In Bridgehampton, a bicyclist was seriously injured when he was struck by a van on Friday, July 28, Southampton Town police said. Lt. Susan Ralph did not provide information on how the accident occurred, and detectives are investigating. It happened on Hayground Road, near Windmill Lane, at about 4 p.m.

Philibert Selmi, 38, of Bridgehampton was on the bicycle. The 2008 Ford van that hit him was driven by Inshane Armogen, 45, of Ozone Park, Queens. The driver was not issued any citations, Lieutenant Ralph said.

Members of the Bridgehampton Fire Department treated Mr. Selmi at the scene, and the ambulance transported him to the ball field at the Bridgehampton Firehouse, where a medevac helicopter landed and took him to Stony Brook University Hospital. As of yesterday, he was listed in critical condition.

A mosquito collected in East Hampton on July 26 has tested positive for West Nile virus, Suffolk County health officials announced on Friday.

The mosquito in East Hampton was one of 22 collected by the county that day to test positive for West Nile. While no humans have tested positive for West Nile virus in the county this year, 44 cases have been confirmed in mosquitoes, as well as in three birds. This year to date, no horses have tested positive.

This is only the third time since 2010 that a mosquito collected in East Hampton has tested positive for West Nile. The first was collected in August 2010; the second in August 2014.

News of the positive test in East Hampton comes as the town trustees, in conjunction with the vector control division of the county's Public Works Department and Legislator Bridget Fleming, enact a trial program that they hope will allow reduced and more targeted application of methoprene, a mosquito larvicide.

The county routinely applies methoprene via helicopter over marshlands in the Town of East Hampton including Accabonac Harbor, Napeague, and Beach Hampton, and at other sites across Suffolk. This week, the county was set to spray

At Accabonac Harbor and Napeague on Tuesday, weather permitting, and at Jagger Lane in eastern Southampton Town.

Methoprene's use is controversial, with vector control officials insisting it is safe but many others believing it harms nontarget species, including crustaceans. Town officials have often called for its elimination.

Under the trial program, interns from Stony Brook University and officials from the town's Natural Resources Department are sampling water from Accabonac Harbor to quantify mosquito larvae. Sample sites are recorded using global positioning system devices. Areas are to be treated based on analysis of the samples.

Sampling was taking place on Monday, with Tyler Armstrong of the trustees accompanying those conducting the work, according to Bill Taylor, a deputy clerk of the trustees. Mr. Taylor said on Monday that vector control officials are dropping a granulated form of methoprene via helicopter, rather than the typical aerial spraying, to more precisely target areas of concern and control the larvicide's drift. "We're taking incremental, small steps with vector control," he said, "trying to find alternative methods of taking care of it without mass spraying. . . . But it's still poison. . . . It still kills baby fish."

"The idea is that more testing, on a regular basis, will give them more accurate information as to what's going on," Francis Bock, the trustees' presiding officer, told his colleagues in June. Should conditions allow it, he said, methoprene application can be more accurately applied, "and they may be able to use a lower dose of the methoprene in the process." The Nature Conservancy, which owns land around Accabonac Harbor, has allowed the program on its property, Mr. Bock said.

In addition to the mosquito confirmed to carry West Nile virus in East Hampton, the other mosquitoes reported on Friday were collected in Oakdale, Stony Brook, Port Jefferson Station, Selden, Holtsville, Ridge, Lindenhurst, Copiague, West Babylon, Huntington, Greenlawn, Huntington Station, Nesconset, Commack, Smithtown, and Bay Shore.

"The confirmation of West Nile virus in mosquito samples or birds indicates the presence of West Nile virus in the area," James Tomarken, the county health commissioner, said in a statement issued on Friday. "While there is no cause for alarm, we advise residents to cooperate with us in our efforts to reduce the exposure to the virus, which can be debilitating to humans."

According to Dr. Tomarken, most people infected with West Nile virus will experience mild or no symptoms, but some can develop severe symptoms including high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness, and paralysis. Symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.

Individuals, especially those 50 years of age or older, or those with compromised immune systems, have been urged to take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Residents have been advised to minimize outdoor activities between dusk and dawn; wear shoes and socks, long pants, and long-sleeved shirts when mosquitoes are active; use mosquito repellent, following label directions carefully; make sure all windows and doors have screens, and that all screens are in good repair, and keep mosquitoes from laying eggs inside and outside of residences.

