East Hampton Village has appointed a replacement for Larry Cantwell, the village administrator for the past 30 years, Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. announced at a village board meeting on Friday.

    Rebecca Molinaro, the clerk-treasurer of the Village of Westhampton Beach, will assume the role on May 1. Mr. Cantwell and Ms. Molinaro will work together until Mr. Cantwell’s retirement in July.

    Ms. Molinaro has a master’s degree in public policy and 10 years of government experience as executive assistant to Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. She has served in her present role for the past three years. Ms. Molinaro said Friday that she and her daughter, Emma McGrory, will relocate from Remsenburg to East Hampton. Her starting salary, said the mayor, will be $95,000 per year.

    “Becky’s education and work experience is directly within the area of expertise required for the position of village administrator and this makes her an outstanding choice to carry on the tradition of good work by Larry,” the mayor said in a prepared statement.

    The incoming village administrator said after the meeting that she is “very excited” about the job. In governing on a local level, she said, “the response is tangible and almost immediate.” Working as a village administrator gives her “an amazing opportunity to become part of it,” she said.

    On Friday, Mayor Rickenbach and Ms. Molinaro discussed the considerable similarities between the villages, which include year-round populations that swell in size with an influx of summer residents and visitors, issues of storms and coastal erosion and, especially in recent years, the need to be familiar with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

    The mayor, who said that he and Mayor Conrad Teller of Westhampton Beach share a similar career track, with each moving from law enforcement into government, described Ms. Molinaro as “a professional lady and a class act,” and predicted “an extremely smooth and transparent transition.”

    Ms. Molinaro departs from her present position amid a minor controversy that has been described as an accounting mishap in which village employees were overpaid by a total of $22,000. The error has been corrected, and Ms. Molinaro has recommended that the village move from a biweekly payroll schedule to a 24-week schedule to preclude a repeat of the error. Preparing the village budget is one of the village administrator’s many duties in East Hampton.

    Members of the East Hampton Village Board were aware of the situation, Mr. Cantwell said yesterday. “They took a look at it. The state comptroller’s office took a look. It was corrected. I think it’s the kind of mistake that could happen, and we didn’t feel it reflected on Becky’s competence or qualifications in any way,” he said.

    “Good buffers make good neighbors,” Jeffrey Bragman said, loosely quoting Robert Frost, as he told the Sag Harbor Village Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday night that the proposed reconstruction of the Harbor Heights Service Station on Madison Street was out of line.

    Mr. Bragman, an East Hampton lawyer representing Save Sag Harbor, a citizens group, began his remarks after the board had already approved four applications, discussed other business, and held a lengthy hearing on a Garden Street property. (The Star will cover the latter in a future issue.)

    Before Mr. Bragman was done, however, Anthony Hagen, the board chairman, called a halt to his presentation due to the late hour. What Mr. Bragman said would be “the best part” of his argument on behalf of Save Sag Harbor is scheduled for the Z.B.A.’s next meeting, on March 19, when public comment will also be heard.

    The attorney accused the applicant, who does business as Petroleum Ventures, of “stripping out every zoning protection designed to help neighbors,” while saying that it was not the zoning board’s responsibility to “protect a businessman who wants to maximize his profit.” He called the proposal for Harbor Heights a “detriment to the community,” saying that, according to village legislation, gas stations are intended to remain small. The “applicant is not entitled to sell you into a variance because they disagree with the policy.”

    Mr. Bragman offered the board a picture of how much the applicant was asking for in numerous variance requests with a service station plan that would require none. According to Mr. Bragman’s plan, the applicant could have two pumps, a 1,273-square-foot building, a garage, 50-foot setbacks at front, 30-foot-deep landscaping all around, 31 parking spaces, and a 600-square-foot store, along with a complete basement of equal size.

    Instead, he said the design calls for a 58-percent variance for height, falls 2,000 square- feet short on landscaping, and increases lighting from 17 to 33 percent. The two additional pumps proposed would amount to a “physical extension of nonconforming use . . . an obvious expansion of use.” Tearing the old building down and relocating it was legally problematic, as well, he said, and the new building and pumps would cover more of the lot.

