If this week has taught us anything, it’s that we need more opportunities to come together for fun. You got a taste of that if you had a chance to stop by the block party that the East Hampton Village Foundation hosted on Newtown Lane on Oct. 26 as the Yankees faced the Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series. True, the Yankees lost, but the block party was (pun intended) a total home run.
The road was closed to traffic between Main Street and the entrance to the Reutershan parking lot. Restaurants served patrons outside, there were picnic tables set up in the street, and the game was shown on a great big screen near the Main Street intersection. People of all ages mixed and mingled, and even Mets fans seemed to be having fun. And when the Yankees got their first run, the sound of the crowd erupting in cheers was the sound of community.
Yes, “baseball unites,” as one man at the party told a Star reporter, but despite all our differences people are generally hungry for any reason to unite: baseball, football, a 5K, a parade, maybe just a block party.
Mayor Jerry Larsen said there was talk of a repeat if a New York N.F.L. or N.B.A. team makes it as far as the Yankees did. We say, why wait?
Closing the street may have been tricky, but it seemed to the average partygoer like a win, win, win. Could there be a block party every few months in the off-season? Do we need a special occasion? Well, Jan. 19 is National Popcorn Day, and Feb. 9 is National Pizza Day.