Containers that hold water, such as vases, pet water bowls, flowerpot saucers, discarded tires, buckets, pool covers, birdbaths, trash cans, and rain barrels should be emptied and scrubbed, turned over, covered, or thrown out at least once a week.

The county offers an informational brochure called "Get the Buzz on Mosquito Protection," available in English and Spanish at suffolkcountyny.gov.

Dead birds may indicate the presence of West Nile virus in the area. The public has been asked to report dead birds by calling the county's public health information line at 631-787-2200, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Residents have been encouraged to take a photograph of any bird in question.

Those wishing to report mosquito problems or stagnant pools of water have been asked to call the Department of Public Works' Vector Control division at 631-852-4270.

West Nile virus, first detected in birds and mosquito samples in Suffolk County in 1999 and again each year thereafter, is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito.

The Grey Lady, a Montauk harborside restaurant that has been cited several times this summer for overcrowding, is under court order to limit the number of people it admits and to stop operating as a nightclub in violation of East Hampton zoning rules.

Town officials went to court last week after observing a crowd numbering well over the restaurant's maximum occupancy limit, Michael Sendlenski, the town attorney, said, and after finding that dining and bar tables had been removed to transform the Grey Lady into a night spot.

A temporary restraining order issued by State Supreme Court Judge Elizabeth Emerson on Friday precludes the business and property owners from operating a nightclub. The site may only be used as it is zoned, as a restaurant, according to the court order, which also caps the indoor occupancy limit at 68.

The terms mirror those imposed by a judge two years ago when a different restaurant, known as the Harbor Raw Bar and Lounge, or the Harbor, was doing business there. Ordinance enforcement officers and fire marshals that summer shut down the place on busy nights, when as many as 300 patrons had been admitted. A temporary restraining order was issued.

The owner of the property, at 440 West Lake Drive, remains the same -- a limited liability corporation called Spiritoso. 

The town is now seeking a permanent injunction "to enforce a use pursuant to the zoning code," Michael Sendlenski, the town attorney, said Monday, and was seeking a contempt charge against the landlords. A return to court is scheduled for Aug. 24.

The town's recent court petition marks the second time in several weeks that East Hampton officials have sought a restraining order to stop violations of the town code. On July 26, East Hampton officials moved against Tinder Select, an exclusive, members-only branch of the app-based dating site, which was using a private oceanfront residence in Montauk for its soirees.

The request prompted lawyers for Tinder Select to negotiate an agreement with the town through which illegal use of the property would cease. Tinder had reportedly rented the house for the month of July.

Correction: The property in question is owned by Spiritoso L.L.C. and not by James Willis and Robert Hirsh as previously reported. 

The story as it appeared in print on Aug. 3: A single-car accident in Springs Saturday afternoon claimed the life of a 54-year-old man and left his passenger with serious injuries.

East Hampton Town police said Edward H. Reich of Nyack, N.Y., was behind the wheel of his 1987 Porsche, headed north, when he veered off Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road between Woodbine Drive and Gardiner’s Lane and struck a pole at about 3:20.

His sole passenger, Robert Kostro, 54, of East Hampton, was seriously injured. The Springs Fire Department’s heavy rescue squad extricated both men from the mangled Porsche.

Members of the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association treated Mr. Kostro and transported him to the East Hampton Airport, to meet a medevac helicopter, which took him to Stony Brook University Hospital, a level-one trauma center. As of yesterday, he was listed in fair condition.

Mr. Reich was taken by Springs ambulance to Southampton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Detectives, along with the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office, are continuing to investigate what led to the crash. Capt. Chris Anderson said on Tuesday that it is not clear what caused the Porsche to leave the roadway. Asked if speed was a factor, the captain said there were no obvious signs, such as skid marks. “The physical characteristics that we would need to determine speed aren’t present,” he said.

However, he said, “We believe the operator contributed to the collision.” There were no obvious signs that drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash.

The Porsche was impounded for a safety check. The road was closed between Woodbine Drive and Harbor Boulevard for several hours while police conducted an accident reconstruction.

The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call East Hampton Town police at 631-537-7575.

