Appeals Court Blocks Shinnecock Billboards

A New York State appeals court has ordered the Shinnecock Nation to shut down electronic billboards on the side of Sunrise Highway — a decision that raised questions about the tribe’s construction of a gas station.

A panel of state Appellate Division Second Department judges ruled that a lower court erred when it did not grant a state Department of Transportation (DOT) request for an injunction blocking the construction of the billboards that the tribe erected in 2019.

The Dec. 4 ruling did not address the tribe’s ongoing construction of a gas station, travel plaza and shops on the nearby Westwood property — Shinnecock-owned land in Hampton Bays that is separate from its territory in Southampton.

The Shinnecock have called the billboards monuments and used the advertising revenue to fund programs to help tribal members. The DOT argued that the Shinnecock did not have the necessary approvals legally required to build the billboards on the land because it was on a state-owned right-of-way running along Route 27.

Attorneys for the Shinnecock could not immediately be reached for comment, but the tribe is expected to appeal the ruling to the state Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, in a bid to reverse the appeals court ruling. The billboards were reportedly still in operation as of press time.