Southold Police Chase Suspect For 45 Minutes On North Fork

Long Island Morning Edition

One of the last vestiges of temporary measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic has left 35,833 drivers with suspended licenses because they didn’t pass a simple eye test, according to the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles. Michael Gormley reports on Newsday.com that these drivers can still take and pass vision tests through the DMV or an optometrist to lift the suspension. But after nearly two years of urging these drivers to comply in emails, letters and website alerts, the state has little else it can do, said state Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Walt McClure.

The state DMV can’t take any other action to get these drivers’ vision tested, such as denying a vehicle registration or other motor vehicle service.

That leaves enforcement to use police stops if drivers drive with suspended licenses. A conviction of driving on a suspended license can result in a $500 fine plus other fees and a 30-day jail sentence or probation. The charges could rise to a misdemeanor or felony if a driver with a suspended license is also charged with crimes such as driving while intoxicated. “It is central to what we do at DMV to ensure that New York’s roads are safe for all drivers, which means that people have to show that they have an appropriate level of visual acuity to be able to operate a motor vehicle,” McClure said. “It is also key to ensuring safety that drivers be properly licensed.”

Research has long backed up the urgency of passing vision tests as a prerequisite for driving.

The vision test issue dates to 2021, the height of the pandemic, when the state temporarily waived the need to take a vision test to renew driver’s licenses. That measure was intended to avoid crowds at DMV offices, many of which had reduced services to curtail the spread of the virus. This relief was for drivers whose licenses were due to expire between March 1, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2021.

If drivers did defer, they had one year from the date of renewal to get their vision tested through DMV or by an optometrist. The majority of the 150,000 who deferred their vision test complied.

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Southold police chased a suspect during a 45-minute pursuit yesterday along the North Fork, from Riverhead to Greenport, until they said he sped off a 100-foot cliff and landed in Long Island Sound. John Asbury reports on Newsday.com that the chase began after police responded to a domestic violence call in Southold, where a car had been damaged, said Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley.

The driver, Roger Foster, 56, of Florida, had two active warrants. He drove back and forth on Route 48 during the pursuit, where he reached speeds of up to 100 mph, Flatley said.

Foster maneuvered around traffic to Riverhead, before heading back east on surrounding roads before reaching Greenport. He headed down Sound Road, driving to the end of the street without slowing down and went airborne off the bluff and into the water, Flatley said.

The car's air bags deployed and the vehicle landed in 3 to 5 feet of water. Officers dove into the water, pulled out Foster and arrested him. He complained of pain, but had no visible injuries, Flatley said. He was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center to be evaluated.

No other injuries were reported during the pursuit.

Rapid Recovery Towing responded with a heavy-duty tow truck and hoisted the vehicle up the bluff and onto the roadway; the vehicle was then impounded, police said. Once released from the hospital, Foster will be transported to Southold Town police headquarters, where he will be processed and held for arraignment, police said. Foster was charged with second-degree criminal contempt; third-degree criminal mischief; numerous traffic law violations; unlawful fleeing; and two outstanding arrest warrants.

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People across the east end ventured outdoors yesterday afternoon to witness a historic sight: the solar eclipse that captivated millions of Americans from Texas to Maine. The partial eclipse visible from Long Island — less than the dramatic totality witnessed by people in other parts of the country— sparked excitement as enthusiastic residents donned special protective glasses to gaze at the rare celestial event. The special cardboard spectacles became a hot commodity as the day of the eclipse approached. As reported on Riverheadlocal.com, Riverhead Free Library gave away nearly 1,100 glasses to cardholders, and ran out of them quickly following the library’s announcement that they would be available, Assistant Director Catherine Montezem said. The last total solar eclipse seen in New York was in 1925, said George Lomaga, a retired professor of astronomy and geology at Suffolk County Community College. Eclipses like the one witnessed Monday, which at their peak coverage last three to four minutes, only occur about 790 times during a 10,000 year period, Lomaga told a crowd gathered at Hallock State Park in Northville. People hoping for a total solar eclipse on Long Island will have to wait until 2079.

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Montauk’s Sands Motel, a longtime feature of the East End's bustling summer tourism scene, has a new owner with renovation plans, according to local real estate agents. Victor Ocasio reports on Newsday.com that Sands, a four-building, 43-unit oceanfront complex, has been sold to Enduring Hospitality after hitting the market last year for $28 million. A sale price was not disclosed.

Located at 71 S. Emerson Ave., the 19,500-square-foot property is near the downtown area along Montauk Highway and features 360-degree views of the ocean and Fort Pond. The hotel’s buildings have one- and two-bedroom units that each have a balcony or deck, according to a property listing. Enduring Hospitality plans a major renovation after the summer.

