Villages

   Like the Pony Express with a pony gone lame, FedEx has removed Montauk’s one-and-only drop box, leaving residents with a 12-mile ride to the closest box in Amagansett. Poof, the trusty drop box pony that waited to be loaded up with important missives through all kinds of weather has vanished.

    Weather-wise, last month was noteworthy not for any storms we had, but because we had no severe storms, said Richard G. Hendrickson, the United States Cooperative weather observer in Bridgehampton.

    “November is usually the month for 60-to-70-mile-per-hour winds and severe coastal erosion,” Mr. Hendrickson wrote in his monthly weather report.

    John Jilnicki, the East Hampton Town attorney, told the members of the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee and quite a few guests on Tuesday evening that the town is in the process of overhauling several provisions of the town code to make them specific to the hamlet, including the law on mass gathering permits and noise violations. “The legislation we have now is difficult for most people to understand,” he said. The committee, concerned about whether summonses have been issued for code violations, had been trying for some time to get Mr. Jilnicki to a meeting

    Richard and Karen Brown of Washington Avenue in Montauk have announced the engagement of their daughter Amanda Marie Brown to Matthew Ryan Jarm. Mr. Jarm’s parents, Robert and Patty Jarm, live in Annandale, Va.

    Ms. Brown received a Bachelor of Science degree from James Madison University in Virginia and a Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from George Mason University. She is a second-grade teacher at Forest Edge Elementary School in Reston, Va.

    When their daughter, Mia Bella, was born, Francesca Buffo and Noah Zingarelli, formerly of Springs, were told she would live a month, maybe a year at most, but Mia defied the odds at many turns, and in February will celebrate her sixth birthday — a miracle her parents prayed for, but could never count on.

    “It’s horrible here,” said Linda Shapiro of East Hampton, after arriving in the Rockaways last Thursday with a van filled with pet supplies.

    Learning on the radio about what she called a “desperate need for pet food and litter” in the towns where she grew up, she called Andy Sabin of Springs, a friend and fellow animal-lover, to help. He immediately agreed, and a van was loaded with 1,000 bags of cat litter, 1,000 cans of dog food, and 1,000 cans of cat food.

    Nineteen days after Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., at the conclusion of Friday’s village board meeting, estimated the village’s costs as a result of the hurricane at $400,000, citing damage to public property, debris removal, tree work, and emergency measures. Plans were being made to repair damage at Main Beach and Georgica Beach, he said.

    Stephanie Maietta and Peter Gaddi returned to Montauk, where they met and fell in love, to be married on Oct. 19.

    The couple, who have spent decades of summers in Montauk with their families, were wed at St. Therese of Lisieaux Catholic Church, with a reception following at the Montauk Yacht Club.

    The day before a female goat was scheduled to be slaughtered for her meat, she dropped a big surprise — two babies born on Sept. 27, an unusual time for a goat to give birth, since they often deliver in the spring, rarely in the fall.

    Jeremy Vannoy of Delaware, who raises and sells livestock for their meat, had no idea she was pregnant. So, of course, he canceled the slaughtering.

    “He’s a livestock agent with a heart,” Kelley Foster said.

    If there is one person in Montauk to be thankful for, especially for parents of young children, it’s Maureen Rutkowski. But don’t tell her that, because she’ll only rebuff the statement and make sure everyone else involved gets kudos.

    “I’m just the face of a great group of people,” she said from her lakefront house, which is scattered with kids’ paraphernalia — balls, lacrosse sticks, jackets, and other stuff her two children, Alexandra, 13, and John, 9, collect and throw about.

    The East Hampton Village Board will attempt to stop John and Suzanne Cartier from building a second house on their property at 105 Main Street, even though the zoning board of appeals determined earlier this month that their plans conform to zoning requirements.

    The village board voted on Friday to hire the law firm Lamb and Barnosky to commence legal actions to “preclude the proposed disturbance of the premises,” which is covered by a scenic easement granted to the village in 1975.

    With changing weather patterns and violent storms becoming more frequent, Montauk residents are confused and concerned about where the hamlet’s emergency shelters are located. There were no shelters open in the easternmost hamlet during either Hurricane Sandy or the northeaster that followed a week later.

    Pat Trunzo III, an attorney representing himself, made a case before the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals for variances necessary to convert the second floor of his building at 11 Lumber Lane into two 800-sqaure-foot “affordable” apartments to be occupied by his two sons, Thomas and Steve. The spaces are currently leased to family construction and other trade companies as storage. Mr. Trunzo owns the property with his brother, Mike Trunzo.

     Carl Darenberg knows Montauk, probably better than anyone else. He is at every party, event, festival, and fishing contest that’s held. And, on the following morning, he shares photos with the rest of the world in cyberspace, including Facebook.

    There’s no doubt that by Saturday morning, Montauk Chamber of Commerce’s end-of-season party tomorrow night honoring him as Person of the Year will be posted.

    But you can beat him to it by attending the party. It will be held at East by Northeast from 6:30 to 11 p.m.

    On Sunday, the congregation of the Amagansett Presbyterian Church will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Robert Beecher Stuart’s ordination as minister of word and sacrament. Late last month, Mr. Stuart, pastor of the church from 1981 to 1998, traveled to Princeton Theological Seminary, where he marked the anniversary with his classmates.