    Focusing on a proposed new fuel island, he said that it would be 24 feet long by 3 feet wide and “bigger than the building they want to build.” He compared the 89-foot-long canopy over the pumps to those at gas stations on Montauk Highway in Wainscott, which he said was “inappropriate in this setting.”

    Noting that the application calls for a 972-square-foot convenience store, he said only 600 square feet is allowed. “A glamorous convenience store” with several aisles and room for pop-up displays requested 89 percent setback variance for a sign, “2 feet away instead of 20 feet,” saying that in effect it would constitute repealing the setback provisions of the law. He also talked of the “landmark church to the west,” telling the board, “The applicant didn’t pay attention to it, but you should.”

    “You don’t grant variances for the convenience of an applicant, so they can make more money,” Mr. Bragman told the board.  “You lack the power to do it, and you shouldn’t do it.”

    A plastic jug had been placed on the counter near the cash register at the 7-Eleven in Sag Harbor to collect donations for Jhenny Bueno Arias, the severely injured “best employee” of Saqib Hameed, the owner of the Long Island Avenue store. Mr. Hameed is handling everything for Ms. Arias, who “has nobody,” he said on Tuesday.

    The plastic jug was stolen Saturday, according the store’s manager that night, Muhammad-Khalid Nazir, who called Sag Harbor Village police when a man ran into the store, grabbed the jug, and drove off.

    Ms. Bueno Arias, a 36-year-old single mother of four, was struck by a car as she walked home from work on Jan. 15. She was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries that included several fractured bones and punctured and lacerated organs. The car’s driver, David Corigliano of East Hampton, 60, was not charged with any wrongdoing and remained with Ms. Bueno Arias after his vehicle struck her. She had been crossing the multi-lane intersection where Jermain Avenue crosses Main Street and becomes Brick Kiln Road.

    While a police investigation is ongoing concerning the stolen donations, the dollar amount of which was not known, and while police study evidence captured by surveillance cameras, Mr. Hameed’s focus is on his employee, whom he visits daily. In an interview on Tuesday, he said that she is staying with a friend and is unable to walk or care for herself in any way. Discharged from the hospital because she didn’t have insurance, she still has a long road to recovery and is in need of constant care, he said.

    “I am trying to get her into an inpatient rehab,” Mr. Hameed said. He said he was grateful for donations received at a recent bake sale held at the store, and was able to pay her rent with the money raised.

    Ms. Bueno Arias is treasured by her boss, who called her honest, friendly, and reliable, and she’s a favorite among customers of all ages as well. “The whole town is helping with an open heart,” Mr. Hameed said.

    Charlie Canavan of Sag Harbor, who plans events for the Hysterical Society, will donate the proceeds from a $40 culinary stroll down Main Street on Saturday during HarborFrost. Music will be courtesy of the New Dawn Trio. Attendees have been invited to join the charitable fun at 1:30 p.m. for food and a cash bar at Il Capuccino. Other stops will be made at L.T. Burger, Page at 63 Main, and Muse in the Harbor restaurants.

    Joe Lauro, another Sag Harbor resident, has gotten in touch with Mr. Hameed in hopes of assisting with money from Island Gift of Life, which he said is “there for situations just like this.”

    Donations can be made in cash or by check made out to Jhenny Bueno Arias and dropped off at 7-Eleven, or checks can be sent to Mr. Hameed at P.O. Box 3134, Sag Harbor 11963.

    Since the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which left 20 children and six adult staffers dead, parents across the nation have worried about the safety and security of their children — a concern that grows especially acute during school hours.

    On Tuesday, in response to a joint letter signed by the Parent Teacher Association presidents of John M. Marshall Elementary School and the East Hampton Middle School, East Hampton Village officials decided to reinstate a part-time police officer at both schools. The letter had received “overwhelming parental support,” according to Wendy Geehreng, who heads the middle school PTA.

