Huntington kicked off the long Fourth of July weekend on Friday, with warnings to boaters about the need for safe practices as a large number of watercraft are expected to turn out.
Supervisor Ed Smyth said boat speed in Huntington Harbor would be reduced to 5 mph and said extra personnel would be watching to assist boaters and enforce safety practices. An estimated 800 to 1,000 boats are expected to fill the harbor.
He also said that the Grucci fireworks display on Tuesday night in the Long Island Sound off Asharoken would be “highly viewable” from Asharoken, Huntington Harbor and Northport, encouraging people not to flood into the village, where there is no on-street parking. The fireworks show scheduled for about 9:15 p.m.
Eatons Neck parade/ HuntingtonNow photo
Eatons Neck will have its Fourth of July parade on Tuesday starting at 10 a.m., once again including numerous opportunities to soak or get soaked as the audience and parade participants take turns spraying water on each other. Access to the route of the parade, which will start at the Eatons Neck Fire Department at 55 Eatons Neck Road, Northport, will be closed at 9:30 a.m. so that the parade can form up.
The village of Asharoken will also permit residents to light bonfires on the beach after 8 p.m. Tuesday if weather conditions are good.
The first of the Heckscher Park summer concerts is set for Friday night at 7 p.m. with Foreign Journey and Van Hagar on the stage. Saturday, Sunny James Red Baraat is performing, with Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra on Sunday and the Huntington Community Band on Monday.
Several other law enforcement and government agencies also said they would be watching for drunken drivers or boaters, as well as speeders and distracted drivers.
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office said, that beginning this weekend, it will increase DWI patrols and checkpoints, from Huntington to the Hamptons, and continue all summer long. “The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office DWI team has already had record high impaired driving arrests this year, with a nearly 40% increase in DWI/DUI arrests from 2022,” it said.
The state police also said it would begin a crackdown on drunk, impaired and reckless driving, beginningat 6 p.m. on Friday and running through 3 a.m. on Wednesday.