Parking lots across town, crowded with Christmas shoppers, were the scenes of several vehicular accidents last week.

In Montauk, in the lot behind White’s Pharmacy, the owners of the business pulled up parallel to the rear of the store, where they frequently park, on the evening of Dec. 23. Claudia Trott was behind the wheel of a 2015 Land Rover owned by her mother, Deryn Trott, who was in the passenger seat.

The younger Ms. Trott put the car in park, or so she thought, and got out, walking toward another car also parked parallel to the rear of White’s. Her mother got out at the same time and walked around the back of the vehicle, in order to get behind the wheel.

That was when chaos broke loose, according to the police report. The Land Rover had been left not in park but in reverse, and it began moving backward. Claudia Trott had left the driver’s door open, and it struck her. She fell to the ground, cutting her head.

Her mother jumped into the driver’s seat, attempting to regain control, but turned the wheel as she did, so that, according to the police sketch, the car was now doing a semi-circle, headed, in reverse, toward several other parked cars. Deryn Trott also told police that she might have hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.

This set off a domino effect of collisions. The rear of the Land Rover crashed first into the rear passenger side of a 2007 Hyundai, then into the driver’s side of a 2007 Chevrolet pickup, which was propelled into the driver’s side of a 2000 Chevrolet van.

Claudia Trott was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital, where she was treated for multiple head cuts. Two women who were in the Hyundai did not require medical attention; the other two vehicles were unoccupied.

The Chevrolet pickup appeared to be the worst for wear, with extensive damage. It was towed to B&B Auto Service in Montauk.

No injuries were reported after a Christmas evening collision in the 7-Eleven parking lot in Montauk. Gloria Praeger, a Montauk resident who was parked right in front of the store, backed her 2014 Toyota Suburban into the side of a 2011 Land Rover, parked parallel to the street-side inner curb. The three occupants of the parked car did not require assistance.

Another Christmas Day parking lot collision happened outside Brent’s Deli in Amagansett. A 2003 Infiniti stopped on Cross Highway at the Montauk Highway traffic light was struck by a 2005 Chevrolet pickup truck, which was backing out of the parking lot on the west side of Brent’s. Gary Darenberg of Montauk, the driver of the pickup, told East Hampton Town police he didn’t see the other vehicle.

Back in Montauk, no injuries were reported in a Saturday afternoon parking lot collision at Gurney’s Spa. Naomi Kaltman of Manhattan was backing a 2004 Land Rover out of a parking spot and did not see the 2015 Ford in the adjacent space, she told police. The front of the Land Rover struck the passenger-side doors of the Ford.

Another collision, this time on a road, required a trip to the hospital for a 16-year-old passenger. William Forster of Sag Harbor, driving a 2015 Dodge pick up truck, was stopped on Merchants Path in East Hampton, waiting to turn onto Route 114, when a 2000 Ford pickup driven by Jairo Quesada rear-ended it, hard. The Dodge spun around and ended up on Route 114 facing south. 

Mr. Forster was able to drive his truck away, but his teenage passenger, whose name was withheld because of his age, was treated for minor injuries at the hospital.Parking lots across town, crowded with Christmas shoppers, were the scenes of several vehicular accidents last week.

In Montauk, in the lot behind White’s Pharmacy, the owners of the business pulled up parallel to the rear of the store, where they frequently park, on the evening of Dec. 23. Claudia Trott was behind the wheel of a 2015 Land Rover owned by her mother, Deryn Trott, who was in the passenger seat.

The younger Ms. Trott put the car in park, or so she thought, and got out, walking toward another car also parked parallel to the rear of White’s. Her mother got out at the same time and walked around the back of the vehicle, in order to get behind the wheel.

That was when chaos broke loose, according to the police report. The Land Rover had been left not in park but in reverse, and it began moving backward. Claudia Trott had left the driver’s door open, and it struck her. She fell to the ground, cutting her head.

Her mother jumped into the driver’s seat, attempting to regain control, but turned the wheel as she did, so that, according to the police sketch, the car was now doing a semi-circle, headed, in reverse, toward several other parked cars. Deryn Trott also told police that she might have hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.