    “In 2013, we live in a different world. Our K-12 students are taught on cue to get to a safe place as quickly as possible. They know what ‘lockout’ and ‘lockdown’ mean,” read the letter, co-signed by Erica Hren of John Marshall’s PTA. “We, as parents, know for many reasons, Sandy Hook could have happened here or anywhere else. We are not immune to the dangers. We, as parents, ask that the village, for the safety of the children and teachers, place an officer in our schools to serve as a DARE officer, and to also be a police presence.”

    Starting next week, a part-time police officer will patrol both the elementary and middle schools.

    For years, a full-time DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer circulated between the two schools. Last spring, the village voted to eliminate the position, citing both the questionable effectiveness of the DARE program and budgetary constraints.

    “After the incident at Sandy Hook, some of the parents decided that they would feel better if they had more police presence. We discussed it as a board, and decided there was a relevance to that,” said Richard Lawler, a village board member. The village officer who patrols both campuses at the beginning and end of the school day will continue to do so, he said, and to make periodic drop-in visits as in the past.

    The village did not allocate money to pay for the increased police presence. “Chief Larsen will carry it out with the budget that he has,” Mr. Lawler said.

    The chief confirmed that one of his three detectives would now be assigned to patrol the two schools for three days each week.

    “Manpower-wise, we’re at a minimum now,” he said. “We are going to accommodate it, but it’s putting us in an awkward situation. We’ll now be running with two detectives. It’s the only way I could do it and not pay overtime.”

    As things stand, said Chief Larsen, the town and village forces are training together. “God forbid, were something to happen, it will be a joint effort.”

    East Hampton High School, which is outside village limits, has a town police officer assigned to the high school five days a week.

    “The saying that it takes a village to raise a child rings true here.  Our village of East Hampton, under the leadership of Mayor Rickenbach, the village board, and Chief Gerry Larsen took a great step in improving the safety and welfare of the children this week,” said Ms. Geehreng. “For this, we are truly grateful.”

    Talk of increased school security similarly ruled the night at Tuesday evening’s East Hampton School Board meeting. The board ultimately voted 5-1 to hire Michael J. Guido Jr., a Rocky Point-based architect, to perform “security audits” at each of the three schools, at a cost of $18,000. Mr. Guido has worked with the district on past projects.

    Jackie Lowey took issue with the contract, calling it a “sole-source contract” that had not been put out to bid. She was the only board member to vote against it. “It’s a lot of money for a small school district,” she said.

    Mr. Guido estimated his costs at around $6,000 per building. “We’ll look at the doors, fences, are there places for people to hide, are the structures safe from an automobile intrusion. We’ll go through procedures with staff, interview police, ask people how things are handled, how they handle visitors, attendance, whether it’s an open or closed campus.”

    Superintendent Richard J. Burns said he had met with school administrators, head custodians, and the village and town police chiefs in the weeks following Sandy Hook. “Everybody has a prescription about what we should do, what we’re lacking, what we’re not lacking. Should there be locks on doors, shades on the windows. The responses have been astronomical,” he said. “It makes the most sense to have an architect that’s familiar with the community and will give us an appraisal that’s well beyond a bureaucratic response.”

    Time is of the essence, said the superintendent.  “We need a comprehensive plan. Let’s stop with the Band-Aids. What we need is a unified vision.”

East Hampton Town police said Thursday that they had arrested the person they believe struck and killed John Judge on Amagansett's Main Street in October.

According to a release, Edward L. Orr, 30, of Edison Drive, Montauk, was behind the wheel of his 2004 Jeep Cherokee when it hit Mr. Judge, who had been crossing the street on foot. There were no witnesses.

Mr. Judge, 61, was found in the road shoulder, apparently just a short time after he had been struck, by East Hampton Town Councilman Dominick Stanzione. He was rushed to Southampton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

During the initial investigation, police recovered parts of what they said was a dark-colored vehicle near where Mr. Judge had been struck. In an October Crime

Edward L. Orr in a photograph provided by East Hampton Town police.