Update, July 30, 9:55 a.m.: On Sunday morning, East Hampton Town police released the names of the people involved in Saturday afternoon's fatal crash in Springs.

Edward H. Reich, 54, of Nyack was identified as the driver who was killed when his  1987 Porsche hit a utility pole on Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road at about 3:20 p.m. His sole passenger, Robert Kostro, 54, of East Hampton, was seriously injured. Police said on Sunday morning that he is listed in serious, but stable condition at Stony Brook University Hospital. 

According to police, Mr. Reich's Porsche veered off the road and struck the pole near Gardiner's Lane. Both men had to be extricated from the vehicle. Mr. Kostro was airlifted to Stony Brook, while Mr. Reich was taken to Southampton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

Detectives, along with the Suffolk County medical examiner's office, are investigating what led to the crash. The Porsche was impounded for a safety check. The road was closed between Woodbine Drive and Harbor Boulevard for several hours while police conducted an accident reconstruction. 

The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call East Hampton Town police at 631-537-7575.

Update, July 29, 6:38 p.m.: One of the occupants of a Porsche that crashed into a pole in Springs on Saturday afternoon has died. East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said the person, whom he did not identify, was pronounced dead at Southampton Hospital.

Detectives are investigating what caused the one-car crash on Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road, near Woodbine Drive. A portion of the road between Woodbine Drive and Harbor Boulevard will be closed for another couple of hours, according to Sgt. Peter Schmitt, while detectives take measurements for accident reconstruction. PSEG-Long Island will respond to repair the pole, which is leaning across the road. 

Sergeant Schmitt said the Porsche crashed while heading north on Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road at about 3:20 p.m. After an extended extrication process, the passenger was flown by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries, Chief Sarlo said. The driver was taken to Southampton Hospital.

Springs Fire Chief Peter Grimes said the department's heavy rescue squad extricated both occupants from the Porsche. An East Hampton Village Ambulance transported the passenger to East Hampton Airport to meet the medevac helicopter, while a Springs ambulance transported the driver to Southampton Hospital.  About 30 members responded.

The Springs ambulance also responded to an emergency medical call just before this accident occurred.

This article will be updated when more information is available. 

Originally, July 29, 3:46 p.m.: A utility pole came down across Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road near Gardiner's Lane in Springs Saturday afternoon following a serious car crash that left occupants trapped.

The accident occurred in front of 276 Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road at about 3:20 p.m. There were reportedly two people trapped inside the vehicle with serious injuries. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. East Hampton Town police are investigating. 

Two medevac helicopters were called to transport two of the occupants to Stony Brook University Hospital, a level-one trauma center. The helicopters were going to land at East Hampton Airport. 

Emergency responders were advised to be cautious because of downed power wires in the roadway. Regular traffic was being rerouted at Woodbine Drive and Harbor Boulevard. 

The East Hampton Village Ambulance Association was responding to assist the Springs Fire Department because one of the Springs ambulances was responding to an earlier emergency call. 

Days after a pondfront property owner successfully lobbied the East Hampton Town Trustees to allow increased testing of Wainscott Pond, sampling conducted by researchers from the Stony Brook University confirmed a bloom of toxic cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, there.

On Friday, Suffolk County health officials asked residents not to use or swim or wade in the pond and to keep pets and children away from the area.

Last Monday, Simon Kinsella of Wainscott asked the trustees, who manage many of the town's waterways and bottomlands on behalf of the public, to allow expanded research of the pond in order to develop remedies to its degraded water quality. He told the trustees that $179,000 had been raised to fund a study similar to that done on Georgica Pond, which, like Wainscott Pond, has suffered repeated blooms of harmful algae. At a July 18 meeting of a property owners' group, which was attended by Jim Grimes and Bill Taylor of the trustees, a plan was developed to begin research as soon as possible.

The board voted in favor of Mr. Kinsella's proposal.

Under the proposal, Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences will expand the research of Wainscott Pond that he began for the trustees last year. Dr. Gobler has been monitoring conditions in waterways under trustee jurisdiction, including Georgica Pond, for several years. More recently, he has worked on behalf of the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation, another group of private property owners.

The plan for Wainscott Pond was smaller in scope to the research underway at Georgica, but would include installation of a telemetry buoy that would transmit real-time data such as temperature, pH, and levels of chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen, and cyanobacteria. A telemetry buoy has been placed in Georgica Pond in the spring and summer for the last two years.

