Town of East Hampton announces emergency action to remove iconic "stilt house" скачать в хорошем качестве

Town of East Hampton announces emergency action to remove iconic "stilt house"

A Long Island man is among a group of plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit this week challenging the Trump administration’s recent ban on issuing visas to people from 75 countries. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday by a group that includes American citizens, immigration nonprofits and legal organizations, accuses the administration of seeking to "eviscerate decades of settled immigration law." The government last month suspended the approval of visas from 75 countries, most of them non-European and with large non-white populations. Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that one plaintiff, Cesar Andred Aguirre, of Shirley, Long Island is a U.S. citizen and a warehouse supervisor who pays taxes, according to the lawsuit. His wife and 2-year-old daughter are now stuck in Guatemala, one of the 75 countries, after she was told she could not receive a visa. The State Department said a "pause" was necessary to prevent immigrants from coming here to become "public charges" collecting welfare and other benefits. In response to the lawsuit, Tommy Pigott, a spokesman for the State Department, said in a statement that a visa was a privilege and not a right, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated immigrants should be financially "self-sufficient." "Such a requirement prevents billions in waste, fraud, and abuse and protects public benefits for Americans," Pigott said. "The Department is pausing issuance to evaluate and enhance screening and vetting procedures — but we will never stop fighting for American citizens first." Most people applying for immigrant visas are not eligible for cash welfare for years, the lawsuit states. Anna Gallagher, executive director of CLINIC, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit, said in a statement that "this administration is trying to shut down lawful immigration from nearly half the countries in the world without legal authority or justification.” Aguirre's wife, Dania Mariela Escobar Carranza, lived in Shirley with Aguirre and their two children, ages 7 and 2. In January, the family traveled to Escobar Carranza’s native Guatemala for her scheduled consular interview, the lawsuit states. Her visa had already been approved and the fees paid. She went to the U.S. consulate on Jan. 20 and handed in her documents but was told her interview was actually the next day. When she came back, she was told she could not receive her visa because of the pause, which had gone into effect the same day, the lawsuit states. *** New York Democrats are gathering today for their state convention with the momentum on their side and three established leaders seeking reelection and party endorsement: Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, political observers told Newsday. Whether they can sustain the effort and avoid self-destruction remains to be seen. "The only thing, barring something unimaginable, that can reverse this momentum is that there is an open civil war between progressives and moderates," said Larry Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have recently declined over issues including the economy and his immigration policy, which has helped the proverbial winds at Democrats' backs "blow harder" than they might normally, according to Levy. Democrats also picked up a state Senate seat in a major upset in Texas last week, further encouraging the party. Over 400 delegates from around the state are attending today’s one-day convention in Syracuse. Democrats in New York have a more than 2 to 1 enrollment advantage, but party leaders are gearing up for a tough election cycle, State Democratic Committee chairman Jay Jacobs told Newsday. Few surprises are expected, with Hochul anticipated to receive the lion’s share of votes, James running unopposed and DiNapoli, who has held the position since 2007, expected to do well, Jacobs said. *** The Town of East Hampton announced yesterday that the town is taking emergency action to remove the storm-damaged “stilt house” on Mulford Lane in Lazy Point, an iconic much-photographed building that had long stood on pilings in the water as coastal erosion took its toll on the shoreline. The house collapsed into the water after ice heaves cracked the pilings during the freeze this past weekend. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that after a heavy freeze in late January, the pressure of the ice caused the pilings to buckle, “causing the structure to collapse and creating an imminent risk to public safety, navigation, and nearby coastal resources,” according to a February 5 statement from East Hampton Town. The town said the house had been seaward of the shoreline for “approximately two decades, has been uninhabitable and disconnected from utilities for many years.” On Feb. 3, The East Hampton Town Building Department placed a plac...