Stoppers release, police said that Mr. Judge had been hit on Oct. 23 at about 7:50 p.m. and that the vehicle involved would have sustained front-end damage, as well as damage to a headlight and its front passenger side.

Police said Thursday night that Mr. Orr's Jeep was recovered in New Jersey but did not give any further details. He was arrested Thursday afternoon. A description of the charges has not been released.

An electrician who lived in Amagansett, Mr. Judge was a regular customer at Astro's Pizza in the hamlet, and had just left the shop when he was killed. He had worked for many years at Decorum Antiques and Accessories of Amagansett across Main Street. Elaine Monroe, its owner, recalled him in an obituary in The East Hampton Star as "a lovely guy, very generous. He would give you the shirt off his back."

Police have continued to ask that anyone who saw the incident phone their tip line at 631-537-7575.

Power was interrupted to some 1,400 customers in East Hampton Town by an intense winter storm that hit the region beginning late Friday.

The Long Island Power Authority Storm Center reported that Montauk had approximately 600 houses and businesses without power and Springs had some 320 without electricity. About 730 customers were without power in Southampton Town.

Snowfall totals early Saturday ranged from six inches along Gardiner's Bay in Amagansett to eight inches in Bridgehampton. Western Suffolk was harder hit, with accumulation of more than 28 inches in East Setauket and 24 inches in Stony Brook.

Top wind gusts recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were 56 knots (64 miles per hour) shortly before 8 p.m. on Friday at an unmanned weather station 23 miles south-southwest of Montauk Point. The highest recorded seas reached more than 23 feet at about 11 p.m. on Friday.

East Hampton Town and Village and the Town of Southampton declared snow emergencies effective until at least midday on Saturday. Nonemergency travel remained prohibited.

East Hampton Town Highway Superintendent Steve Lynch, reached by phone early Saturday, said that the state of emergency remained in effect.

"The roads are a mess right now," Mr. Lynch said. "We had all the roads cleared and then we got dumped with another eight inches of snow. And we are out doing what we can; they are slippery underneath. A lot of trees down . . . and a lot of power outages."

"We are hoping to have everything cleared up by 4 or 5 this afternoon," he said.

Mr. Lynch said that East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson ordered the closing of the town landfill and that its employees where helping the Highway Department clear roads.

Storm in photos:

    The Beach House, a hotel and playground for the well-sandaled young in downtown Montauk, can keep its bar, and its gift shop, too, but will probably have to go through some form of site plan review.

    On Tuesday night, the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals considered an appeal by the hotel’s owners, Chris Jones and Larry Siedlick, against Tom Preiato’s determination that a poolside bar and a small kiosk-type building being used as a gift shop lack the proper permits and must be shut down.

    Mr. Prieato, the town’s head building inspector, noted among other things that “the service bar is being used as a general public bar, a use not approved for the structure.”

    At a public hearing the week before, the resort’s attorney had introduced a prior case, Gauthier v. the Village of Larchmont, in which a court ruled that a bar is an accepted use by a hotel. The zoning board quickly agreed with that on Tuesday. But while the bar’s existence was deemed acceptable, the question of how it got there was another matter.

    Mr. Preiato told the board at the hearing that the bar, or part of it anyway, had been razed and then rebuilt. That, the board concurred this week, would trigger the need for a site plan, as would the conversion of a shed into the aforementioned gift shop, since the buildings had been changed.

    Although ruling against Mr. Preiato’s determination,  “We’re not giving them carte blanche,” said Alex Walter, the Z.B.A. chairman. “They can have these uses. That doesn’t exempt them from a site plan.”

    The board tabled the matter for one week to allow its attorney, Robert Connelly, time to craft the determination.

    Actions on two other controversial properties were tabled as well, after some heated debate.

    The two properties are both in Amagansett but far apart, one on Gardiner’s Bay and the other by the Atlantic. Michael Patrick’s parcel is at 295 Cranberry Hole Road; Stephen Ruvitusso’s is on Ocean Lane in Beach Hampton.