This set off a domino effect of collisions. The rear of the Land Rover crashed first into the rear passenger side of a 2007 Hyundai, then into the driver’s side of a 2007 Chevrolet pickup, which was propelled into the driver’s side of a 2000 Chevrolet van.

Claudia Trott was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital, where she was treated for multiple head cuts. Two women who were in the Hyundai did not require medical attention; the other two vehicles were unoccupied.

The Chevrolet pickup appeared to be the worst for wear, with extensive damage. It was towed to B&B Auto Service in Montauk.

No injuries were reported after a Christmas evening collision in the 7-Eleven parking lot in Montauk. Gloria Praeger, a Montauk resident who was parked right in front of the store, backed her 2014 Toyota Suburban into the side of a 2011 Land Rover, parked parallel to the street-side inner curb. The three occupants of the parked car did not require assistance.

Another Christmas Day parking lot collision happened outside Brent’s Deli in Amagansett. A 2003 Infiniti stopped on Cross Highway at the Montauk Highway traffic light was struck by a 2005 Chevrolet pickup truck, which was backing out of the parking lot on the west side of Brent’s. Gary Darenberg of Montauk, the driver of the pickup, told East Hampton Town police he didn’t see the other vehicle.

Back in Montauk, no injuries were reported in a Saturday afternoon parking lot collision at Gurney’s Spa. Naomi Kaltman of Manhattan was backing a 2004 Land Rover out of a parking spot and did not see the 2015 Ford in the adjacent space, she told police. The front of the Land Rover struck the passenger-side doors of the Ford.

Another collision, this time on a road, required a trip to the hospital for a 16-year-old passenger. William Forster of Sag Harbor, driving a 2015 Dodge pick up truck, was stopped on Merchants Path in East Hampton, waiting to turn onto Route 114, when a 2000 Ford pickup driven by Jairo Quesada rear-ended it, hard. The Dodge spun around and ended up on Route 114 facing south.

Mr. Forster was able to drive his truck away, but his teenage passenger, whose name was withheld because of his age, was treated for minor injuries at the hospital.

Mr. Quesada, 34, also of Sag Harbor, was issued a summons for unlicensed driving. His pickup sustained severe front-end damage and had to be towed. His account of the accident and Mr. Forster’s differed; Mr. Quesada told police that Mr. Forster had caused it by making a sudden turn in front of him.

Mr. Quesada, 34, also of Sag Harbor, was issued a summons for unlicensed driving. His pickup sustained severe front-end damage and had to be towed. His account of the accident and Mr. Forster’s differed; Mr. Quesada told police that Mr. Forster had caused it by making a sudden turn in front of him.

Two people were taken to Southampton Hospital with minor injuries after their Lexus was hit head-on by a Whitmores Landscaping truck at the west end of East Hampton Village on Friday. 

The driver of the truck said it lost its brakes while heading west on Montauk Highway, according to East Hampton Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen, who responded to the accident along with other officers just before 11:50 a.m.

The truck was pulling a trailer with a small skid-steer on the back. The truck and trailer, estimated to weigh 12,000 pounds, skidded off the highway and onto the grass lawn on the east side of the entrance to the Creeks, an estate owned by Ron Perelman, causing damage to the lawn. The trailer came loose from the truck, though safety chains connecting them remained intact. 

The Lexus S.U.V., which also came to rest off the road, suffered major front-end damage, its windshiled was completely shattered, and airbags activated. The driver and passenger, a husband and wife, were conscious and alert afterward. The East Hampton Village Ambulance Association took them to Southampton Hospital. The three men in the landscaping truck were not injured.

"Luckily no one was really hurt," Chief Larsen said.

Traffic on Montauk Highway was temporarily diverted. The East Hampton Fire Department also responded, but its heavy rescue crew was not needed. The patients had gotten out of the S.U.V. on their own.

Thomas Gilbert Jr. of New York and Wainscott, who is accused of murdering his father in Manhattan in January, is mentally competent to stand trial, New York State Supreme Court Justice Melissa C. Jackson ruled Monday.