Also included in the proposed study are expanded sampling of water from both the center and multiple points at the perimeter of Wainscott Pond; core samples of the soil and sediment using a manual sampling tool, and a non-invasive study of the pond's hydrology.

Blue-green algae are naturally present in lakes and streams in low numbers, but they can become abundant, forming blooms in shades of green, blue-green, yellow, brown, or red. They may produce floating scums on the surface of the water or may cause the water to take on a paint-like appearance.

Contact with waters that appear scummy or discolored should be avoided. If contact does occur, rinse off with clean water immediately and seek medical attention if any of the following symptoms occur: nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, skin, eye, or throat irritation, or allergic reactions or breathing difficulties.

A noise complaint from a resident of Buell Lane in East Hampton Village shortly before midnight on Saturday drew police to 27 Edwards Lane, where they said they found over 50 young partiers in the backyard.

The homeowner, James Dean Forbes, identified himself as the host of the party, according to police, and said, according to a report, that "he was the one providing alcohol to the 50 to 75 youths in attendance.

Mr. Forbes, was arrested around midnight and charged with two misdemeanors: hosting an underage drinking party at a private residence and unlawfully distributing alcohol to minors. Placed under arrest, he was taken to headquarters, where he was processed and released without bail, to be arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court on Aug. 30.

Jordan’s Run, a 5K run-walk in Sag Harbor honoring that village’s heroic Marine, Jordan C. Haerter, who on April 22, 2008, saved the lives of 33 fellow Marines by standing his ground in the face of an explosive-packed truck whose driver’s aim was to blow up a barracks in Ramadi, Iraq, that he and Jonathan Yale were guarding, has, after taking some tentative steps in 2016, grown by leaps and bounds.

“There were maybe 20 of us here last year,” said Joi Jackson Perle, who, with her fellow Team Jordan members, including Patty Sales and Mike Davis, pushed within the past year to build Jordan’s Run into the impressive event that was unfurled Sunday, the late Navy Cross-winner’s birthday.

American flags and veterans abounded, and a huge flag hoisted by a cherry picker shaded the finish line at the bottom of Pierson High’s hill. There were 433 registrants and 358 finishers, including Steven Xiarhos of West Barnstable, Mass., a police officer there whose son, Nicholas, one of the Marines Jordan Haerter had saved in Iraq, was later killed in action himself, in Garmsir, Afghanistan, on July 23, 2009, the day of the Soldier Ride here.

“Nick and Jordan served together,” Xiarhos said after crossing the finish line with his fiancée, Denise Kalbach. “They were in the same battalion, the 1st Battalion of the 9th Marine Regiment. They’re called ‘The Walking Dead’ — the Marines’ most decorated unit. Nick came here when the [North Haven-Sag Harbor] bridge was renamed in Jordan’s honor. He and a group of 19 of them drove up from Camp Lejeune. Nick was so impressed by the patriotic feeling here. He was welcomed by the firefighters, he had drinks with them. . . .”

“It’s so shocking,” Perle said, in a separate conversation, of Lance Corporal Haerter’s death. “You never think something like that is going to happen in a small place like this. . . .”

“It’s the price you pay for freedom,” said Xiarhos, adding that “the last time I hugged my son, who had joined the American battalion in Afghanistan, was on May 15, 2009. I hugged him and he got on the bus. . . . He was 21. Jordan was 19. . . .”

Xiarhos gave Patty Sales his son’s dog tags to wear in the race.

In a ceremony before the race-walk began, JoAnn Lyles, Jordan Haerter’s mother, said, in part, “Dear Lord, as we start this race, help us to think of our veterans and currently serving military, law enforcement officers, first responders, and firefighters. Give us purpose with each stride we take. Allow us to see the beauty that surrounds us today, not only this beautiful little village of Sag Harbor, but the smiles we see all around us.”

“Help us to know the cost of freedom and the sacrifices given by so many, that allow us to enjoy this day. Enjoy the camaraderie of old friends and the joy of finding new ones, born of shared experiences. Guide us all safely home when this day is done. God bless America. Amen.”

As for the race itself, Troy Taylor, a 23-year-old Texan who has been working in one of East Hampton’s Gubbins Running Ahead stores, won it, in 16 minutes and 25.8 seconds.