    The Cranberry Hole Road proposal would replace an existing house with a bigger one of 3,457 square feet with decking, which would require numerous variances from wetland and coastal setbacks, along with a natural resources special permit. The Beach Hampton plan would add 653 square feet to the first floor, a 227-square-foot dormer, a 19-square-foot entranceway, and 101 square feet of roof deck. Multiple wetland variances are needed along with a height variance and a natural resources special permit.

    Both properties are in wetland areas, and therefore “constrained,” according to Mr. Walter, meaning that any new construction would need relief from various setback regulations.

    Coincidentally, both parcels had been before the board in 1986, their owners seeking approval for the current structures. Mr. Walter noted that the 1986 board had pondered the proper size of the house on each lot, and he warned against ignoring its finding, while not ruling out approval of the requested variances.

    The arguments pro and con were similar for the two properties.

    “I think this proposal could be scaled back,” Lee White said of the Beach Hampton proposal. Of the Cranberry Road house, he said, “They could do a better job.”

    Don Cirillo argued for granting all the variances as requested for both properties, arguing that expanding the existing footprints did not constitute a major increase.

    Sharon McCobb remarked that she had tried to review the Cranberry Hole Road hearing but much of the debate had taken place away from the podium and was thus lost. Mr. Walter encouraged the board members to visit both the properties; in the meantime the applications were tabled.

    The zoning board did approve three applications on Tuesday. Ulises Licaega can keep the deck he replaced on his Ocean Lane property. He’d told the board on Feb. 5 that he didn’t realize it had never received a certificate of occupancy.

    Michael Burns can replace his mobile home in the Montauk Shores Condominium complex, the board decided, and Mr. Burns will be allowed to build the six-foot-wide deck he requested.  The deck had engendered some concern from members because of its proximity to an oceanfront bluff that is eroding.

    “The fear is, approving something that is going to drop into the ocean,” Ms. McCobb said. In the end, though, the deck was seen as a relatively small request that already had the blessing of the condominium board.

    Finally, a house on Gerard Drive in Springs, owned by Barbara Kruger, can be pulled back on the property and raised four feet to meet FEMA regulations and to protect it from the ever encroaching waters of Gardiner’s Bay. The board had actually suggested to Ms. Kruger that she pull the house even further back from the bay, but after consideration she declined, citing the additional time that would be required.

    The board approved all three applications unanimously except for the mobile home. Mr. White voted against that one.

    Councilman Dominick Stanzione defended his and East Hampton Town’s record on recent changes to aircraft routes into and out of East Hampton Airport during a heated meeting in Town Hall last Thursday.

    “I’ve given it my all, and I stand on my record on this,” he said.

    Mr. Stanzione’s response followed statements by a number of people who spoke at an East Hampton Town Board meeting about what they viewed as the failure of officials to control noise, particularly from helicopters and jets.

    Some of those who took a turn at the Town Hall podium had traveled to East Hampton from the North Fork, including Teresa McCaskie, who showed board members a handwritten log she kept of aircraft noise incidents.

    “Basically these pilots are doing what they want, when they want, whenever they want,” she said. “They are flying over our homes, they are flying over our schools.”

    Mr. Stanzione had become the focus of anti-noise activists since he came under attack last summer for telling air traffic controllers at East Hampton Airport to direct more helicopters over Noyac and the North Fork. Though shortly thereafter members of the town board objected to not being informed about the change in advance, they so far have not asked the controllers to shift the aircraft to another route.

    Several people at the meeting asked whether there was a short-term plan to reduce aircraft noise. James Ding, a Noyac resident, told the board, “It’s your noise. Take some responsibility.”

    Demonstrations seen last summer at East Hampton Airport could resume and possibly become disruptive, Charles Neumann of Noyac said, hinting at 1960s-style civil disobedience. “Things might get ugly, for us, for you guys, if we cannot have some relief in the short term.” Mr. Neumann is a past president of the Noyac Civic Council.