Mr. Gilbert's attorneys had argued that he is mentally ill and incapable of assisting in his own defense.

"The defendant's psychiatric history is irrelevant to the issue at hand; it is the defendant's current psychological condition that is relevant," Justice Jackson wrote, explaining that her determination was a legal one, not a medical one. The question she had to answer, she said in the decision, is does Mr. Gilbert "lack the capacity to understand the proceedings against him and/or assist in his own defense?"

"The court was particularly persuaded after observing the defendant in court on many occasions, his videotaped interview with Dr. Kirschner, and a recorded telephone conversation from Rikers Island between the defendant and an unknown female."

During that phone call, Mr. Gilbert "requested intellectually advanced reading materials, and expressed the desire to stay in the mental observation unit because he was treated better there."

"He was laughing, rational, and engaged in a casual, frank conversation" during the phone call, she said. The judge noted that Mr. Gilbert is learning to speak Chinese and is taking yoga while in jail.

Monday was the fourteenth session of Mr. Gilbert's mental competency hearing, which began in early October. Mr. Gilbert, handcuffed and dressed in a New York City correctional facility orange jump suit, was led into the court by guards. He said nothing during the proceedings.

When Justice Jackson announced her decision from the bench, Shelly Gilbert, the defendant's mother, and wife of the Thomas Gilbert Sr., let out a quiet gasp. She has attended every court session. Afterwards, Alex Spiro, the lawyer the Gilbert family has retained, not only for this case, but for Mr. Gilbert's previous brushes with the law, huddled with Ms. Gilbert.

Craig Ortner, the prosecutor on the case, made it clear in comments during Monday's session that he expects Mr. Spiro to introduce insanity as a defense during the trial, which could begin as early as February. He complained that Mr. Spiro should have made that application within 30 days of his client's arraignment after he was indicted, and asked the court, on that basis, to disallow such a defense. Justice Jackson asked both sides to submit written responses to the motion, before she rules on it.

Mr. Gilbert is accused of murdering his 70-year-old father in his parent's Beekman Place apartment on Jan. 4, then staging the scene to make it look like a suicide. He was taken into custody that evening, and was placed under arrest the next day.

The senior Mr. Gilbert was a hedge fund manager who founded Wainscott Capital Partners Fund. The family has a house in the Georgica Association.

The defendant is being held without bail due to the serious nature of the charges, which include pre-meditated murder.

It’s 10:56 Monday night and the temperature outside my window reads 54.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Last night at this time it was 33.3 degrees, but never dipped further. That’s the coldest it’s been here in Noyac on the north edge of the moraine since last March. What’s happening?

Well, we all know about the phenomenon of global warming. It’s happened several times over the earth, but each time many millions of years apart. More than 100 million years ago, tropical plants, e.g., cycads, grew in Canada and the northern United States. In the past, every time the earth got hot, something happened to cool it down, often to the point of creating massive glaciers that moved south all the way to middle America. This time, however, we have so tinkered with things that we cannot be sure that such a cool-down will follow.

Then there is the El Nino phenomenon, which is somewhat periodic. Until 1967-68, when I experienced it along the California coast, it was not a big deal; now it is, because it is affecting not only the climate of the West Coast in a major way but the climate of the southern and central United States, and to a lesser degree the climate here in the East.

Whether or not our current record warming has something to do with El Nino remains to be seen. But this December warmth is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Plants that shouldn’t flower until next spring or summer are flowering now. Vicki Bustamante has been afield checking on them. The first to catch her eye was a thistle, an Old World species that generally doesn’t flower until May or June. It is one of the biennial plants that start out as a ground-hugging rosette of leaves shortly after the parent has flowered and fruited, then springs up in the next year and flowers itself, after which it perishes.

I was at my mother-in-law’s, Grace Miglioratti’s, funeral at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor, while outside the side entrance roses and geraniums were blooming. A few cultivars like the autumn-blooming cherry do flower twice a year, in spring and fall, but December is a bit late for the fall bloom. Then again, we’ve all read about Washington, D.C.’s famous cherry blossoms, such an important draw for tourists in the spring. They have been flowering again as of late November and early December.

