The Springs General Store achieved a victory at the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals last week, being granted its request for a natural resources special permit. It was needed because parking, fencing, and decking would be installed within 150 feet of wetlands. Don’t expect them to start churning out coffee and egg sandwiches just yet, however. The store still needs site plan approval from the town’s planning and architectural review boards.
Thar She Blows: White Whale Gets MAGA Graffiti
A floating whale that has been a mainstay of Sag Harbor's Harborfest for many years was the object of political vandalism when someone defaced it with the words "TRUMP MAGA."
September 16, 2024
Police & Courts
An East Hampton man told village police he was looking down at his phone last Friday afternoon when his 2016 Chevrolet pickup truck ran into a 2018 Tesla at the intersection of Pantigo and Accabonac Roads.
Sep 19, 2024
Acting East Hampton Village Chief of Police Jeffrey J. Erickson has passed the Civil Service police chief exam, and will be officially promoted to the rank of chief when the village board meets on Oct. 18. He will become the ninth police chief in the history of the East Hampton Village Police Department.
Sep 19, 2024
Two local women received threatening emails from an unknown sender on the afternoon of Sept. 4, with photos of their homes attached, demanding that $2,000 be sent to a Bitcoin code.
Sep 19, 2024
Star Stories
The Mother of All Cleanups
Spring is associated with cleaning, sure, but the East Hampton Town Litter Action Committee sees no problem with celebrating the first day of autumn with a good once-over. On Saturday, as part of National CleanUp Day, committee members will hit the roadsides for this year’s sprucing.
Sep 19, 2024
Bridge Over Troubled Water
The bridge that spans the outflow from Pussy’s Pond in Springs into Accabonac Harbor off Old Stone Highway will soon be repaired, and an eighth-of-an-acre sea of phragmites removed.
Sep 19, 2024
Government
Sag Harbor Village is reviewing bids for work to connect two sewersheds to the village’s wastewater treatment system, all of which came in higher than expected.
Sep 19, 2024
Recognizing the challenges of housing costs even for people earning too much to qualify for affordable housing, East Hampton Town's housing director and Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte floated the idea of employee housing overlay districts that might “provide an avenue for private development of a needed form of housing.”
Sep 19, 2024
After a recent move to increase density allowances from eight units an acre to 12 for senior-citizen-only affordable housing developments, the East Hampton Town Board this week discussed making the same adjustment on any affordable housing parcel.
Sep 19, 2024
Bringing out young voters 18 to 25 had been critical to President Biden’s win in 2020. Since his surprise announcement that he would not run again this year, many young Democratic-leaning voters have, according to pollsters, felt more energized — including those right here on the South Fork.
Sep 19, 2024
Arts
Flowers, Surfboards, and Punk Rock
With a site-specific installation at Guild Hall, a shout-out from Artnet News for his booth at the Spring/Break NYC art fair, and artworks at Chanel stores worldwide, Peter Dayton is on an extended roll.
Sep 19, 2024
The Hamptons International Film Festival's slate of programs will include films by Steve McQueen, Pedro Almodovar, Mike Leigh, Steven Soderbergh, and star turns by Angelina Jolie, Julianne Moore, Cillian Murphy, and Colman Domingo.
Sep 19, 2024
The Sag Harbor Cinema's Booksmart series will feature three films inspired by or adapted from literature—and one by DC Comics.
Sep 19, 2024
The 21st Latino Film Festival of the Hamptons will screen three feature films with themes of heroism, strength, and resilience at four East End venues.
Sep 19, 2024
Villages
Library Budget Vote in Sag Harbor
Voters will gather next Thursday at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor to vote on the annual budget, elect three library board members, and weigh on propositions to provide funding for the Sag Harbor Whaling and Historical Museum and the Eastville Community Historical Society.
Item of the Week: Whaling Log of the Daniel Webster
This whaling log, kept by Edward Mulford Baker (1810-1856), documents two voyages aboard the ship Daniel Webster. The first took place between 1833 and 1837, departing from Sag Harbor for the Pacific Ocean. Baker was first mate under Capt. Philetus Pierson (1801-1879) and documented the journey only between Aug. 27 and Sept. 19, 1833.
Equipment Failure Limits Boat Traffic Through Shinnecock Canal
The Shinnecock Canal remains open to limited boat traffic despite the failure of a hinge on one of the lock gates overnight on Tuesday. The county is discouraging all non-emergency boat traffic.
