A multicultural festival will celebrate diversity and the Sag Harbor community tomorrow night with an abundance of free homemade food, music, drumming, dance, and games.

    Building upon the success of last year’s event, Pierson High School will be filled with tastes of 28 countries from 5:30 to 9 p.m., with new contributions expected from El Salvador, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden, according to Cheryl Bedini, an organizer.

    The dishes primarily represent countries where parents or grandparents come from, she explained. Ms. Bedini will celebrate her husband, Andres’s, heritage with Peruvian and Argentinean offerings including chicken in chili cheese sauce, spinach and meat empanadas, papas al Huancaino, and a corn drink called chich morado. Bagpipes will kick off the 10 performances, among them Irish step dancers, Shinnecock Nation youth dancers, Japanese drummers, children singing in French and Italian, and a Russian student who will play the piano.

    The event is a giveback to district taxpayers, said Ms. Bedini, from the Sag Harbor Elementary School Parent Teacher Association. An optional $5-per-family donation will benefit the Sag Harbor Food Pantry and the John Jermain Memorial Library.

    The Sag Harbor Village Zoning Board of Appeals listened with apparent empathy on Feb. 19 to  neighbors who voiced opposition to plans for a historic house on Garden Street that they said would change the character of the neighborhood and exacerbate flooding, as well as to Dennis Downes, the attorney for the applicant, William Egan. “The neighbors have had a good time stalling this for five years,” Mr. Downes said.

    The underlying problem in the neighborhood is that it is low-lying. Mr. Downes said the proposed changes were necessary because of the poor drainage, saying correcting that was the village’s responsibility. He said houses on Howard Street regularly pump water from their houses “and it is going into my clients’ basement.”

    To meet requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the house, for which an addition is planned, has to be raised. That would require a new set of stairs, which would come within 7 feet of the road, where 35 feet is required. The setback now is 20 feet, Mr. Downes said, handing 24 surveys to board members that demonstrated houses and steps on the block with setbacks of only three feet.

    “Numerous homes have raised basements,” he said. “He is entitled to raise his house and put steps in so he can get into it,” said Mr. Downes. He added that the applicant has to pump his basement out every time it rains, and again blamed the village for negligence.

    “All work proposed meets every zoning code except the stairs,” Mr. Downes said.

    Given recent storms, however, flooding remained an issue for the neighbors. “We are really scared,” said Mia Grosjean. When a neighbor put in a swimming pool, she said it displaced water into her yard as well as others. “We are terrified of what can happen.”

    Robin Young, another neighbor, who also had water on her mind, also complained that the proposed changes would change the character of the neighborhood. The house would be “sitting up that high and looming down at mine,” she said. “I am familiar with water,” she said, noting that her backyard has gotten flooded for 37 years. “In the plans I saw dry wells, retaining walls. It looked complicated,” she said, “I worry when someone puts in a hard structure, where will the water go in a rainstorm.”

    Mr. Downes said the new retaining walls were dictated by the County Health Department to avoid septic flooding.

    Another neighbor also expressed concern that raising  Mr. Egan’s house would result in the water winding up in his own yard.

    Tim McGuire, a board member, empathized with the residents. “The village needs to look at the issue in this neighborhood,” he said.  Brendan Skislock, another board member who lives nearby, agreed, saying that during the recent storm, “I had to swim out of my house in a bathing suit.”

    “All I need is a variance for a set of stairs,” Mr. Downes insisted. Anthony Hagen, the board’s chairman, agreed, reminding the speakers that the board was “really not looking at anything but the steps.”

    Mr. Hagen said that because FEMA mandated raising the house, the applicant would have to site it back seven feet to avoid needing a variance for the stairs. This would require a return to the architectural review board, he said, but it had already decided the house should be kept in place.

    “Changing the character is a lesser evil than causing hardship,” Mr. Hagen said, while Denise Schoen, the board’s lawyer, asked, “What is the hardship of having the stairs in the proposed location?”

    Mr. Hagen decided not to weigh in officially without further examination. “I need a bit more time to clear up some legal issues,” he said. “We will vote at the next meeting,” he said, adding, “There will be no more public input.”

