Southampton Town officials met with representatives of the
Shinnecock Indian Nation Tribal Council today to discuss the Nation’s plans to
erect two large billboards, one on the north side and one on the south side of Sunrise
Highway (SR 27) in Hampton Bays, on reservation-owned lands. Town officials
included: Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, Town
Attorney James Burke, Assistant Town Attorney Martha Reichert, and Town
Planning and Development Administrator Kyle Collins. Mark Woolley, district director
for Congressman Lee Zeldin, was also in attendance. Shinnecock representatives present included: Attorney Tela Troge, Brian Polite, and Seneca
Bowen. Tribal Trustee Lance Gumbs participated via conference call.
At the meeting, Supervisor Schneiderman presented a letter
to the Tribal Council, signed by the entire Southampton Town Board, imploring
them to immediately halt construction of the billboards, which are slated to
exceed sixty feet in height and display electronic advertising and messages.