Barbara Gubbins, who, at 57, was the women’s runner-up to Tara Farrell (a former Gubbins employee), at first said when questioned that Taylor worked 90 hours a week before correcting herself. “Forty-five hours a week, I meant to say,” she said, with a smile.

The runner-up, Gustavo Morastitla, a 17-year-old Southampton High School senior, was also wearing a Gubbins singlet. He works in a Gubbins Southampton store and has been working out this summer with Taylor, a 4:02 miler when he was at the University of North Texas. In addition, Justin Gubbins, Barbara’s husband, has been helping Morastitla increase his speed in interval workouts on Southampton High’s track.

“Gustavo [whose time was 16:39.7] went out on the lead — he wasn’t supposed to,” said Gubbins, who fought off a strong challenge from Sinead FitzGibbon, who is 10 years her junior.

Farrell, as aforesaid, was the women’s winner (and fifth over all), in 19:35.6. Gubbins’s time was 20:30.7, FitzGibbon’s, 20:31.9. They were eighth and ninth over all.

Dennis Fabiszak, the East Hampton Library’s executive director, and an ultra runner, was sixth, in 19:51.0. Steve Bellone, the county executive, was 127th, in 28:25.9.

“I’ll get her when I grow up,” FitzGibbon said of Gubbins, whom she’s has beaten just once, at a Katy’s Courage 5K, also in Sag Harbor. “On second thought, I think I’ll not grow up,” she said with a smile.

A.J. McGuire, the newly installed Sag Harbor Village police chief, was said by the Team Jordan members to have been very helpful in making sure the event, among whose many participants were Gold Star families (families who have lost a loved one in military service) and the Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club, ran smoothly. 

A persistent, hard northeast wind at the end of July is not all that common. Usually, we don’t see such blows until September as an early harbinger of the cooler weather of autumn. And while this past weekend would never have been classified by any meteorologist as a true northeaster, the gusty winds, especially on Saturday, did usher in some pronounced changes to our waterfront landscape.

Even without the promise of significant rainfall, bay temperatures took a tumble, even before the winds started to howl. Having nearly approached a toasty and most swimmable 80 degrees, temperatures quickly chilled back down to the low and mid-70s. Ocean shoreline waters cooled off as well. No reason to pack away the swim shorts, however. Water temps will rebound again soon, especially with the warmer weather this week.

“I love when the weather forecast keeps the weekend mob scene at the dock,” said Capt. Robert Aaronson of the charter boat Oh Brother out of Montauk. “We had easy striped bass limits and no weaving around boats and getting waked.” The bass are running large and plentiful, including a 56-pounder taken by Ken Bliss on the charter boat Grand Slam. The night bite for bass has not been nearly as productive, with sporadic fishing, depending on the tides. Action should perk up with the approaching full moon on Monday.

Those intent on fishing for summer flounder witnessed some impressive catches, especially before the weekend winds. Over at the Lazy Bones, Kathy Vegessi, dockside support arm for the Montauk half-day fishing operation, took a busman’s holiday last Thursday morning and bagged two flatties weighing in at six and eight pounds. What made the catch even more impressive was that she caught them both on the same drift. When you’re hot, you’re hot.

Over on the Ebb Tide II that same day, Ole Olsen thought he was stuck on the bottom until his rod started to bounce. The fight was on. It took two nets before a doormat of 14.52 pounds was wrestled aboard. A fatty flattie for sure. Over all, the fluke fishing was “pretty decent before the winds,” said Vegessi.

At the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, Harvey Bennett was enthused by the jolt in the weather, fishing, and some significant items of note in the world of sports. While Bennett is still looking for a catcher’s mitt or two to send to underprivileged children in the Dominican Republic, he was beaming broadly in the windy weather on Saturday that the New York Yankees were clinging close to first place in the baseball standings, and that pro football training camp opened up in the National Football League, including for his beloved Oakland Raiders.

“It’s a good time to be a sports fan and the fishing is good too,” said Bennett, who just secured his tickets for the Oct. 29 Raiders game against the hapless Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y. “Snappers are showing well and there have been some big bass taken in the surf. Porgies are holding strong in the usual spots and some really nice, big fluke are still off Napeague. Plus, a mess of green bonito have showed up around Hicks Island.”

