CPF Legislation Expands Purposes Including Lands of Significance to Indigenous People

Our thanks to former Assembly Member Fred Thiele, who retired from the NYS Assembly earlier this month, and Senator Anthony Palumbo, for advancing amendments to the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund (CPF). Governor Hochul signed this legislation into law this past December. These amendments expand the definitions of water quality projects and include disadvantaged communities in this important conservation funding program. They also further broaden the definition of community character to include significant cultural resources including the Aboriginal land of Indigenous peoples including but not limited to burial sites, settlements, and land utilized for ceremonial purposes.

Assembly Member Thiele, along with former State Senator Ken LaValle, was a champion of the CPF going back to the late 1990s. The 25-year old fund, which has raised more than $2.5 billion for East End Towns through a 2% real estate transfer tax, has been a critical source of public funding to protect more than 13,000 acres of farmland, woodlands, meadows, wetlands, and coastlines – it has also been used for water quality improvement projects.

Please spread the word that while the Trust works closely with Town CPF programs, it does not collect or distribute the funds of the CPF. These funds are collected by Suffolk County from buyers at real estate closings and then redistributed to the East End Town where the property is located. The Trust often raises private funds from donors to supplement Town CPF funds in conservation acquisitions. As such, the Trust is an independent 501(c)(3) conservation organization that depends upon private contributions to do its work. Interested in learning more, contact your Town CPF office or the Trust.

Thanks again Assembly Member Thiele for over 40 years of public service representing Eastern Long Island! We look forward to working with our local legislators at the State – including State Senator Anthony Palumbo, first-term Assembly Member Tommy John Schiavoni, and returning Assembly Member Jodi Giglio as we advance conservation on Long Island.

Click here to learn more about our work related to the protection of Indigenous lands, including our work with the Indigenous-led Niamuck Land Trust. To learn more about the Niamuck Land Trust, visit them online at www.NiamuckLandTrust.com.