Villages

The Big Duck is a nonagenarian. 

Although the life expectancy of a duck in the wild is 8 to 12 years, a big one from Long Island has managed to stay afloat until the age of 90. The Big Duck, located in Flanders, has been a Southampton landmark and legend since it was built in 1931. (Just to clarify, this one is made of concrete, it does not quack, and it has a store inside it.) 

Nurses and other members of the health care workers union at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital picketed on Thursday in an effort to get the hospital to agree to contract demands. The union's current contract ends on Sept. 30.

This postcard from the Harvey Ginsberg Postcard Collection shows a street view of the Onadune residence, a property at the corner of Georgica Road and the Crossways. The name Onadune is fitting since the estate's prime location on top of the dune gives it ocean views above neighboring residences.

Watching Henri gain strength late last week as it barreled toward Long Island, East Enders braced themselves for a possible direct hit from a Category 1 hurricane late Saturday or early Sunday, but by the time it arrived, its path had shifted to the east and it had been downgraded to a tropical storm, sparing the Twin Forks.

After having been granted nonprofit status by the Internal Revenue Service last month, the East Hampton Village Foundation, an organization formed to raise private funds for the village's public works projects, has raised nearly $250,000 to pay for the renovation of Herrick Park and the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the village's incorporation. Bradford Billet, the foundation's executive director, made the announcement at a village board meeting on Friday. 

A celebration of the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of East Hampton Village, which had been scheduled for last year but was canceled because of the pandemic, will be held on the weekend of Sept. 24. Bradford Billet, the executive director of the East Hampton Village Foundation, which is helping to fund the festivities, released the schedule of events on Friday. 

Pierre Christian Dempsey and Alice Fitzgerald Walsh were married on Aug. 14 at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club. Mary Dinaburg, the groom's step-grandmother, officiated.

With economic development and sustainability as the goal, members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation have voted in support of two major projects: a resort and hotel slated for the nation's Westwoods property south of the highway in Hampton Bays, and a travel plaza and gas station on land it owns nearby on the westbound side of Sunrise Highway.

The threat of sea level rise is greater than that presented in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's own dire reports on climate change, a renowned and controversial scientist told a small group in Sagaponack last week, but similarly divisive proposals to combat anthropogenic climate change would be both safe and effective, he said.

After several days of uncertain predictions, Tropical Storm Henri appeared on a path to make landfall in Rhode Island, sparing the East End the worst of its winds.

The tropical storm known as Henri was at one point hurricane-strength before coming ashore east of the South Fork. Nevertheless, the storm brought rain and wind — though not to the extent that had been predicted initially. 

With Henri forecast to be "at or near hurricane strength" when it makes landfall on Long Island on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center, state of emergency declarations have been issued in East Hampton Town, East Hampton Village, Southampton Village, and Southampton Town.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., revised its prediction for the path of Tropical Storm Henri, projecting a Sunday morning landfall on Long Island. 

As of the 5 a.m. Saturday warning, Henri was expected to strengthen to a category-1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour. 

As Henri heads toward Long Island, East Hampton Fire Department Chief Gerard Turza Jr. on Saturday announced the Main Beach fireworks show, originally slated for Saturday night, has been postponed "in the interest of public safety."

With the start of the Hampton Classic Horse Show just nine days out and a city of 58 large tents already set up on the showgrounds in Bridgehampton in preparation for the show, organizers announced on Friday that they are taking down all the tents and horse stables as Hurricane Henri barrels toward the East End. 

Tropical Storm Henri is expected to strengthen Saturday to hurricane force and begin affecting eastern Long Island late Saturday or early Sunday.

Winds and heavy seas from Hurricane Henri are expected to reach Long Island late Saturday, well before the storm itself makes landfall sometime on Sunday. The National Hurricane Center said that storm conditions on eastern Long Island were possible as early as 8 p.m. on Saturday with Henri's eye passing just east of Montauk Point at about 8 p.m. Sunday.

For more than 100 years, St. Luke's Episcopal Church has had a tradition of hosting a summer fair on the church grounds. On Saturday it returns from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 18 James Lane in East Hampton Village.

In light of the massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the southwest region of Haiti on Saturday, killing roughly 1,300 people and climbing, two local organizations are encouraging people to donate money to relief efforts and medical support.

Tom House, who tended bar at the Swamp and its successor, the Star Room, for 20 years, is the founder of Hamptons Pride, a new nonprofit  that wants to celebrate this significant piece of local L.G.B.T.Q. history by establishing a living monument on the site where the Swamp once stood.

Vaccines are now widely available for those 12 and up, with physicians' offices and pharmacies offering them and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital operating a Pfizer vaccine clinic three days a week. In addition, Organizacion Latino-American is partnering with a number of other organizations to offer the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

In honor of last weekend's Authors Night event, which returned to the East Hampton Library's lawn, this postcard shows the rear view of the library. This view is undated, but it shows the library as it appeared between the building's initial 1912 construction and the 1930 expansion, which created the Bendheim Room for library board meetings and the Long Island Collection. Authors Night attendees on Saturday could see the Bendheim Room and children's wing from the tent; however, this postcard shows how the building looked before the addition of those sections.

A panel discussion on restoring East End bays to the productive habitats they once were will happen next Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. at LTV Studios in Wainscott.

A recent surge in Covid-19 infections on the East End is predominantly among those who are unvaccinated, and the Delta variant of the virus is the cause of more than 90 percent of cases, according to Dr. Fredric Weinbaum, the chief medical officer at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, who described the variant as a "survival of the fittest" version of Covid-19.

When the Ellen Hermanson Foundation holds its Back in Black summer benefit on Aug. 28, it will honor Tovah Feldshuh, a Broadway actress, singer, and playwright, and John Graham, the executive director of the Hampton Racquet Club, where the outdoor event will be held.

The East Hampton Library will offer a virtual presentation called L.G.B.T. 101, an anti-bullying and awareness initiative from the L.G.B.T. Network, tomorrow at 5 p.m. 

While water consumption in Suffolk County has been decreasing over the past five years, consumption in the Suffolk County Water Authority's East Hampton water district has consistently grown. In fact, water pumpage for each month in 2021 has surpassed consumption during the same month in 2020, according to the water authority.

A proposal to extend a moratorium on waterfront development in Sag Harbor Village to Feb. 1 was approved by the village board on Tuesday.

Waterborne bacteria counts have surged at ponds, beaches, and bays this summer, including at Fort Pond Bay in Montauk.

A new public pool and cultural arts center at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center has been a long time coming, and representatives of the nonprofit Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation said it will take as long as three more years to secure the $13 million it needs to finish the building and establish programs there.