Bennett also noted that the action for football-size bluefin and yellowfin tuna was gaining strength farther offshore. For his road trip to western New York this fall, Bennett may wish to consider grilling some tuna steaks at the pregame tailgate party. Buffalo tuna, anyone?

Brown sharks, which are known to occasionally roam close to the ocean shore at night in their search for food, have duped a few shore casters of late.

“The other night, one of my customers thought he had the striped bass of a lifetime on the line,” relayed a smiling Sebastian Gorgone, proprietor of Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton. “After a long, hard-fought battle, it turned out to be a six-foot brown shark. Major disappointment.” On more benign species, Gorgone said that snappers and blowfish can be had in Three Mile Harbor, and that the porgy bite continues in and around Gardiner’s Island.

“The Shinnecock reef and the other pieces and rock piles out front have had some nice-sized sea bass come over the rails along with a few porgies too,” said Scott Jeffrey of East End Bait and Tackle in Hampton Bays. “The Peconic Bay porgy bite has been pretty good too, with Rodgers Rock and Jessup’s Neck doing really well. Anchor up with some clam baits and plenty of clam chum and you’ll have a blast.”

Farther offshore in 140 to 180 feet of water, action for a variety of sharks, including mako, blue, hammerhead, and thresher, has been consistent. Jeffrey also said that bluefin and yellowfin tuna are coming up in increasing catches, and that trolled green machines and daisy chains have been the lures of choice for success.

On the offshore tournament front, lots of anglers are expected to participate in the 25th annual Star Island Mako, Thresher, and Tuna Tournament. The two-day event takes place tomorrow and Saturday. As a reminder, New York State law requires that all shark tournament participants use exclusively non-stainless steel, non-offset circle hooks.

We welcome your fishing tips, observations, and photographs at [email protected]. You can find the “On the Water” column on Twitter at @ehstarfishing.

Children and parents probably did not expect to see police officers shouldering semiautomatic weapons as they arrived at the Children’s Museum of the East End’s annual family fair in Bridgehampton two weeks ago.

Such a show of force is commonplace at spots like Madison Square Garden, the Jones Beach amphitheater, Penn Station, and big airports, but an increased police presence this summer at large-scale events starting with the Hamptons Half-Marathon in Bridgehampton in the spring and most recently at the Watermill Center’s benefit on Saturday, is new on the South Fork.

It is part of a counterterrorism initiative brought to Southampton Town by its new police chief, Steven Skrynecki. With over 100 special events taking place from Sagaponack to Speonk — and many of them with high-price tickets and attracting celebrities and members of high society — he felt it was necessary to increase safety in light of acts of terrorism that have occurred elsewhere.

Some guests at the July 22 family fair, where two officers stood at the entrance and also walked around in the morning, complained to organizers that “it was really antithetical to promoting a family-friendly environment,” according to Steve Long, the executive director. Some children were frightened, he said. While the attendees still had fun, and no one that he knew of left because of the police presence, “It didn’t promote the sense of a family-friendly environment that we try so hard to promote.”

“We’ve been having this fair for years. I don’t know what precipitated, all of a sudden, that terrorism is really a concern, now more so than 12 months ago,” Mr. Long said. In the past, the Police Department had supplied two traffic control officers, and CMEE took care of its own security through a private firm.

Chief Skrynecki said there was no intelligence indicating that an act of terrorism would occur here, but he would rather be prepared.

“In my opinion, there’s no difference between an event that’s a large crowd of children and a large crowd of adults,” the chief said. “Regardless of their makeup in any way, a large crowd is potentially a target. We’ve seen this in San Bernardino . . . indoors in the Pulse nightclub . . . in Germany in a Christmas setting, in a festive setting . . . in Nice, France, which is a beachside resort not dissimilar to the Hamptons,” he said. “We would be foolish to try and suggest that it can’t happen here.”

The purpose of having officers with the semiautomatic rifles on display is twofold, he explained. He would rather the department anticipate a potential problem than simply respond to it, and he also hopes ready to take action would act as a deterrent.

These weapons are standard in patrol cars and have been for years, replacing the old 12-gauge shotguns, because of their range. The squad cars could easily be 100 yards away from where a threat is standing, the chief said. “That’s a 100-yard sprint in one direction and a 100-yard sprint back,” he said, adding that he would rather the officer be prepared to meet the threat.