    In a wide-ranging discussion at his house in Springs this week, Mr. Stuart looked back on 50 years, noting some profound changes in the church and the larger world over the past half-century.

    After unsuccessfully challenging their neighbors’ plan to build a second house almost as big as the first one at their East Hampton Main Street property, Gordon and Amanda Bowling told the village zoning board of appeals on Oct. 26 that they will build their own family compound next door.

    The East Hampton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 550 and the Sag Harbor V.F.W. Post 9082 will honor veterans on Sunday — Veterans Day — with parades in each village.

    The East Hampton parade will kick off  at the Citarella market at 10 a.m. and proceed to Hook Mill for a solemn ceremony. At 11 a.m., the American Legion Post in Amagansett will perform an annual 11th Hour Ceremony to remember all who have served in the wars.

    Mike Martinson and Mike Doall saw the storm coming a week out and knew the potential damage Hurricane Sandy could do to their Montauk Shellfish Company, and the million or so oysters that were growing in cages in Lake Montauk.

    “We . . . started sinking stuff to the bottom,” Mr. Martinson said on Monday. By “stuff” he was referring to the contents of a portion of the 3,000 or so plastic cages that were strung near the surface on longlines on the east side of Lake Montauk just south of the Gone Fishing Marina. 

    After Hurricane Sandy caused the play’s postponement last weekend, partial proceeds from the East Hampton High School production of “Pygmalion” will go to a good cause. A cast and crew of almost 40 students have been preparing for the production since mid-September and last week decided to donate a portion of the show’s proceeds to the American Red Cross.

    A crew from the Montauk Coast Guard Station plucked a man from his smoldering boat Tuesday night, minutes before it was engulfed in flames. The 44-foot sportfishing boat, Island Girl, sank.

    Its captain, whose name has not been released, received first aid and was taken to Southampton Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

    The East End was “fortunate to be on the outer edge” of Hurricane Sandy, “which did so much damage to lives and property to our south and New York City,” Richard G. Hendrickson, the United States Cooperative weather observer in Bridgehampton, wrote in his monthly weather report for October.

    President Obama declared New York State a major disaster area this week, making municipalities and individuals in Suffolk and other metropolitan-area counties eligible for federal funding. Requests will be prioritized by federal agencies, with health and safety and infrastructure needs placed first.

    East Hampton Village will make it a little easier for nonresidents to park at village beaches next summer.

    The village will increase the number of nonresident daily parking passes available at Main and Two Mile Hollow Beaches on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from 25 to 40. The passes cost $25 per day.

    The Hurricane Sandy cleanup is estimated to cost East Hampton Village “considerably more” than the $200,000 Hurricane Irene did a year ago, according to Larry Cantwell, the village administrator.

   Mr. Cantwell blamed pavilion damage at Main Beach, buckled surfaces in the parking lot at Georgica Beach, and more downed trees than in last year’s storm. The confluence of a full moon, high tide, and winds in excess of 70 miles per hour contributed to the ocean’s surge over parking lots at Georgica, Wiborg, and Main beaches.

    “Yesterday was insane,” Theo Foscolo, the assistant general manger at Rowdy Hall, a restaurant on Main Street, East Hampton, said of the over 350 people served at lunch and dinner Monday. “Everybody just wanted to get out of the house.”

    Speaking yesterday, Mr. Foscolo attributed much of the increased traffic to Rowdy Hall’s being one of the only restaurants open in the village; on Newtown Lane, Cittanuova was closed, as was Sam’s Restaurant, he said. Mr. Foscolo said Rowdy Hall never lost power.

    Ille Arts, an Amagansett gallery, is sponsoring an artists studio tour on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour takes in a great deal of the South Fork, including stops in East Hampton and Bridgehampton in addition to Amagansett.

    David Kronman and Curtis Sachs, representing Cape Advisors, which has acquired the Baron’s Cove property on Water Street, moved closer at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Sag Harbor Village Planning Board to special exception approval of a plan to construct an 87-seat restaurant and 8-seat bar as an “accessory use to a resort motel.” The men were prepared and assisted by Richard Warren of InterScience Associates in responding  to a letter from Timothy Platt, the village’s building inspector. The property is zoned for resort motel use.

    Mr. Sea Crest is a lovable feral cat who lived for at least eight years at Sea Crest on the Ocean, a resort on Napeague. That is, until he was hurt and did everything in his power to let the people taking care of him know that he needed help. He had a scratched eye that caused cloudiness and a bad limp that developed suddenly. It is thought he may have been hit by a car.

    Cristina Elsa Maria Filippelli and Ryan Houldsworth Dempsey of Durham, N.H., were married on Oct. 7 on the Devon Yacht Club dock in Amagansett.

    The ceremony was performed by John Hossenlopp, a reverend in the Universal Life Church, a former commodore of Devon, and a family friend. A reception followed at the club.

    Lily Frances Henderson and Edward Cavanaugh Rhoads David were married on Sept. 29 at the Springs Presbyterian Church on Old Stone Highway. The Rev. Anthony L. Larson performed the ceremony.

    Ms. Henderson is the daughter of Genie and Bill Henderson. She attended the Springs School and graduated in 2002 from the Westover School in Middlebury, Conn., and in 2006 from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., where she studied documentary film.