Other herbaceous plants and shrubs that have been seen flowering lately are yarrow, the weed common groundsel, mints, self-heal, vinca, and dandIt’s 10:56 Monday night and the temperature outside my window reads 54.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Last night at this time it was 33.3 degrees, but never dipped further. That’s the coldest it’s been here in Noyac on the north edge of the moraine since last March. What’s happening?

Well, we all know about the phenomenon of global warming. It’s happened several times over the earth, but each time many millions of years apart. More than 100 million years ago, tropical plants, e.g., cycads, grew in Canada and the northern United States. In the past, every time the earth got hot, something happened to cool it down, often to the point of creating massive glaciers that moved south all the way to middle America. This time, however, we have so tinkered with things that we cannot be sure that such a cool-down will follow.

Then there is the El Nino phenomenon, which is somewhat periodic. Until 1967-68, when I experienced it along the California coast, it was not a big deal; now it is, because it is affecting not only the climate of the West Coast in a major way but the climate of the southern and central United States, and to a lesser degree the climate here in the East.

Whether or not our current record warming has something to do with El Nino remains to be seen. But this December warmth is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Plants that shouldn’t flower until next spring or summer are flowering now. Vicki Bustamante has been afield checking on them. The first to catch her eye was a thistle, an Old World species that generally doesn’t flower until May or June. It is one of the biennial plants that start out as a ground-hugging rosette of leaves shortly after the parent has flowered and fruited, then springs up in the next year and flowers itself, after which it perishes.

I was at my mother-in-law’s, Grace Miglioratti’s, funeral at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor, while outside the side entrance roses and geraniums were blooming. A few cultivars like the autumn-blooming cherry do flower twice a year, in spring and fall, but December is a bit late for the fall bloom. Then again, we’ve all read about Washington, D.C.’s famous cherry blossoms, such an important draw for tourists in the spring. They have been flowering again as of late November and early December.

Other herbaceous plants and shrubs that have been seen flowering lately are yarrow, the weed common groundsel, mints, self-heal, vinca, and dandelions. On the side of Deerfield Road in Water Mill last Thursday, a forsythia was sporting its yellow blossoms. All these named bloomers are probably the tip of the iceberg, and by Christmas Day we shall probably have observed a great many more species flowering.

What does all this amount to? Is it more than a one-time chance event or does it have a deeper and, perhaps, longer-term meaning? We know that the South and West have oak trees that are evergreen. Will some of those take up roots here or will some of our oaks stop losing their leaves altogether and become semi-evergreens or true evergreens?

Not counting the conifers, we already have a few semi-evergreens that hold onto the leaves well into the winter, such as bayberry and several privet varieties. Unlike tropical rain forests, where evergreen broadleaved trees and shrubs dominate, we have only a few non-conifer wood evergreens, namely mountain laurel and American holly, but also a few evergreen subshrubs such as bearberry, spotted wintergreen, checkerberry, trailing arbutus, and pipsissewa.

Depending upon the degree of wetness accompanying the global warming, the vegetation on the South Fork could in the next millennium end up becoming lush and largely evergreen or low heathlands, savannahs, and grasslands, such as existed in Montauk when it was regularly burned over prior to the 1960s and Hither Woods when it was first lumbered and then used for grazing. By now the woods have almost completely reverted to a covering of oaks, beeches, hickories, sassafras, and other hardwoods, including the evergreens, holly and mountain laurel.

We think things are static, constant, and never-wavering as we pass from youth to adulthood, then into old age, but in reality every plant community is continually changing along with the climate. Other than the redwoods, bristlecone pines, and a few other trees that live for thousands of years, most perennial plants have discrete lifetimes that rarely exceed a few hundred years.

The absence of winter, if it should actually happen, will no doubt hasten those future changes to the vegetation that the climate has in store for us. As Bob Dylan once twanged, “Something is happening here and you don’t know what it is. Do you, Mr. Jones?”