    Sag Harbor’s mayor, Brian Gilbride, and the village trustees Edward Gregory and Kevin Duchemin discussed a dilemma over repairs to the floating docks off Long Wharf that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy and the storm that followed.

    With time of the essence as the boating season approaches, Mayor Gilbride wondered at a special meeting on Friday if the village board should “bite the bullet” and accept the one bid received, in the amount of $201,000 from Keith Grimes, or readvertise in hopes of getting a lower bid.

    Originally advertised after Sandy but before the northeaster that followed weeks later, the bid did not include the electrical damage caused by the second storm, which was more punishing to the docks because of the wind’s direction. Mayor Gilbride said.

    Although some reimbursement is to be expected from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Mayor Gilbride estimated that to be only about $80,000, adding that none of the damage is covered by insurance. He said that there is $1.2 million in the village’s repair fund.

    Mr. Gregory and Mr. Duchemin were in favor of seeing if the village’s Highway Department could perform some of the needed repairs, and of readvertising. Although the contractor agreed to a desired completion date of May 1, the board agreed that the majority of boaters don’t put their boats in the water until a little later, and that pursuing a lower bid would be prudent. The bid was rejected and a new bid will be advertised to include the additional repairs needed.

    The county recently turned over ownership of Long Wharf to the village, although an official ceremony of the deed transfer was canceled due to the blizzard earlier this month.

    In other business, Mr. Duchemin brought up the issue of his son, Kevin Duchemin Jr.’s, entry into the Sag Harbor Fire Department, which Mayor Gilbride denied at the board’s Feb. 12 meeting because, he said, village bylaws prohibit enrollment for undergraduate students. Mr. Gregory, who had supported the younger Mr. Duchemin at the Feb. 12 meeting, reiterated his support on Friday and recalled that his own son had been a member of the department while a student at Suffolk Community College. Mayor Gilbride again denied the request, until the bylaws are changed. With only three trustees in attendance and the mayor against it, there were not enough votes to allow Mr. Duchemin’s son to begin fire school training.

    “At last we have had winter,” Richard G. Hendrickson, the United States Cooperative weather observer, wrote in his February report from Bridgehampton. “No record-breaking snowfall, no extra-thick ice on the ponds, never a squall of record-breaking wind speed, just nice winter weather.”

    But it’s not over yet, he reminded people late last week. “Often with March there is a large snowstorm, with northwest 50-mile-per-hour winds.” By the time the paper hits the newsstand that may already have come to pass . . . or not.

    February’s warmest day, according to Mr. Hendrickson, was the 18th, when it was 48 degrees, and it was in the 40s on 10 days last month. “I believe this is the warmest February month I have ever recorded since I started the U.S. Weather Station here on the farm on April 1, 1931.”

    The coolest night last month was Feb. 10, when it was just 10 degrees. There was measurable precipitation on eight days, for a total of 2.7 inches. That was despite the 18 inches of snow that February brought, the heaviest — 12 inches — coming on Feb. 8. Snow depths are not equal to rain depths, so the total precipitation can be quite a bit less than the snowfall measured in inches.

    “As you know we are in a warming cycle,” Mr. Hendrickson wrote. “How long will this warmer pattern last? It may be a 10 to 20-year cycle, or a many number of years. That is a good reason to keep accurate records.”

    Bill Jones, a former Sag Harbor Village trustee who is now a Suffolk County legislator, will speak about the village’s police union contract negotiations at a public forum on Saturday morning.

Mayor Brian Gilbride has proposed to disband the force and have police services provided by another entity, or to eliminate several full-time positions in the department. In a recent press release, Mr. Jones said the “system is rigged in favor of police unions.”

The discussion will take place from 10 to noon in the Pierson High School auditorium.

    James Maitland O’Donnell, the son of William and Diane O’Donnell of East Hampton, was married on Feb. 23 to Stephanie Miranda. The Rev. Damian O’Connell performed the ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, and a reception followed at the Russian Tea Room.

    The bride is a daughter of Almudena de Ameller of New York City and the late Antonio Miranda. A graduate of Boston College, she is a vice president and account director at the Grey Group in New York. Mr. O’Donnell also graduated from Boston College, which is where the couple met. He works as a construction superintendent at J.T. Magen and Company in New York. They live in New York.

