President Donald Trump’s order to pause all asylum applications will hit Long Island especially hard because the region has among the largest number of applicants nationwide, immigration attorneys told Newsday yesterday, calling the move an attack on a fundamental American tradition of welcoming the persecuted. Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that Trump ordered the pause after the shooting of two National Guard troops — including one who died — on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., allegedly by an Afghan national who received asylum in April. The president also said he would permanently pause immigration from certain countries.

"I’m tremendously disturbed by what’s going on," Patrick Young, an immigration law professor at Hofstra Law School, said of President Trump’s asylum order.

While acknowledging the shooting of the National Guard troops was "horrible," Young said there are "hundreds of thousands of people in the New York area who have asylum who've not engaged in this type of abuse, have not engaged in murder or assassination. To simply tie all of them together and to prevent them from pursuing their rights under both U.S. law and also international law is very, very concerning."

Trump made the asylum announcement on Thursday, a day after the shootings.

All immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications from Afghanistan also were put on hold by the administration.

Lauris Wren, head of the Asylum Clinic at Hofstra Law School, said Trump’s pause is "heart-wrenching" for her clients, who were already facing delays in their cases of as many as eight years.

"The vast majority of asylum seekers are law-abiding people desperately trying to find safety," Wren said. "It’s not right for the actions of one man to stop the entire asylum process."

Long Island is among the top 10 areas in the country for asylum applicants, Young and Wren said. The highest numbers come from El Salvador and Honduras, but there are others from Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Venezuela in Latin America alone, Wren said. Her clinic also has clients from Angola, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Mali and other countries.

While there are no hard numbers, there are probably tens of thousands of current asylum applicants on Long Island, according to Wren and Ala Amoachi, an immigration attorney based in East Islip. Many migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization apply for asylum, Amoachi said.

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The December 2024 indictment of Southampton contractor Robert Terry and his Riverhead-based company, Terry Contracting & Materials on prevailing wage law violations and related charges has been dismissed in its entirety by Suffolk County Supervising Judge Richard Ambro. Denise Civiletti reports on RIVERHEADLOCAL.com that Terry and his company were indicted for Willful Failure to Pay the Prevailing Wage Rate, and other related charges, for allegedly misclassifying his employees’ work categories on certified payrolls, shorting workers more than $83,000, on a public works contract for the Davis Park Marina Improvement project in the Town of Brookhaven. Ambro ruled in a decision signed Oct. 16.

Terry’s attorney. Michael Cornacchia, said it is significant that Judge Ambro found there was a lack of evidence to prove that Bob Terry, or his company committed any crimes or had any intent to do so. “My family and I always believed in our system of justice, and our belief was borne out by Judge Ambro’s decision,” Terry said in a statement released last week. “We are thankful that the truth has finally come out that my company and I did not commit any crimes and are innocent of the now dismissed charges. We are grateful to our many clients, employees and friends who stood by us during this challenging period. We look forward to continuing to serve our community as a reliable and principled employer,” he said.

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The East Hampton Healthcare Foundation will sponsor a free community Health Fair this coming Friday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Luke’s Church, 18 James Lane, East Hampton. Highlights of the Health Fair include flu shots, glucose exams, blood pressure screenings, and applications for colorectal screenings. In addition, appointments will be available for no-cost mammogram and Pap smear tests for uninsured women over the age of 40. Representatives and information will also be on hand from a variety of organizations, including health insurance providers, Sun River Health Care, OLA of Eastern Long Island, SNAP (food stamp information and applications), mental health resources for children and adolescents through YES COMPHS, Youth Enrichment Services Community Mental Health and Support, Meals on Wheels, and the Town of East Hampton Human Services Department. Healthy refreshments will be served, and the event is open to all. That’s this Friday 11am to 2pm at St. Lukes’s Church in East Hampton, New York. For more information, call 631-329-2425. Or online visit easthamptonhealthcare.org.

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More than a decade after voters in New York approved commercial casinos in the state, a state board yesterday recommended licenses for three full-fledged casinos in New York City, one in the Bronx and two in Queens.

The selections fulfill a long-held dream by the gambling industry to break into the largest city in the United States and for New York to create a potentially lucrative tax stream.

The five-person New York Gaming Facility Location Board had been considering three bids for three available licenses — the Bally’s, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and Resorts World New York City bids — but the members were not required to approve any of them. Matthew Haag and Dana Rubinstein report in THE NY TIMES that the board issued its recommendations on Monday and sent them to the state’s gaming commission for final approval. The commission will vote on them by the end of the month. Absent some unexpected and highly unusual circumstance, the commission is expected to follow the board’s recommendations. The selection of Bally’s could benefit President Trump, whose company, the Trump Organization, had leased the city-owned land at Ferry Point on which the proposed facility would rise, next to a public golf course that the company used to operate. When the Trump Organization sold its remaining interest in the site to Bally’s, the casino company promised to pay Mr. Trump’s firm $115 million if it won a casino license.