—

Larry Penny can be reached via email at [email protected].

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has invited public comment on a draft environmental assessment called White-tailed Deer Damage Management in New York, prepared by the Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. 

The D.E.C. issues permits to landowners, municipalities, and resource management agencies to deal with deer damage. Dense deer populations in many parts of the state damage agriculture, forests, and other plants, according to the D.E.C., adversely impacting biodiversity and native plant communities and threatening human health and safety. 

Deer populations are primarily managed in most parts of the state through regulated recreational hunting, but there is typically little land accessible to hunters in developed areas. Actions proposed in the environmental assessment could be conducted on public and private property when the property owner or manager requests assistance, a need for action is confirmed, and agreements specifying the nature and duration of the activities are completed. Wildlife Services would conduct most projects in urban or suburban environments and properties where access to the general public is limited due to safety or security.

Those interested can obtain a copy of the environmental assessment and submit comments by entering “APHIS-2015-0093” in the search box at regulations.gov. Comments can also be sent to USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, 1930 Route 9, Castleton, N.Y. 12033-9653. Comments must be received by Jan. 15 to receive full consideration. All comments, including the names and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record

A Sag Harbor man celebrating his 19th birthday in East Hampton Monday night is out on bail this week on multiple drug possession charges, including two felonies involving cocaine.

Allan Alvarez was first arraigned on Tuesday. According to statements made in East Hampton Town Justice Court, he was with several friends on Monday night when their car was pulled over in a traffic stop. Police found a quantity of cocaine, which they believe belonged to Mr. Alvarez. He was charged with possession of a narcotic with intent to sell, a Class B felony. Felonies are ranked from A to E, A being the most serious. 

He was additionally charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as marijuana possession, a violation.

His mother and grandfather were seated in the courtroom when Justice Lisa R. Rana arraigned him on Tuesday afternoon. It was clearly a difficult arraignment for Justice Rana. Mr. Alvarez’s mother, who works for the Town of East Hampton, works with the justice when she holds court in Sag Harbor.

Justice Rana said the district attorney’s office had asked for bail of $2,500. Brian Francese, Mr. Alvarez’s Legal Aid Society lawyer, argued that Mr. Alvarez was a lifelong resident here, works two jobs, and is attending a community college. He also questioned the “voluntariness” of his client’s statement to police, asking that bail be set at $300.

Justice Rana took a long pause. “Two thousand, five hundred,” she finally said. “This is serious stuff we are talking about. We are not talking about a U.P.M. [unclassified possession of marijuana]. This is serious stuff.” Mr. Alvarez has been arrested at least twice for marijuana possession at the violation level, and has an open U.P.M. charge on Justice Steven Tekulsky’s calendar.

The young man’s mother told the court she would bail her son out that afternoon. Before he was led away, Justice Rana scheduled him to return to her court on Jan. 21. She then cautioned him not to get arrested again. “When I say nothing, I mean nothing,” she said.

That was not to be the case. After the arraignment, Mr. Alvarez was taken back to police headquarters in Wainscott, where his mother went to bail him out. The circumstances were not immediately clear, but after she posted the bail, police allegedly found still more cocaine, either on his person or in his property — enough to trigger another felony possession charge. It was at the D level this time, indicating possession of at least 500 milligrams of the narcotic. He was also charged twice with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, meaning that police allege he had other drugs on his person.

He was rearrested on the new charges, held overnight, and arraigned again yesterday afternoon. His mother was back in court. As the arraignment began, she began to cry. A guard handed her a box of tissues. Adriana Noyola of the district attorney’s office asked that another $5,000 in bail be required for his release.

“There should not be a second felony,” said his lawyer, Mr. Francese, “due to improper police procedures. They should be grouped as one felony charge.”

Justice Rana expressed concern about the seriousness of the charges. “We are in a whole different ballgame now,” she said. She set additional bail at $1,000, which Mr. Alvarez’s mother said she would post at the court clerk’s window.