    Janice LoRousso, who lives in Jamesport and owns a house in Noyac, said aircraft noise was a quality-of-life issue. “I have an elderly mother. She’s 90. She needs this? Nobody needs this,” she said.

    Another Noyac resident, Patricia Currie, who along with several others who spoke at Thursday’s meeting is a member of the Quiet Skies Coalition, faulted the town’s outside aviation attorney, Peter Kirsch, for perpetuating the noise crisis. “Mr. Kirsch misled the board by calling diverting traffic to other towns an accomplishment,” she said.

    She said that Mr. Stanzione had engaged in an “ongoing deception” over who was responsible for the route change.

    Pat Trunzo, a former East Hampton Town councilman, said that Mr. Kirsch’s view that the town should undertake a Federal Aviation Administration study of air traffic was risky. “I think you might be on the brink of being sold another bill of goods by your advisers,” he said. He said the work would lead to a “very comfortable retirement” for Mr. Kirsch.

    Instead, Mr. Trunzo and others argued, the town should seek to increase its leverage with the F.A.A. by working to get free of “grant assurances” that apparently obligate the airport to be operated with only minimal restrictions.

    The town has appeared poised to accept F.A.A. money for a deer-fence project at the airport, which noise activists fear would tie East Hampton to additional years of grant assurances. A set of these assurances is to expire next year.

    “You are on the brink of giving away the only negotiating leverage you have if you sign up for another 20 years prematurely,” he said.

    Mr. Trunzo told the board he believed that the remaining assurances were very limited in scope and would not hamper the town’s options if it chose to impose new rules designed to limit noise.

    At Mr. Kirsch’s urging, the town is preparing to undertake a Part 161 study, which could cost up to $2 million and take as much as two years to complete. Its goal would be to describe noise conditions in affected areas as a prerequisite to solutions that are acceptable to the F.A.A.

    During an East Hampton Town Board meeting on Feb. 5, Mr. Kirsch said that such a study could help form a legal defense if the town were sued for any new restrictions on, for example, the days of the week the airport was open.

    When the public comment ended, Mr. Stanzione said that the current East Hampton Town leadership had “done more to address airport noise than any other board in the last decade,” citing the completion of an airport master plan and an airport layout plan.

    He said the town had “opened up a dialog with the F.A.A.”

    For her part, Councilwoman Theresa Quigley said she was sympathetic to the views of many in the Town Hall audience. “I don’t consider the impact on neighboring municipalities any different than I consider its impact on East Hampton.”

    “I apologize to all of you,” she said. However, she said, she was “not ready to talk about what we will or will not do.”

    Many South Forkers don’t take or have the time in the warmer months to visit Shelter Island and the North Fork, and many have not been there in years. Here are some ideas for a winter day-trip.

    Those who want to take the South and North Ferries across “the Rock,” as Shelter Island is called by locals, should bring a camera and cash for the fare, and they should decide how far they want to explore. If venturing only to the island, or throughout the North Fork without a loop through Riverhead, a round-trip ticket should be purchased to save money.

    A worthy excursion on Shelter Island is the Mashomack Preserve, managed by the Nature Conservancy. A short drive from the South Ferry, it encompasses a third of the island. There are 1, 3, and 11-mile trails to choose from, with some rarely seen trees, meadows, and shoreline vistas. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.

    History buffs will find something to treasure at Sylvester Manor. Now called an educational farm, its 243 acres recently opened to the public. Monthly tours of the historic manor house began this winter. One of them, on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., is called “Life, Labor, and Liberties,” about slavery at the manor from 1653 through the Emancipation Proclamation.

    When it comes to grabbing a bite on the island, there are several year-round restaurants for all tastes and budgets. Most are conveniently located on the main road, Route 114, which goes from one ferry to the other.