The recommendations yesterday aligned with the conventional wisdom that since the state needs revenue, and the licensure fees alone — one-time fees for each casino — would bring in more than $1.5 billion, the board would most likely endorse all three bids. Collectively, the casino operators have claimed that they will generate hundreds of millions in additional tax revenue every year.

Greg Reimers, a member of the board that recommended the licenses, said the board believed that allowing all three casinos would best benefit the state, create jobs and generate economic activity.

“The downstate market is among the strongest in the nation, supported by population density, income levels and tourism,” Mr. Reimers said. “Each proposal provides a strong competitive positioning.”

The board’s chairwoman, Vicki L. Been, a former New York City deputy mayor, said that the board’s review of the three applications had found that all had overstated their potential gambling and tax revenues, a frequent issue for casinos across the country. Still, she said, they could generate sizable numbers, even under reduced projections and even if revenues decline over the years, as they have at other casinos in large cities. The casino licenses can last up to 30 years.

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In a faded photograph on his desk at Stony Brook University, Thomas Manuel smiles alongside jazz legends Lee Konitz and Percy Brice after a 2007 performance at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall in Riverhead.

Nearly 20 years later, Manuel is set to return to the stage at the storied 1881 music venue: this time as its maestro.

Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the Town of Riverhead recently voted to sell the historic hall to Manuel’s nonprofit, The Jazz Loft, in a rare split vote. Under the agreement, The Jazz Loft will buy the theater from the town for $150,000, complete crucial infrastructure projects this winter and reopen next summer.

Manuel said he’s looking forward to bringing jazz performances and education to Riverhead, contributing to a growing downtown arts district led by the Suffolk Theater and East End Arts Council. He also hopes to host dance ensembles and other community groups in the space.

“The arts have the ability to connect with people, and it is a healing force,” he told NEWSDAY. “That’s what I’m most excited about; yes, to have this space be alive again, for jazz to be presented, for the collaborations with the other arts organizations … and most importantly, just to be a good steward of the Vail-Leavitt."

Based in Stony Brook, The Jazz Loft has experience in historic preservation and previously restored a structure that dates to the 1770s as part of its performing space.

Councilman Bob Kern voted against The Jazz Loft deal, citing concerns about the scope of renovation needed and whether niche programming would attract a wide enough audience. “It needs to be a true performing arts center so they can benefit the businesses downtown and visitors to Riverhead,” Kern said.

Riverhead plans to modify its Community Development Block Grant programs to contribute $75,000 to improvements at the Vail. That money was previously allocated for parking lot improvements.

Community development director Dawn Thomas, who spearheaded talks with The Jazz Loft, said Manuel is “exactly the kind of community partner” Riverhead sought that will “set the brand and tone for downtown.”

Manuel said his philosophy is to start small and build Riverhead's audience over time.

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The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons is expanding its community outreach through new partnerships with local food pantries to ensure families across the East End have access to pet food, collars, toys, and other essential supplies for their cats and dogs. The initiative is supported by the generosity of Wally Zeins and Andy Sabin, along with a developing partnership with PetSmart, all helping advance ARF’s mission to keep pets healthy and at home.

For families facing financial uncertainty, even basic pet care can become a challenge.

A dedicated donor helps underwrite a portion of the cost of food for animals in ARF’s care, allowing more donated items to be redirected to the community. These resources help prevent pet surrenders during difficult times, keeping animals where they belong — with the families who love them.

For more information about ARF’s community programs, pantry partnerships, or ways to support its work visit arfhamptons.org.

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The Trump administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City yesterday, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The firings followed an earlier round of job cuts in New York immigration courts and are part of a broader disruption across the country, which is taking place as the president seeks to accelerate deportations. Ana Ley reports in THE NY TIMES that they were confirmed by an official at the National Association of Immigration Judges, a union representing immigration judges, and a Justice Department official who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter. The immigration courts are under the control of the Justice Department.

All the judges were dismissed from the immigration court’s offices at 26 Federal Plaza, a building that houses the New York City headquarters for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and has become the epicenter of migrant arrests in the city. The eight judges included Amiena A. Khan, the assistant chief immigration judge at 26 Federal Plaza, who supervises other judges there.

Before yesterday, about 90 immigration judges had been fired this year across the United States, including six in New York City. There are about 600 immigration judges nationwide, according to federal officials. Union officials said that 36 of the fired judges had been replaced nationwide, including two in New York.

Monday afternoon’s firings represented a significant downsizing of staff at 26 Federal Plaza, which employs 34 immigration justices. It is one of three federal immigration courts in NYC. “The court has been basically eviscerated,” said Olivia Cassin, who was fired from her job as an immigration judge at another New York City courthouse in November. Ms. Cassin said that she had the job for more than a decade. “It feels like a Monday afternoon massacre.”

Yesterday’s firings occurred two days after nearly 200 protesters gathered in Lower Manhattan to thwart a possible ICE raid, drawing the ire of federal officials. The Trump administration has vowed to ramp up deportation efforts in New York, and officials have frequently criticized its so-called sanctuary policies, which prevent local law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on most matters.