“I don’t know what is going on, but I would suggest that when you are released, you stay home,” she told the defendant. “I wouldn’t go partying with your friends.” She paused again. “If you pick up so much as one more thing. . . .” Her voice trailed off. Mr. Alvarez said he understood.

Sean P. Ludwick, who is accused of being drunk when he crashed his Porsche in Noyac on Aug. 30, killing his passenger, Paul Hansen, was indicted by a grand jury on Dec. 16 on 13 criminal charges, including vehicular homicide, manslaughter, and drunken driving in a fatal accident.

The indictment was unsealed Monday in the Central Islip courtroom of New York State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho. Mr. Ludwick will be formally arraigned on Jan. 6 in Central Islip.

Five of the charges he faces are felonies. According to Robert Clifford, spokesman for District Attorney Thomas Spota, if convicted on only the two most serious charges — each variations on aggravated vehicular homicide — it is likely that he would be sentenced to consecutive terms in state prison with a possible sentence of 10 2/3 to 32 years.

Police say Mr. Ludwick, 43, left his passenger’s body on the side of the road just yards from Mr. Hansen’s house on Rolling Hills Court East. 

The top charge is aggravated vehicular homicide in a fatal accident where the driver had a blood alcohol level of over .18 percent. This charge may well have been the one that caused a delay in presenting the case to a grand jury: Mr. Ludwick’s blood was drawn several hours after the crash, meaning Mr. Spota’s office would have to calculate, based on the number it received, what the actual alcohol level in Mr. Ludwick’s blood was at the time of the crash to the satisfaction of the grand jury.

There are two other charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, according to court records, because within the past 10 years Mr. Ludwick had pleaded guilty to driving with ability impaired by alcohol. Though the prior charge was a reduction from misdemeanor drunken driving, which he was originally accused of, its presence in his history triggered the elevated charges.

He is also charged with manslaughter for allegedly recklessly causing Mr. Hansen’s death.

Among the other eight charges are several misdemeanors, including drunken driving and reckless driving.

Mr. Ludwick, a New York real estate developer, is free after posting a $1 million bond two days after his arrest.

Mr. Hansen’s family released a statement after learning of the indictment. “We are very thankful for the district attorney’s office’s investigation and presentations of the evidence to the grand jury. District Attorney Thomas Spota and his staff have worked extremely hard on behalf of our family and the charges brought evidence of just that,” they wrote. The family of Mr. Hansen, who was 53 and had two young sons, filed a civil suit against Mr. Ludwick in October.

A 40-unit housing complex proposed to be constructed at 531 Montauk Highway in Amagansett would add an estimated 37 students to the Amagansett School District, the executive director of the East Hampton Housing Authority told the hamlet’s citizens advisory committee on Monday. 

That figure, said Catherine Casey, is based on the number of “secondary” bedrooms in the development and on the demographics of the town’s other affordable housing developments. 

The proposed project, designed for town residents with preference given to police, fire, and emergency personnel, honorably discharged veterans, and teachers who meet income eligibility requirements, could receive required approvals and funding in about 18 months, Ms. Casey said, adding that Amagansett has the town’s second-lowest number of affordable housing units and the lowest number of housing units occupied year round.

“Real estate values are strong here,” she said, having risen some 215 percent since 1999. Median family income, however, has gone up just 43 percent in that span. “That makes it extremely difficult for people to get into the market,” she said, with a significant percentage of residents allocating 30 percent or more of their income to housing expenses. 

The proposed complex, which Ms. Casey and its architect, Anthony Musso, likened to a “pocket neighborhood” similar to Gansett Green Manor, would contain 12 each of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units. Three in each category would be reserved for each of four income levels: 30, 50, 60, and 90 percent of area median income. In addition, four commercial suites would feature accessory studio apartments for their tenants’ proprietor or staff. 

Monthly rent would be approximately $1,100 for studios, Ms. Casey said. One-bedroom apartments would rent for $1,395 per month, two-bedroom units for $1,718, and three-bedroom apartments would cost $2,234 per month. Some tenants, she said, may receive Section 8 rental assistance based on their income level.

