Southampton Town Will Sue Shinnecock Nation To Halt Hampton Bays Gas Station Development; Tribe Vows Defiance

Shinnecock Nation Chairwoman Lisa Goree pointed to the nation's tribal seal on the wall above the heads of Town Board members on Thursday, saying that if the board does not count the tribal members as among its constituents it should remove the seal. A split board voted later to take the Shinnecock to court over the development of a gas station in Hampton Bays that residents of the hamlet have decried as illegal. MICHAEL WRIGHT

Shinnecock Nation tribal council Trustee Bianca Collins said the tribe has tired of the challenges by the town to its sovereignty. MICHAEL WRIGHT

Shinnecock Nation tribal council Vice-Chairman Lance Gumbs said that the tribe will not halt construction of a gas station in Hampton Bays regardless of Southampton Town suing or any rulings by a New York State court, which he said the tribe does not recognize as having authority over the sovereign tribe. MICHAEL WRIGHT

The Southampton Town Board was divided in its support of the decision to sue the Shinnecock Nation over a gas station being built in Hampton Bays. Councilman Michael Iasilli, right, joined Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni in voting against taking legal action. Councilman Bill Pell, left, and Supervisor Maria Moore voted in favor, along with Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara. MICHAEL WRIGHT

Hampton Bays resident Roger Moores said the town has failed in its duty to its constituents by failing to take legal action to halt the construction of the gas station in Hampton Bays sooner. MICHAEL WRIGHT

Carol McNeil, whose house sits just yards from the access road to the Shinnecock Nation gas station project, said that her life has been rattled, literally, by the project, and said the town should have taken action to halt the work long ago. MICHAEL WRIGHT

Councilman Michael Iasilli MICHAEL WRIGHT

Maria Garber, a Hampton Bays resident, said that town inaction to halt the gas station development has "battered" the trust of residents in the Town Board. MICHAEL WRIGHT

Crews working for the Shinncock Nation began paving the nearly 1,000-foot access driveway to the gas station the tribe is constructing off Newtown Road in Hampton Bays.

Crews working for the Shinncock Nation on Thursday began paving the nearly 1,000-foot access driveway to the gas station the tribe is constructing off Newtown Road in Hampton Bays.