    Serving breakfast and lunch at an old-fashioned counter is the Shelter Island Heights Pharmacy. Stars Cafe has healthy dishes for sit-down meals or takeout. The Islander serves all three meals seven days a week, and Sweet Tomato’s Italian restaurant is open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday, with brunch and lunch on Saturdays. Fish dinners are available Thursday through Sunday at Clark’s Fish House, a recent addition, and upscale dining is offered at Vine Street Cafe, La Maison Blanche, and 18 Bay.

    A call ahead to restaurants to confirm hours is advisable, and has been requested by the waterside Dory bar and restaurant. The Eagle Deli is a takeout option for those who might want a scenic picnic at Wades or Crescent Beach.

    After February, the Shelter Island Historical Society’s Havens House will open for tours and exhibits, as will Commander Cody’s Seafood. The Cornucopia Gift Shop is open year round for browsers. Maps of the island are available almost everywhere and offer more ideas of the off-season possibilities.

    Those who plan to explore only Greenport can now take advantage of free parking at the North Ferry. You can board as a walk-on passenger for $2 each way and explore the village by foot. (Having a really good time? Be warned: The North Ferry’s last boat leaves the dock at midnight.)

    Upon arrival in Greenport, on the left is the Long Island Rail Road station. Trains still run to the village, but on a limited schedule. They started arriving in 1844, assisting in the development of farming on the North Fork. Greenport would come to be known for its whaling, oysters, shipbuilding, and fishing. During Prohibition, it was a thriving center for rum-running. Visible reminders of the past can be found all over.

    The newer Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, which will soon move to an expanded location farther west on the fork, welcomes visitors. Adult beverages are also served at a range of watering holes, from the saloon-style Whiskey Wind to the more upscale Noah’s or Cuvee Bar and Grill within the Greenporter Hotel, which is kicking off a happy hour called Winterfest Bites on weekends beginning tomorrow. It offers dinner and accommodation specials as well.

    A favorite among the little ones is an antique carousel in the revitalized Mitchell Park on the waterfront. It was built in 1920 and donated to the village by the Northrop-Grumman Corporation in 1995. Rides cost $2, and for extra fun kids on the outside horses can try to grab brass rings as they pass.

    The park also boasts an ice-skating rink, with $5 skate rentals and unlimited loops around the rink for $7 for those under 18 on weekends, $3 midweek. For adults, it’s $10 on weekends, $5 midweek. The carousel and skating rink will be open from at least 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. all week during winter break. The rink is open from 3 to 5 p.m. most school days.

    Next door to the rink, Aldo’s Coffee is a favorite warm-up spot, offering hand-roasted and brewed coffee, handmade hot chocolate, and melt-in-your-mouth homemade scones. There are numerous restaurants to choose from in the maritime village, including the North Fork Oyster Company and First and South, which are not highly visible but within walking distance.

    An agenda-free trip along Route 25 or Route 48, which runs parallel, will lead to farm stands, wineries, and boutiques. In Mattituck, Love Lane is surely worth a stop. The Village Cheese Shop is a sure thing for those with a taste for fondue, the Love Lane Sweet Shoppe is a must for gifts and sweets. Across the way is the newly opened BookHampton and Love Lane Kitchen, open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and its own roasted coffee. Mattituck Cinemas is in a nearby shopping center on Route 25, and Tony’s Asian Fusion offers happy hour specials on sushi as well as beer and cocktails.

    More event listings can be found online at northforkchamberofcommerce. org and greenportvillage.com.

    There may be nine months to go before Election Day, but already in East Hampton Town, Republicans are close to firming up their slate and Democrats are gearing up for serious deliberations over who will get the top spots on their ticket.

    Incumbents will step down from some key positions at Town Hall at the end of the year, opening the field to new faces or familiar ones in different roles.

    County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, who was twice elected town supervisor under the Republican banner, is considering a Town Hall comeback, again with Republican support. As of this week, he was the only one the East Hampton Town Republican Committee had interviewed for that position, according to the committee’s chairman, Kurt Kappel. Supervisor Bill Wilkinson, who has not yet said whether he is considering another run, “knew there was a screening and he didn’t show up,” Mr. Kappel said Tuesday. “Screening is a very important part of the process.”