The 4.7-acre site on the north side of the highway west of V&V Auto Service, is zoned for affordable housing and limited business use. In her initial presentation to the committee, in October, Ms. Casey said the housing authority would issue a $4 million bond to buy the land from Putnam Bridge, the Connecticut company that had hoped to build a market-rate senior citizens complex on adjacent acreage; that plan was ultimately abandoned. 

The authority would cover initial costs, Ms. Casey said. The East Hampton Town Board voted unanimously on Oct. 1 to guarantee the note. 

The complex would feature a central green, playground, vegetable garden, community building, and state-of-the-art wastewater management, Ms. Casey said. Each housing unit would include a patio or balcony, and the structures would meet rigorous standards for energy efficiency and storm resilience. “We believe the architecture fits in beautifully,” she said. “It’s not going to clash or not fit in with the surrounding area.” 

Selection criteria for the commercial units have not been determined, she told the committee, but the businesses would have to be deemed to serve the community. “The town would be very involved in selecting those tenants,” she said. 

Ms. Casey told Supervisor Larry Cantwell, the town board’s liaison to the committee, that the housing authority would pursue funding in tandem with continued planning. The authority will issue bond anticipation notes, she said, and seek construction funding from the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, which itself receives funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. An application for site plan review could be made within a year, she said. 

In other news from the meeting, Mr. Cantwell told the committee that a public restroom facility in the municipal parking lot north of the Main Street commercial district is on track and will be constructed concurrent with the repaving and restriping of the lot. The projects will be completed before the summer, he said. 

The restroom, which has been under discussion for more than a decade, will be at the northern perimeter of the lot, not near its center, as previously planned. A sidewalk will be installed along that perimeter, connecting with existing sidewalks around the lot. The chosen contractor will not maintain the price quoted for the new location, Mr. Cantwell said, so the town will seek new bids.

Owing to the continued existence of a septic system that lies too close to a private well, and the Suffolk County Department of Health’s subsequent refusal to issue a certificate of occupancy for a restroom on any part of the lot, the town is assuming some risk in moving forward with construction, Mr. Cantwell said. “But I’m confident, based on conversations with the Health Department, that we’re going to be okay with this at some point . . . to do this now,” he said. “My feeling is we’re going to be able to work this out.”

The project will cost between $400,000 and $500,000, Mr. Cantwell said. “But we’re going to have a completely resurfaced parking lot, completely restriped, and finally, we’re going to have a restroom facility downtown. My feeling is, we have to maintain our infrastructure. This is too important to everybody.” The committee agreed, voting to support the plan.

Michael Davis had decided this summer that a January marathon was going to be his last. After five marathons and several half-marathons he had proved to himself that despite being an unlikely long-distance runner he could do it, and he had raised $10,000 in five years for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The time had come to focus more on his young family. 

Little did he know that his last racing endeavor would hold even more meaning. His godfather, David King of Springs, is contending with the very disease Mr. Davis has been raising money for. He was diagnosed this summer with an aggressive form of leukemia. 

“Each one has a reason. Each one, when I’m out there running — training or on race day — you think about the people you’re running for,” Mr. Davis said. “It means the world,” he said, choking up at being able to do something to show his godfather some support.

Through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, an endurance sports training program that raises money for blood cancer research, Mr. Davis will participate in the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend next month in Orlando, Fla. Not only is he running the 26.2-mile marathon on Jan. 10, but he has added Goofy’s Race, a half-marathon challenge the day before, in honor of his godfather. 

While they are not extremely close, his “Uncle Dave” — they are actually cousins — has always been someone Mr. Davis has admired for his hard work and strong will. Mr. King has risen through the ranks to become the current chief of the Springs Fire Department.

“To be able to run in his honor that day, it’s going to be very profound for me,” Mr. Davis said, adding that he will be out there for the 13.1 miles alone, without a teammate, which he will have for the marathon. “It’s just going to be me and Dave running, so to speak.”