Lara Sweeney, the development officer at CMEE, said in an email forwarded by Mr. Long that during the event, she spoke to the officers about how their presence was making some guests uncomfortable. They talked of the potential for a truck full of explosives being driven up the museum’s driveway, for example. “I responded that — with all due respect and we do appreciate all the police do for us — I don’t think two officers with machine guns standing by our driveway would prevent that kind of terrorism.”

The police presence does not come without an additional cost. As part of the permitting fee for a mass gathering event, Mr. Long said CMEE paid $944 this year, $719 more than last year for the same event.

“It was also a shame that $1,000 that I feel like we could be using for educational outreach, assisting families that couldn’t otherwise access our programming [is] instead . . . paying for two police officers to walk around with their machine guns.”

Mr. Long emphasized that the Southampton Town Police Department has been “amazing” in the past. He called Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman’s office after the event, but had not yet heard back.

Mr. Schneiderman said he would discuss the complaints with the police chief. “It’s worse to be criticized if there were a tragic event that we didn’t do enough to respond or prevent it,” he said. “We have a chief who is an expert in this area and who is highly regarded.” The new Southampton police chief is the former chief of the Nassau County Police Department.

“We are trying to balance this out in such a way that we have a visible deterrent, but we don’t want to interfere with activities or the enjoyment of the attendees,” Mr. Schneiderman said.

As a father himself, he said he understands the alarm the new initiative may cause, especially at a children’s event. He said it is possible that at certain events the officers could be less conspicuous and still accomplish the mission.

“I will certainly take into consideration any public feedback,” he said. “We’re still dialing in. This is a relatively new program here.”  

The feedback so far has been largely positive, according to the police chief and the supervisor. The chief said he was approached by a man who attended an L.G.B.T. event, who said he was nervous about going, but when he saw the officers, he felt safe.

His message to children or even adults who may be scared by the sight of the guns is: “That person is there to protect you. That person is not there to cause you fear.” He suggested parents talk to children about what they are seeing and that people of all ages recognize that “Nowadays, unfortunately, a mass gathering of any kind becomes a potential target.”

A new collaboration between the East End Classic Boat Society and the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter aims to teach kids valuable skills that might even open doors for future careers.

Last Thursday, the East End Classic Boat Society, a not-for-profit whose goal is to educate members about classic boatbuilding techniques and preserve classic marine designs, welcomed 13 Y.M.C.A. campers of various ages to its Community Boat Shop in Amagansett.

This was the first of many trips that the group will take to learn about the woodworking, engineering, and team-building skills that go into constructing a boat.

With performing arts, rock band, sports, and drone camps, the Y.M.C.A. offers various summer programs to fit the interests of a range of campers from prekindergarten through ninth grade, but this new boatbuilding class does much more than keep kids occupied during the day.

“The craftsmanship that goes into building a boat by hand, piece by piece, is something they can take out of here and go off and actually make a living from,” said Kevin Moran, the facilities director at the Y.M.C.A.

For Y.M.C.A. directors, the mission is to get kids excited early about engineering, math, and science. And the class gives members of the Classic Boat Society the chance to pass down their artisanal skills to keep a longstanding tradition alive.

“Boatbuilding is becoming a lost art,” said Richie Davgin, a member of the Classic Boat Society, before Mr. Moran continued, “and this organization has tried in the past to get new blood in here, so now we are bringing in kids. You can see the ones that are really interested.”

On the first day the campers were introduced to the shop, learned how some of the boatbuilding tools work, and did various activities to practice building skills. By the end of the camp, which will run through Labor Day, the kids will have completed construction of a Styrofoam model of an actual boat that was built by the Classic Boat Society members and is displayed in the boat shop.

“This is a kind of a tutorial of the different nuances of boatbuilding, from restorations to new constructions,” said Glenn Vickers, the Y.M.C.A.’s executive director. “Eventually we’re going to have a builder’s club at the Y.M.C.A., which will be everything from STEAM: science, technology, arts, and mathematics.”

Set to begin in September, the builder’s club will be part of the free Friday preteen and teen program for ages 12 to 17 that will continue weekly from 7 to 9 p.m. through the school year.