On Sept. 6, 1838, Joanna Livingston Van Wyck (1812-1903) wrote to Margaret Gardiner (1822-1857), her cousin on Gardiner’s Island, as part of an ongoing correspondence, here having to do with family news and a summer church camp.
Item of the Week: From Cousin to Cousin in 1838On Sept. 6, 1838, Joanna Livingston Van Wyck (1812-1903) wrote to Margaret Gardiner (1822-1857), her cousin on Gardiner’s Island, as part of an ongoing correspondence, here having to do with family news and a summer church camp.
Jimmy Buffett Remembered as Down-to-Earth NeighborThe musician Jimmy Buffett, who lived on North Haven for many years, was remembered on the South Fork this week as a generous, gracious, and down-to-earth neighbor, his worldwide fame and considerable wealth notwithstanding.
Narcan, a Life-Saving Drug, Is Now More AccessibleThe Food and Drug Administration has declared Narcan, a nasally administered drug that counteracts opioid overdoses, safe for over-the-counter access at pharmacies nationwide, prompting positive reactions this week from local health experts and public safety officials. “In the future, you’ll probably see Narcan in every public place and building. From a public safety perspective, the more tools we can put out there into the community, the better off we are,” said East Hampton Town Sgt. Ken Alversa.
From The East Hampton Star, September 10, 1998 — East Hampton Village has staked its claim to 25 percent of East Hampton Town’s annual transfer tax revenues — what its Mayor terms an “equitable” portion of monies a proposed 2-percent levy on property sales is expected to generate if voters here approve implementation of the state land bank bill on Nov. 3, Election Day.
Destructive Spotted Lanternfly Is Found HereThe spotted lanternfly, a "planthopper" pest now common in New York City, has made its way to the East End, where it is a threat to wineries and native trees like the black walnut, silver maple, willow, and oak.
In the Trade Parade: 'Money Drives Everybody Out, and Everybody In’On any given morning, vehicles bump forward slowly through trade-parade traffic on Montauk Highway, at least half of them service trucks and vans. This is how the army of tradespeople who uphold the facade of the Hamptons arrives to build and service huge houses and maintain pristine pools and landscaping.
Item of the Week: The L.V.I.S. Beach Plum FabricIn 1977, the Ladies Village Improvement Society commissioned this beach plum print found in its collection, and it has remained a signature pattern for the organization. The revenue from the use and sale of it has been a source of funding for the L.V.I.S. since then.
New Marker in Montauk Honors Amistad CrewWith thoughtful words, inspired movement and music, and enthusiastic applause on Saturday, the Montauk Historical Society, Eastville Community Historical Society, and Southampton African American Museum gathered leaders and community members at Culloden Point Beach to pay tribute to the crew of La Amistad, a group of illegally enslaved Africans who came ashore in Montauk in 1839 following a mutiny aboard the schooner, seeking fresh water, food, and a way back home.
On the Wing: Epic Summer for Rare Birds at MecoxJust over the lip of the dune bordering the lot at Scott Cameron Beach is one of the most important habitat areas for shorebirds on the entire East End: Mecox Inlet.
Again with controversies surrounding the newly popular bicycle from 125 years ago. And much more ripped from the pages of Ye Olde Star.
East Hampton Beaches Closed Due to Rough SurfEast Hampton Town closed its beaches to swimming midday on Wednesday due to dangerous surf conditions.
A New Take on the Tampon, Lifeguard-StyleAmanda Calabrese, an East Hampton native and former lifeguard at Ditch Plain and Indian Wells Beaches, with her friend Greta Meyer, has disrupted the female hygiene industry so prominently that they have been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2023.
Flesh-Eating Bacteria a Threat in Warm WaterIn recent weeks a deadly bacterium found in warm seawater and in raw seafood has killed at least three people in New York and Connecticut, including a Brookhaven Town resident, and sickened at least one resident of East Hampton Town.
Item of the Week: A Sportfishing World Record HolderThis 1951 image of Sara Chisholm Farrington (1907-1992), an accomplished hunter, sportfisherwoman, and author, comes from The East Hampton Star’s archive.