Mr. Davis, who grew up in Springs and now lives in Aquebogue, didn’t start jogging until in 2009. He was a lineman and catcher in high school who admittedly didn’t have to run much. A dig from a co-worker who bet him he couldn’t run a mile got him moving and led to his first race, the former Mind Over Matter 5K in Sag Harbor. He then moved on to a 10K and thought, “That’s good enough.”

A year later, his sister signed him up for his first half-marathon and introduced him to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He didn’t know much about the cause at the time. “All I knew, it was a blood cancer and that it was attacking kids,” which, he said, “pulled at my heart.”

The more he learned about leukemia and lymphoma, the more people he found who were affected by it — his wife’s niece, a 19-month-old grandson of a friend, the adult daughter of a pastor, the list goes on. It made him want to continue to raise money. 

Running doesn’t come easy to the 43-year-old. “I’m not a small guy,” he said. “I ran three out of five marathons at over 250 pounds. I will never be one of those 6-foot, 100-pound running guys.” Training takes it toll. He and his wife made the decision in August his sixth would be it. 

A few weeks later, the news reached him that his godfather had leukemia. While he had already planned to run the Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan. 10 in honor of all the survivors of the disease, he then decided to tack on Goofy’s Race in honor of Uncle Dave. 

The two got together on Thanksgiving. “He’s not a man of many words in the first place,” Mr. Davis said, “but he was awestruck.”

Mr. King said he is in remission, though still receiving treatment. The support means the world to him.

And it means just as much to Mr. Davis. “He’s done more for me than he knows,” Mr. Davis said. “How hard he’s fighting and how strong he is. That’s what’s going to get me through both the half and the full marathon. . . . I just see the strength in him, his resolve.”

Along with the extra running distance, Mr. Davis has made this his most aggressive campaign yet, committing to raise $5,000 before the race. Those who wish to donate to Mr. Davis through Team in Training can do so online or by sending a check payable to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to Michael Davis, P.O. Box 716, Aquebogue 11931.

The partners who in 2013 purchased Gurney’s Inn, since renamed Gurney’s Resort and Seawater Spa, have now bought the 12 townhouses, 3 oceanfront cottages, and 50 unsold motel rooms at the Panoramic View Resort, which lies just to the west.

BLDG Management, headed by Lloyd Goldman, and Metrovest, whose president is George Filopoulos, plan to make a number of improvements over the winter and hope to put the units on the market by the spring. “We expect the project to be a one-of-a-kind lifestyle opportunity in that incomparable location,” Mr. Filopoulos said this week.

The Panoramic View found itself in hot water in August 2013 when its principals, Brian Callahan, an investment fund manager, and Adam Manson, a real estate developer, were criminally charged in a Ponzi scheme that Loretta Lynch, United States attorney for the Eastern District at the time and now Attorney General of the United States, called “one of the largest investment frauds in Long Island history.” The brothers-in-law had purchased the resort in 2006, planning to convert it into co-ops, but the recession came along and the units did not sell as hoped. Mr. Callahan, with Mr. Manson’s knowledge, began pulling money from his offshore hedge funds to pay off his bank loans. By the time the fraud was discovered, his investors were said to have lost as much as $96 million.

The federal government seized the Panoramic after charging the two men and put it up for bids. Its value was estimated to be between $52 million and $88 million. BLDG and Metrovest, under the corporate name Panormaic Partners, paid $63.9 million for it at the closing on Dec. 7, about $40.3 million of which will go to repay the victims of the Ponzi scheme. 

Both Mr. Callahan, now 45, and Mr. Manson, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court to a slew of charges. Their sentencing was put off until the Panoramic could be sold, and is now expected to happen before long.

Mr. Filopoulos, who has a house in Montauk and is frequently seen at Gurney’s, expects that the improvements to be made at the Panoramic will be well received. The purchase of its 9.1-acre neighbor will give Gurney’s guests another 900 feet of beach to enjoy, he noted.

The two businesses will remain separated for the time being. The Panoramic does not offer food services, whereas Gurney’s has several areas for formal and informal dining. “We have no plans to fold into Gurney’s, although there are natural synergies between the two properties,” said Mr. Filopoulos.