Hal Zwick, Hamptons director of commercial real estate with Compass, said the firm was hired last year by the Hausman family, which has owned and operated the motel for three generations.

Richard J. Hausman Sr., the longtime owner and operator of Sands, died in 2022 at 97, according to an obituary in the East Hampton Star. Hausman’s parents and brother built the hotel in 1951 and added buildings over the years.

A sale fell through in 2022 with another brokerage firm, Zwick said.

In a statement, Enduring Hospitality said the company’s goal “is to refurbish the existing hotel, centering on health and wellness, while safeguarding the authenticity of Montauk and its connection to surf culture.”

Zwick said Montauk’s Sands Motel will be open to visitors this summer after the new owners do some minor upkeep and maintenance.

Larger renovations are planned to begin after Labor Day and into the winter.

“They’ll introduce a new concept in the spring of 2025," he said.

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East End governments have a busy day today. Here’s what’s going on as reported by Beth Young in EAST END BEACON:

• The Southold Town Board will discuss climate change, drinking water protection, sanitary flow credits, the town’s CPF Stewardship Management Plan, landmark preservation and a draft of the town’s proposed moratorium on processing applications for new hotels at its 9 a.m. work session this morning. The board is slated to vote at its 7 p.m. meeting this evening on whether to hold a public hearing on the moratorium on May 21. Here’s the agenda for both meetings. Here’s the Zoom login for the work session, and for the evening meeting.
• The East Hampton Town Board discusses water quality grant recommendations and permitted density in senior housing, as well as to vote to hire outside environmental counsel regarding the town’s airport at its 11 a.m work session this morning. Here’s the agenda, and the meeting can be viewed live on LTV’s YouTube channel.
• Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard will give his first State of the Town address, titled “A New Day in Riverhead: Transparency, Civility and Action” this morning at 11 a.m. in the Town Hall Board Room at 4 West Second Street. The address can be viewed live in person, or on Channel 22.
• The Southampton Town Board continues public hearings at its 1 p.m. meeting today on the formation of and funding for a Riverside sewer district. The district, long in the works, has come under challenge from neighboring Riverhead, which is concerned about the impact development there will have on Riverhead Town and School District resources. Here’s the agenda, and the meeting can be viewed live on Sea-TV’s YouTube channel.
• The Shelter Island Town Board will discuss extending a moratorium on new docks, proportional lot size legislation, businesses on town property and Bridge Street parking at its 1 p.m. work session this afternoon. Here’s the agenda, and the meeting can be viewed live on the town’s YouTube channel.

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April has been declared Dark Skies Month in the Town of Southampton. Southampton Town’s Dark Skies Committee urges everyone to go out and observe the night wonders above us. To see these constellations and planets we need to minimize light pollution – turning off outdoor lighting by 10:00 PM (it’s the law!) and shielding light fixtures.

Southampton Town’s Dark Skies Committee invites you to their Celebrate the Night Sky event this coming Friday at 7:00 PM in the Southampton High School Planetarium. Astronomy teacher John Walsh will lead an exploration of night sky wonders in the S.H.S. planetarium and step outside to observe the “real” sky…weather permitting.

Perfect for the whole family! Free admission.

Learn more about what you can do to protect our natural night sky on the Southampton Town website (search for Dark Skies Committee).

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For those who say that an on-time budget in New York State is about as likely as a solar eclipse, the odds on an eclipse are improving. Grace Ashford and Claire Fahy report in THE NY TIMES that negotiations over the state budget, which was due on April 1, have stretched on for more than a week past the deadline as differences over housing, education and health care have divided Democratic legislative leaders in Albany.

Then an eclipse became grounds for further delay: The Assembly decided not to hold session yesterday to allow members to view the celestial phenomenon from the comfort of their home districts. Albany was not in the zone of totality for Monday’s eclipse.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat from Buffalo, has sought to use the budget to address what she sees as some of the most pressing issues facing the state: rising education and health care costs; a housing shortage; and the stubborn persistence and residual damage of retail theft.

But an increasingly progressive Legislature has its own ideas, rejecting the governor’s proposals on education and health care and calling for more tenant protections, climate measures and an expansion of free bus service in all five boroughs of N.Y.C.

Governor Hochul said that negotiations with leaders in the Legislature had been respectful and productive.

“We are not finished yet,” she said on Thursday. “But I also think there’s a lot of good progress made. Everybody’s rolling up their sleeves ready to work.”