As temperatures dip, Long Islanders who rely on assistance programs to help them meet rising costs to heat their homes are finding one critical federal source frozen out: the Home Energy Assistance Program.

The federal shutdown has put on hold the annual funding for HEAP, delaying indefinitely the ability of those most in need to apply for and receive bill assistance to heat their homes. Sign- ups for the program normally takes place Nov. 3. Last year, about 70,000 Long Islanders received $19 million from the program

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that New York State received $287 million last year to fund HEAP, and the average benefit was just under $1,000 per home per season, the state said. The funding is aimed at the young, the elderly and those with low or moderate incomes.

Last week, the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, notified social services agencies across the state that applications for the program were being delayed "until further notice," the agency said. The state isn't able to provide heating assistance "until mid-November at the earliest," a spokeswoman noted.

PSEG in a statement said delays in opening of HEAP "will impact many Long Islanders during a time when they may need assistance the most." The utility will hold community information sessions at three locations across the service territory starting next week to offer help.

PSEG’s information session in Suffolk County next week can be attended on Monday; November 3 from 1:00 p.m. — 5:30 p.m., Stop and Shop Parking Lot, 999 Montauk Highway, Shirley.

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Project Most no longer plans to demolish the historic Neighborhood House to make way for a new community learning center. Project Most runs after-school and summer programs for children in East Hampton, including the Montauk Child Care Center. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that originally submitted in 2023, Project Most’s previous pitch was to tear down Neighborhood House on Meadow Way in East Hampton, which had been a community center of its own in the past, to build a new 7,623-square-foot two-story structure. It would have classrooms and a commercial kitchen on the first floor, and a caretaker’s apartment and additional classrooms on the second floor. The 4,418-square-foot basement was to be used for storage and as a multi-purpose space for athletics. But neighbors panned the idea, citing the building’s historic nature — it dates back to the 1800s — and its place within the historic Freetown neighborhood in East Hampton, which was settled in the 19th century by free people of African and Native American descent. Now, a year after the plans for Neighborhood House were last discussed, Project Most has returned with a revised plan. The most significant change is that it no longer plans to demolish Neighborhood House. Project Most is looking to undertake substantial renovations, while constructing an addition in the rear of the building. Neighborhood House first went up in the 1880s as a community center and hospital. This newest proposal calls for a 2,284-square-foot addition to the existing 4,232-square-foot first floor. The 1,096-square-foot second floor would balloon to 2,663 square feet total. The basement would measure 6,591 square feet. Project Most is capped at 75 students on the premises at a time, and it plans to staff the building with 15 employees. Once the new facility is constructed, Project Most plans to keep its existing programs at Springs School and John Marshall Elementary. The East Hampton Town Planning Board deemed the revised site plan appropriate and plans to send the project over to the Town Architectural Review Board, which will look at the historic sensitivity in its analysis.

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The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) is calling on the creativity of local young artists with the launch of its 2025 Holiday Card Contest. Open to all students in