Villages

Seventeen years ago, Gloria Cannon had an idea, to preserve “The Barbershop,” a longtime Southampton gathering place for Black East Enders. On Saturday, Juneteenth, after years of planning, fund-raising, construction, and a few setbacks, her vision will be realized with the grand opening of the Southampton African American Museum at 245 North Sea Road, the site of the former barbershop built by Emanuel Seymore in the 1940s.

In this timeless photo from the Amagansett Historical Association's Carleton Kelsey Collection, Dorothy Lester (1919-2015) is oceanside in a striped romper and canvas sneakers, wind in her hair.

New York State Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said this week that when 70 percent of the state's adult population has gotten at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine most of the remaining pandemic restrictions will be lifted. While much of the rest of New York State has yet to reach that mark, East Hampton Town has already surpassed it, Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc announced Tuesday.

Those curious about all the activity at the site of the former Il Mulino restaurant in Wainscott or perhaps surprised to see that this week the building there had disappeared could have had their questions answered at Saturday's Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee meeting, when Kim Quarty of the Peconic Land Trust briefed the group on the new preserve at the head of Georgica Pond.

Some of the biggest names in skateboarding culture have signed on to support the renovation and expansion of the Montauk Skate Park, which will benefit from an art auction to be held on Saturday at the Montauk Beach House.

"I remember exactly what I was wearing, I remember exactly who was in the class, and I remember how hard I cried," said Colleen Saidman Yee of Yoga Shanti of the day in March 2020 when she closed her Sag Harbor yoga studio because of the pandemic. After barely surviving a 15-month shutdown, Yoga Shanti in Sag Harbor is seeking to regain its footing with new protocols designed to make students breathe easy about returning to group classes.

Fitting for the occasion, it was Smoochie the dog who officially broke ground Friday on the new home of the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons. No shovel was needed — Smoochie was specially trained to dig the first hole herself.

The recent introduction of paid parking in East Hampton Village has led to confusion about the use of the ParkMobile payment app.

An environmental remediation project designed in part to showcase sound and sustainable landscaping practices is taking shape in East Hampton Village. Called a bioswale, it is a veritable meadow of trees, plants, and grasses native to Long Island that is designed to absorb road runoff, filter pollution from stormwater, and provide native habitat while beautifying a public space. 

The 60th reunion of the East Hampton High School class of 1961 will take place via Zoom this year on June 25, but along with the festivities will come a solemn reminder of loved ones lost along the way.

The class of 1961 is donating a memorial tree to be planted at what is now the East Hampton Middle School, but which was simply "school" to these graduates, as it housed kindergarten through 12th grade before the high school opened in 1970.

With the recent departure of Scoop du Jour, the East Hampton Village commercial district may be facing a summer without an ice cream shop for the first time in 26 years, and residents of all ages are dripping with dread.

Aidan Corish and Bob Plumb, Sag Harbor Village Trustees who are running to keep their seats in the June 15 village election, talked this week about their separate priorities. Mr. Corish, Mr. Plumb, and a first-time candidate, Bayard Fenwick, are vying for two seats on the village board.

On Sept. 28, 1802, Abraham Baker (1729-1817) penned his last will and testament to ensure proper disbursement of his possessions to his family. Abraham Baker was born on Nov. 2, 1729, to Daniel Baker (1692-1740) and Abigail Osborn (1698-1748) in East Hampton.

Community members gathered in East Hampton and Sag Harbor on Monday for solemn Memorial Day ceremonies recalling military men and women who were lost in service and also longstanding, pre-Covid traditions. 

News that fully vaccinated people could go without masks and stop social distancing in most settings has been met with unbridled joy by many, but questions remain. Among them, what, if anything, is recommended when it comes to testing vaccinated people for Covid-19.

A dispute over the $33,000 installation of a gas fireplace in a residence at the Watchcase Condominiums complex in Sag Harbor has led to a four-year legal battle between Sandra Foschi, the owner of WLNG radio, and Cape Advisors, the developers of the property.

This week, with Memorial Day fast upon us, what was known by 1950 as the "Liberty Pole" in honor of those who served in World War II is getting a cleaning and a fresh coat of white paint, courtesy of the Amagansett Village Improvement Society. The steeplejack doing the work, David Midgette of Medford, was planning to ascend the 120-foot pole in a crane on Tuesday, barring strong winds.

The American College of Surgeons certified that Stony Brook Southampton has the right equipment, resuscitative capabilities, blood bank protocols, and surgeons and emergency physicians who are trained in advanced life support and who commit to responding to severe cases within 30 minutes of a patient's arrival.

This image shows Lawrence Smith and Leander Arnold constructing the base of the veterans monument next to Ashawagh Hall in Springs. The monument was officially dedicated on Memorial Day weekend in May 1989.   

Facing a steep rent increase, the Hampton Chutney Co. eatery will soon be leaving the Amagansett Square space it has occupied for more than 20 years, Isabel MacGurn, an owner, said on Monday.

Following a solemn year in which all official parades were canceled locally, there will be parades in both East Hampton and Sag Harbor Villages on Monday. 

If, like most Americans, you have been waiting with bated breath for signs that the Covid-19 pandemic is winding down and that a return to normalcy has finally arrived, then you probably heaved a great sigh of relief at some point over the past two weeks as the Centers for Disease Control announced that vaccinated individuals could dispense with wearing masks in most settings. On May 19, New York followed suit and adopted the same guidelines, except where certain municipalities, businesses, schools, and settings such as hospitals or doctors' offices still require them.

Bayard Fenwick, a real estate agent with Saunders and Associates and an assistant captain in the Sag Harbor Fire Department, is vying for one of the two trustee seats up for a vote in Sag Harbor Village's June 15 election.

Missing movie theaters, getting used to masks, a six-foot sixth sense, the words "these uncertain times" -- what sounds like the most basic Covid starter pack to us now will one day sound outrageous to others, a storytelling opportunity that the East Hampton Library tapped with its initiative the Pandemic Project. 

A resounding "Mazel tov!" rang out at Temple Adas Israel on Sunday morning as members of the synagogue -- the oldest one on Long Island -- gathered to break ground on a $7 million renovation and expansion project, including the building of the Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder Center for Jewish Education.

It is that time of year again here on the East End of Long Island, when the phones in doctors' offices start to ring seemingly constantly with patients calling with questions about tick bites.

This is an original copy of a letter Robert Townsend, a Manhattan and Oyster Bay merchant, and his brother, Solomon Townsend, sent to two Charleston, S.C., merchants regarding an antislavery matter in 1787. 

Concerned Citizens of Montauk, joined by almost 40 volunteers, installed approximately 3,000 square feet of floating wetlands in Fort Pond. As the plants mature, their roots will take in excess nitrogen and phosphorus as food to reduce the nutrient load in the water.

East Hampton and Sag Harbor Villages will begin charging for some prime parking spaces in their commercial districts in the coming days, and both will use ParkMobile, a smartphone app-based payment service. 

After more than 14 months of darkened screens and empty seats, the East Hampton movie theater will reopen on Friday, May 21, according to Manhattan Skyline, the company that leases the building to Regal Cinemas.