    The bride wore a dress by Suzanne Neville, with a vintage fur jacket and shoes and a bag by Kate Spade. She carried a bouquet of lavender calla lilies.

    She was attended by her sisters Caroline Miranda and Christine Miranda of New York, her sister-in-law, Beth Miranda of Connecticut, and the bridegroom’s sisters Lisa Hall of Santa Barbara, Calif., Natalie Mattson of East Hampton, and Caitlin O’Donnell of New York. Also in her wedding party were her friends Caroline Dunwoody, Christina Scotti, Mary Kate Miller, Caroline Lorusso, Lisa Tomasi, and Shannon Tracey. They wore dresses with an empire bodice, a black chiffon overlay, and a charmeuse band with beaded applique.

    Paloma Miranda, Francesca Miranda, and Nina Hall were the flower girls.

    Mr. O’Donnell’s best man was Louis Bergdorf of New York. He was also attended by his brothers-in-law Greg Hall of Santa Barbara and Tyler Mattson of East Hampton, and by the bride’s brothers Antonio Miranda and David Miranda of Connecticut, Michael Miranda of New York, and Matthew Miranda of Los Angeles, as well as his friends Joseph Sullivan of Montauk, Paul Cangiolosi and Keith Steckowski of East Hampton, Gary Varnavides, and Scott Handwerker.

    The ringbearers were Skylar Hall and David Miranda, and there were readings by the bridegroom’s godmother, Diane Melli of Sayville, and Claire Congleton of New York.

    The newlyweds are taking a two-week tour of Argentina.

    Richard Schneider, an East Hampton Village Police Department lieutenant and 35-year veteran of the force, has retired. The village board accepted his resignation on Friday, his last day on the job. The board also authorized a payment of $129,229.04 for accrued time.

    “Rich, we wish you the very best for whatever the future holds for you and your family,” Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. said. “Good health and longevity.” The lieutenant told the board that he was retiring with mixed emotions. “The Police Department is my family,” he said.

    In the 1970s, Lieutenant Schneider recalled, he worked for Bruce Siska, who is now a board member, at the A&B Snowflake. “I want to thank Bruce for that opportunity to work and to learn from him, and wish to thank this village board on behalf of the village board from 1977, which took the recommendation of then-Chief Carl Dordelman to hire me. I took what I learned from the Snowflake and started using that as a special [police officer], then as a traffic control officer, then back to being special police officer whose job title changed from year to year.”

    “As the mayor always says, and I concur, this is the best police department on Long Island,” the lieutenant said. “Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”

    “I’ve worked with Rich for the last 30 years,” Police Chief Gerard Larsen said. “It’s been a pleasure. He’s a wonderful cop, he’s a wonderful person, and he’s going to be very much missed.”

    Kirby Marcantonio, the publisher of the free weeklies Montauk Life and Hamptons Life, made a pitch at an East Hampton Town Board meeting in Montauk on Feb. 12 for free outdoor movies in Montauk this summer. Suggesting that the Hank Zebrowski Memorial Field on Edgemere Road, a public park, be used and that local organizations could sell refreshments to raise funds, he received a favorable response.

    His idea is to show films on two nights in July and two in August on the open, town-owned field where craft fairs and similar events are held. Charitable organizations, such as Boy Scouts, the Playhouse Community Center, and the proposed Montauk Indian Museum would be able to sell snacks, hot dogs, popcorn, and drinks, while raising awareness of their work, Mr. Marcantonio said.

    “People who come for free are free to spend money on other things, like food and beverages,” he told the board. They would take their own blankets or chairs for seating. He also pointed out at the meeting that the Montauk Movie, which is for rent, might be closing.

    In a subsequent interview, Mr. Marcantonio said he would ask local businesses to sponsor the project to provide money for advertising, licensing fees, a brochure, and renting movie equipment. He mentioned that a commercial operation  would handle the technical process.

    Although apparently receptive to the project, the town board has not said how much it might charge to rent the field. Mr. Marcantonio said he had spoken with a town fire marshal and a town Parks and Recreation Department official, who, he said, seemed amenable to the idea.

    The movies would be geared toward families, he said, adding, however, that he had found it a bit more difficult than expected to lease movies. Some firms limit when and where their films may be shown, he said, noting that Pixar, for example, will only allow their films to be shown indoors.