    “Jay wants to be supervisor of East Hampton, and he said, ‘I will set the standard of how to campaign,’ ” Mr. Kappel said. “He was there before. He knows the job.”

    As a legislator, “it’s been a good run,” said Mr. Schneiderman, who is in his fifth term with the county and can run for one final term. He has accomplished a lot of what he set out to do at the county level, including widening County Road 39, getting the county buses to run on Sundays, and getting his district its fair share of county sales tax, he said, but “there are a lot of things on the local level I feel I could play a helpful role in solving.” The town needs “somebody who can pull the community together, be bipartisan, and look out for the community’s broader interest.”

    “I’m still waiting to hear what Supervisor Wilkinson is doing,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “I’m assuming he’s not going to run for re-election because he hasn’t indicated that he is. I want to see what his intentions are.” In the meantime, Mr. Schneiderman said he is keeping his options open as he weighs whether to run to keep his seat or to take back his old job, and even, perhaps, to look at Albany or Washington.

    Although he would love to run at some point for higher office, he said he likes working on the local level because “you can really have an impact on people’s lives. . . . With each step up is also a step further away from home, from the people you know, from friends and community. As a supervisor you really get to interact with people in a very close way, a very direct way.”

    Democrats screen hopeful candidates and announce their slate later than East Hampton’s G.O.P. However, Larry Cantwell, the soon-to-retire East Hampton Village administrator and a former town councilman, is the name that comes up most often as the Democrats’ likely choice for supervisor. Zachary Cohen, who lost to Mr. Wilkinson by just 15 votes in 2011, and Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc are also in the mix for the supervisor slot.

    Mr. Cantwell said yesterday that he hasn’t made a final decision on whether to run, but added, “I think it would be good for East Hampton to have a serious debate about the issues. East Hampton is facing some serious issues. Coastal erosion, nitrogen loading into the groundwater, the airport — these are serious issues that are going to affect the future of East Hampton for a long time.”

    The G.O.P. screened potential candidates for supervisor, highway superintendent, and town trustee on Jan. 29 and will screen for town board, justice, town clerk, assessor, and additional trustees on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the American Legion in Amagansett. Democrats have put out the call for interested candidates but will not begin the interview process until later this month, said Betty Mazur, chairwoman of the East Hampton Town Democrats’ screening committee.

    Republican Councilwoman Theresa Quigley said several weeks ago that she would not seek re-election to a second term. And Fred Overton, the town clerk, will not run to keep that job, but is instead lining up for a town councilman candidacy alongside the incumbent Republican Councilman Dominick Stanzione. Although Mr. Stanzione had come under heavy fire last year from some members of the Republican Committee, he seems to be in favor now with the committee as a whole. Mr. Overton has told the G.O.P. he’s interested in running for councilman, Mr. Kappel said, and Carol Brennan, the deputy town clerk for many years, has approached the Republicans about running to take Mr. Overton’s spot.

    “I think there’s support for Dominick . . . and Fred, and we’re going to see who’s going to screen,” Mr. Kappel said.

    Highway Superintendent Steve Lynch has paved a smooth road back to the Republican ticket this fall and has strong support for a second term. Most of the Republicans’ incumbent town trustees want to keep their seats and have been interviewed already, the chairman said. Lynn Mendelman will not run again. Deborah Klughers, elected as a Democrat, asked to be interviewed by the Republicans, according to the chairman.

    Likewise, Mr. Schneiderman, who is a member of the Independence Party, expressed interest in being interviewed by the Democrats as well, Ms. Mazur said. Mr. Kappel said Mr. Cohen had approached Republicans to be interviewed, but had not followed through.

    The full Republican Committee interviews potential candidates and then votes as a body on the final selection. East Hampton Democrats follow a different process, with a smaller screening committee first meeting with interested candidates, and that group’s recommendations going to the full Democratic Committee for a vote.

    “We set up appointments and screen each person individually,” Ms. Mazur explained. “It’s a deliberate process. It’s not speedy, but it’s thorough.”