Married and Sailing Off TogetherZoe Cohen married her longtime beau, Levi Shaw-Faber, on Saturday afternoon at 5 at a stunning spot next to Georgica Pond.
An allegation of antisemitism arose during an Aug. 11 East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals meeting that included a public hearing on the Jewish Center of the Hamptons’ application to add an outdoor pavilion with an amplification system and lighting to its Woods Lane property.
A piano tuner comes to Sag Harbor. That's 1898. One hundred years later, outraged citizens sang a tune of complaint when they gathered in an effort to stop the Rennert monstrosity in the Sagaponack dunes.
A Closed Bridge and a Clogged Main StreetFrom the still-shuttered Cranberry Hole Road bridge to dead trees on Napeague to traffic on Main Street, the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee had a lot to talk about on Monday night.
A Met Show in Retreat Boutique Windows“Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” ran from May to July at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and featured about 200 dazzling creations from the late fashion designer’s legacy. A piece of that show now lives on at the Retreat Boutique in Bridgehampton.
And the Wind Farm Foundations Are InInstallation of the 13 monopile foundations that will support the South Fork Wind farm’s 12 turbines and offshore substation is complete, the wind farm’s developers, Orsted and Eversource, announced last week. Additional foundation components, including platforms and anode cages, are also being installed.
Even Out Of Drought, Water Worries PersistBetter use of the aquifer, and an appreciation of it as an existential resource, could help mitigate the vicissitudes of nature when it comes to the health of our water supply, and the Suffolk County Water Authority is at work on both fronts.
Eyeing a Covid UptickCovid-19 cases have been increasing across New York State in recent weeks, with a new Omicron subvariant to blame. The good news, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital said this week, is that even among people who are admitted with Covid, it has not recently seen patients who are in need of intensive care treatment.
Food Insecurity and Waste: Law and Real Estate Firms Into the BreachEast Hampton Town is a place of both abundance and scarcity, an extreme example of the widening gap between rich and poor. But a new initiative, Hamptons Pantry Pickup, aims to connect the two, in a sense, while simultaneously reducing waste and providing for those in need.
Item of the Week: Lost Generation at the Maidstone Cabanas This photograph from The East Hampton Star’s archive shows a group of eight lounging on the beach in front of the Maidstone Club cabanas. They look as if they escaped from an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, and the photo captures the spirit of a summer beach day.
In 1973, the public shouted down nuclear plants at Shoreham and Jamesport. In 1998, deer killed two Springs residents. And much more.
A 2021 American Bird Conservancy model estimated that 1.17 million birds are killed by wind turbines in the United States annually, though nearly all turbines in operation at present are on land. A spokeswoman for the South Fork Wind farm’s developers said this week they have conducted extensive research in crafting measures to minimize risk to birds when the offshore wind farm is operational.
Volunteer English Teachers NeededTwo weeks after opening registration for the new school year, Ruta27, an English-language program for adults, already has 60 students enrolled and expects more than 200 by the time evening classes start on Sept. 12 at East Hampton High School. To help meet the demand, the nonprofit is looking for volunteers interested in teaching English.
Ed Sheeran Shows Up for AmagansettForget stadium binoculars and nosebleed seats — some 500 people lucky enough to score access into Sirius XM’s exclusive concert by Ed Sheeran on Monday night under a tent at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett were so close to the pop star they could see the sweat glistening on his neck while he performed a solo set that included almost every hit since his first single, “The A Team,” debuted on American radio stations in late 2012.
A Grant for Historic Survey in WainscottThe Wainscott Heritage Project, a nonprofit formed in 2021, will undertake a survey of historic structures in that hamlet after receiving a $14,400 grant from the Preserve New York initiative, funded by the Preservation League of New York State, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.
ARF Settles In at Its Forever HomeFrom building a brand-new training facility to renovating its catteries and engineering new dog kennels, the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons has created an oasis for rescued animals in its newly completed Forever Home, which officially reopened in Wainscott this spring after a 21-month renovation.
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