailed in the second week of December and will be available on-line the prior week.
As the holiday season approaches, please be mindful of the security of packages delivered to your doorstep or at driveway gates. Unfortunately, the Village is not immune to “Porch Piracy”. If you are going to be absent from your home, please arrange to have deliveries put inside your homes or at least moved out of view from the street.
I have been asked to resend a reminder that dog owners are responsible for cleaning up after their pets. This includes not only “bagging” the dog poop, but also discarding bagged poop in an appropriate garbage can or carrying it home. It is depressing for all of us to have to look at poop bags on the side of our beautiful streets.
For owners of electric vehicles, please be aware that Otis Ford has recently installed a number of EV charging stations at their facility on Montauk Highway. They have installed two “Level 3” chargers that can rapidly charge a vehicle from 15% to 80% in about half an hour. They also have several “Level 2” chargers that provide approximately 20 miles per hour of charging. The stations are open to the public and are available 24/7 with payment by swiping a credit card.
And now for a few announcements of some of the events and activities happening in Quogue in the coming days and weeks:
This coming Saturday, November 23rd, a group of Quogue residents has organized a food drive in support of Heart of the Hamptons. They will be hosting a table in front of the post office from 8:00 am until 12:00 pm. Please bring non-perishable food for people or animals, and/or checks/cash. There will also be food drive collections on Saturday, November 30th, from 12:00 pm until 3:00 pm at the Quogue Field Club, and on Saturday, December 7th, from 5:00 pm until 6:00 pm on the Village Green.
Also, this Saturday afternoon, beginning at 4:00 pm, the Quogue Wildlife Refuge will be presenting a Fireside Poetry Reading in the Nature Center hosted by local poet and published author Maggie Bloomfield. Tea and cookies will be served; please bring a reusable mug. Reservations are required at www.quoguewildliferefuge.org.
The Art Gallery at the Library will be hosting The Second Annual Holiday Fundraiser on Friday, November 29th, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with the sale of unsigned paintings and photos from close to 100 local artists and photographers. Each piece is being sold for $100 and you can take it with you. Great for holiday gifts!
The Fire Department’s annual Pancake Breakfast will be held the Sunday after Thanksgiving, December 1st from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. The event raises important funds for the Fire Department’s Benevolent Association and is great fun for all.
The Art Gallery at the Library is presenting the works of Allan Bridge, an American painter, sculptor and conceptual artist, whose work will be on display from December 3rd through January 9th, with a Talk and Reception on Sunday, December 15th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
On December 6th, at 3:30 pm, the Library is hosting a talk by Dr. Christine Bishara, the author of the #1 bestseller, The Gut Revolution, a groundbreaking roadmap to teach you how to strengthen your immune system.
On December, 7th from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, the Quogue Association is organizing a Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting on the Village Green with participation from the Quogue School Chamber Choir and many of our Village merchants and organizations. The Quogue Library will be giving away mugs while supplies last.
The Hampton Theatre Company will be presenting A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play, adapted for the stage by Joe Landry, with music by Kevin Connors. The performances are on December 13th at 7:00 pm, and December 14th and 15th at 2:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased at www.hamptontheatre.org/.
The Quogue Historical Society’s popular Holiday House Tour is scheduled for Saturday, December 14th from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The tour will feature five Quogue homes festively decorated for the holidays, followed by a cocktail party from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at another lovely home. Tickets can be purchased on the QHS website at https://quoguehistory.org/event/save-the-date-for-the-holiday-house-tour.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Robert Treuhold
Mayor, Village of Quogue