    At the meeting in February, the board seemed pleased with the plan, with the only concern that others might want to use the field for business ventures. East Hampton Town Councilwoman Theresa Quigley, however, said she found the idea “lovely.” She asked the town attorney, John Jilnicki, to look into the legal requirements.

    “There’s a certain amount of bells and whistles, but it’s certainly not like I’m proposing a music festival,” he said.

    Changes in the permitted catch of cod from the Georges Bank, the stock that the local charter and party boat fleet depends upon during the winter months, are to take effect on May 1, but whether local fishermen will feel a pinch, and if so, what form the changes will take — whether minimum size limits, daily bag limits, closed seasons, or closed areas — has not been decided.

    Regulations now require cod to be at least 22 inches long. Private boaters may keep 10 per day. There is no bag limit for anglers fishing from licensed party and charter boats.

    As of May 1, the allowable catch of Gulf of Maine cod by commercial fishermen is to be cut by 68 percent, according to Maggie Mooney-Seus, a spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service. The quota will go from 2,583 to 830 metric tons, and the cut is expected to have a significant impact on New England fishing communities.

    However, fishermen working on the Georges Bank resource will see a 3-percent increase in the quota from 1,750 to 1,807 metric tons, Ms. Mooney-Seus said. How this will affect the sportfishing industry is not yet clear.    

    Meanwhile, the cod haul by local charter and party boats saw dramatic improvement over the weekend. On Saturday, fishermen reported a slow bite in the morning south of Block Island, when electronic fish finders lit up. Images of a large, dense school of the bottom feeders coincided with excited hoots from anglers grinding cod in the 10 to 15-pound range to the surface.

    Capt. Carl Forsberg of the Viking Fleet reported better and better fishing as the day progressed despite some rough weather, with the addition of a number of fat ling in the mix. Viking party boats are now sailing daily for Block Island cod. The boats leave the dock at 3 a.m. and return at 3 p.m. The cost is $120 per angler.

    The contentious issue of dogs on East Hampton Village beaches, and specifically their owners’ rights and responsibilities, will be among the issues addressed at the East Hampton Village Board work session today at 11 a.m.

    Though the village’s trustees have invited a small number of people, including Diane McNally, an East Hampton Town trustee, to informally participate, today’s work session is not intended as a forum for residents to share opinions or air grievances.

    Larry Cantwell, the village administrator, was careful to point out that today’s session is not a public hearing. “There’s no specific proposal before the board,” he said on Tuesday. “They’re going to continue their discussion about it.” Presently, dogs are prohibited from public beaches between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. from the second Sunday in May through Sept. 30.

    Mr. Cantwell said that the board and Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. have talked with various people since the Feb. 7 meeting, at which Jennifer Berkeley and Matthew Norklun, village residents with opposing views regarding dogs on village beaches, spoke at length. Today’s session, Mr. Cantwell said, “is the board’s regular monthly work session, not some secret meeting.”

    Steven Gaines, an author who lives in Wainscott, described himself as part of a group of dog owners concerned that the village will place greater restrictions on dogs on its beaches, if not an outright ban. He and others have formed Citizens for Responsible Dog Ownership, which is described on its Facebook page as “an organization of dog owners in East Hampton . . . dedicated to teaching dog owners to pick up after their dogs on beaches and keeping them leashed at appropriate times.”

    Mr. Gaines said that an organization modeled on Citizens for Access Rights, which advocates for public access to beaches and opposes privatization efforts, would provide a powerful voice to dog owners that hope to preserve present regulations. “I’m part of a group of concerned dog owners and part of the committee,” he said. “We’re going ask the village to give us a year to do a passionate education program for the public. The beaches must be clean. In order to do that, we don’t have to ban dogs.”

    Mr. Gaines cited a cultural shift in New York City, following a 1978 law requiring dog owners to clean up after their pet, as proof that village beaches can be both pristine and dog-friendly. “I lived in Manhattan in the ’70s,” he said. “A guy across the street would say to whomever, ‘Pick up after your dog.’ Other dog owners would give you newspaper. It got traction. What happened in Manhattan can come out here.”