Villages

The East Hampton Clericus, a group of leaders representing the different religious organizations in the community, has planned an interfaith candlelight vigil on Saturday at 5 p.m. via Zoom.

Few small businesses in East Hampton Town have been more adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic than fitness centers, which were shut down from mid-March through the end of August. During that span, several closed their doors for good and more may soon follow.

The years-long process of turning the home and workshops of the Dominy family craftsmen into a museum is in its final stretch. Just a few more months of construction remain to restore key historical details such as an 18-century forge, and to install modern utilities such as water service and a septic system, according to Robert Hefner, East Hampton Village's director of historic services.

In this photo from January 1938, Norma Edwards appears lying on a sled, with mittens and a hat, half covered in snow at 13 years old. The photo is part of the Carleton Kelsey Collection, digitized in partnership with the Amagansett Historical Association.

Due to a limited supply of Covid-19 vaccines, and the slower-than-expected pace of inoculating frontline health care workers, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Tuesday that it would be at least a month before members of the general public can begin receiving vaccinations. 

An effort by some residents of Wainscott to create an incorporated village in a 4.4-acre expanse of that hamlet moved forward on Dec. 30 with the submission to East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc of a petition with over 200 signatures.

“We have gotten to the end of the lottery list for the higher-income applicants and welcome any new applicants we could potentially get qualified quickly and make an immediate offer of a rental opportunity at Gansett Meadow,” said Catherine Casey, executive director of the East Hampton Housing Authority, in an email to The Star on Dec. 21.

When the pandemic and the call to quarantine began in March, Carolyn Snyder and her family, the owners of Round Swamp Farm in East Hampton, sprang into action to provide homebound residents with homemade soups and groceries, including chickens, eggs, milk, and pantry staples.

A drive-through Covid-19 testing site is scheduled to open at East Hampton Town Hall on Wednesday. The outdoor site, which will be open seven days per week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., has been established in response to the surge in coronavirus transmission across Long Island and in New York State. 

Share the Harvest Farm in East Hampton is among the East End farms that have donated high-quality produce to food pantries and have raised awareness about food insecurity on the East End. In 2020, the farm expanded its outreach to include additional food pantries, for a total of 11 sites over the main growing season.

By most measures, Suffolk County had its worst month of the pandemic so far: New cases per day were above 1,000 on 27 days, and hit a new high of just over 2,000 on Dec. 30. The total cumulative Covid-19 cases increased by 50 percent in the five East End towns during December.

Local food pantries usually see the greatest need in the winter months, when those with seasonal jobs struggle to make ends meet, but because of the pandemic and job losses caused by the economic shutdown, they have been helping feed a record number of people all year. 

The volunteers and employees of Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island shone bright during the pandemic, ensuring that in a time of isolation, those in need did not slip through the cracks. 

In mid-March, as stay-at-home orders went into effect, panicked buying was leading to shortages, and customers were nervous about going into grocery stores, many food stores pivoted to meet the new demands. One Stop Market in East Hampton was one of them.

Undaunted by quarantine-imposed isolation and a lack of supplies, Anne Kothari and Yuka Silvera spearheaded an effort to make personal protective equipment for hospital workers last winter and spring, ultimately donating hundreds of hand-sewn masks and caps.

The Rev. Tisha Williams of the First Baptist Church of Bridgehampton would say her biggest accomplishment during Covid "was remaining relevant in a digital space with consistent worship."

The photo seen here offers an early look at the general store on Old Stone Highway in Springs around 1900. The store was built in 1844 by David Dimon Parsons (1811-1882), who had purchased the land from Isaac Edwards for $100.

In a year marked as much by social upheaval and a nationwide reckoning over race as it was by unprecedented public health challenges, Willie Jenkins stands out not only for demanding change but for creating it.

After shoppers cleaned out the aisles at Montauk's only grocery store, two fishermen with a boatload of fish began handing it out to anyone who wanted it.

The government meetings of East Hampton Town and Village abruptly migrated from municipal buildings to remote video conference, and LTV, East Hampton's public access channel, was instrumental in hosting those meetings and virtually connecting the public to elected representatives.

With Covid-19 beginning to invade the South Fork, the Amagansett Library director closed the doors for the start of an expected two-and-one-half-week shutdown. The library would not reopen to the public for months.

By year's end, East Hampton Town's Human Services Department was on track to have provided around 57,300 meals, more than in the prior three years combined. It also makes thousands of wellness calls, coordinates with the Family Service League to provide free mental health counseling, provides virtual activities, and offers a support group via teleconference for those caring for a loved one, all in the service of keeping the town's senior citizens safe, nourished, and healthy. 

The region's post office clerks, mail carriers, foremen, and other employees have been doing some of the heaviest lifting of all: processing and delivering a record-breaking volume of packages and mail for more customers than ever.

What started out as a kids' summer art program has taken on an entirely new life during the pandemic. Marit Molin expanded Hamptons Art Camp into Hamptons Community Outreach to reflect the organization's new, additional priorities: food insecurity, mental health, crisis support, and children's services.

Brett Surerus, a property manager who leads several nonprofit initiatives, and Alex Graham, a marketing adviser at Compass, lead the Shelter Island Action Alliance, which was quickly established in March to simultaneously feed those critical health care workers and support the island's restaurants.

For many people, 2020 has been challenging, but as the chief of the East Hampton Ambulance Association, Lisa Charde has led a team of volunteers and professional paramedics in harrowing conditions. 

In the spring, when Stony Brook Southampton Hospital began to fill up with patients who were "all so sick at the same time with the same thing, that's when it really got hard . . . and everything we were doing felt like it wasn't helping," recalled Samantha Jiudice, an intensive care unit nurse there. "Now, when the patients come . . . we have a checklist. It's not easier, it just comes more comfortably because we've experienced it already."

Andrew M. Cuomo announced updated quarantine guidelines for New York State on Tuesday, aligning them with those of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the year comes to a close and a new one begins we celebrate people who went above and beyond to make their communities a better place in 2020's darkest of days. These are but a few of the many who inspired us this year through their strength, kindness, resilience, and bravery. 

Oh, what a year it was. If you had written a movie pitch for 2020, few people would have bought it. Too far-fetched, they'd say. Not possible. After a sunny New Year's Day when thousands gathered at East Hampton's Main Beach to dive into the ocean or watch others do so at the annual polar plunge, the year took a decidedly different turn.