Business

   Necessity is the mother of invention, and sometimes the mothers are the inventors. That’s what happened with the new Whoopsiee — a half-hat, half-helmet of soft, reversible fabric engineered for adventurous toddlers by two South Fork moms.

AMAGANSETT

J. and D. York to J. Dillon, 17 Grove Street, Dec. 23, $620,550.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

C. Finocchio to C. Platto and L. Mandell, 1888 Scuttlehole Road, 1.02 acres, Dec. 16, $1,850,000.

EAST HAMPTON

C. Calhoun by executors to New Sunshine Custom Builders, part of 119 Middle Highway (vacant), Dec. 19, $175,000.

J. and M. Luppi III to 154 Oakview Highway, 154 Oak View Highway, 4.1 acres (vacant), Dec. 3, $730,000.

G. Cooper to E. Waserstein, 97 Three Mile Harbor Road, 1.1 acres, Dec. 19, $937,500.

Most Excellent Inn

    The votes are in, and Baker House 1650 on Main Street in East Hampton has been named the “most excellent inn” in the United States and Canada by Condé Nast Johansens international luxury travel guides. It is the third time that Baker House 1650 has been so named.

    The awards, in 28 categories, are given to luxury properties throughout the Americas, the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Caribbean and come from readers of the guides, hotel guests, and the Condé Nast Johansens team of inspectors.

Plum TV Auction

AMAGANSETT

Havey, Jones, and Wegehoft to 18 Shore Drive West, 18 Shore ­Drive West, .17 acre, Dec. 15, $700,000.

EAST HAMPTON

L. Harmon to J. and H. Forst, 9 Jason’s Lane, 1 acre (vacant), Dec. 9, $375,000.

EAST HAMPTON VILLAGE

R. Borg East Hampton Trust to A. Stead and K. Dolsingh, 8 Toilsome Lane, 7.9 acres, Dec. 9, $620,000.

Hitherland Development to M. and K. Patel, 2 Marina Lane, .84 acre, Dec. 9, $6,000,000.

MONTAUK

S. and S. Rankin to R. and J. Rozycki, 74 Tern Drive, .17 acre, Dec. 12, $589,000.

   Is the glass half empty or half full? Reports presented from Suffolk Research Service and one of the East End’s real estate firms offer a nebulous view of whether the market is on the rise or still bouncing along the bottom.

    Although there was some improvement from the third quarter of 2011 to the final quarter, there was little to no improvement over all over the fourth quarter of 2010, according to George R. Simpson, the president of Suffolk Research Service.

Kathleen Beckmann started the new year by closing her real estate business, Kathleen Beckmann Real Estate, at her house on Essex Street at the east end of downtown Montauk and joining the office of Town and Country Real Estate on Main Street.

    When Judi Desiderio, who owns Town and Country, opened the Montauk location a little over two years ago, she said Monday that the first person she called to join her team was Ms. Beckmann. “I wasn’t ready,” Ms. Beckman said.

G­rowing up in Farmingdale with her parents and two brothers, Nora Kleps had the usual assortment of household pets — cats, dogs, parakeets, turtles — “anything you could buy at Woolworth’s,” she said. She also liked riding horses, but despite being drawn to animals she followed another path before eventually returning to school to become a veterinarian. It was only after becoming fluent in French, Italian, and Farsi that she became fluent in animal medicine.

   Plum TV, the upscale cable channel that serves up light entertainment geared toward tourist and resort markets, announced on Jan. 3 that the company had filed for Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York.

    The beleaguered company, which is based in Miami but operates a station on the South Fork and in seven other high-end markets in the United States, laid off 50 of its 85 employees across the country in September, hoping to avoid accumulating further debt while preserving the brand.

A brief discussion of data on East Hampton Town’s zoning districts and the space allotted for business here at the last town board meeting of 2011 appears destined for a reprise in the new year.

    A glance at the deed transfers that occurred in the real estate market in East Hampton during the end of October through mid-November tells an interesting story indeed.

Is there anyone who hasn’t fantasized at some point about leaving behind their old stuff, selling their house, and stepping into someone else’s life?

Collecting for Charities

    For the past decade, Kate Carpluk of Town and Country Real Estate has been collecting donations of coats, hats, gloves, blankets, food, and toys to give to three local charities: Maureen’s Haven, the Bread and More soup kitchen, and Little Flower Children’s Services.

    This year all eight Town and Country offices will open their doors to anyone who may wish to donate. Ms. Carpluk can be reached at 838-7608 for pickup.

Contractor of the Year

AMAGANSETT

M. Recanati Trust to M. Forman, 16 Atlantic Avenue, .8 acre (vacant), Oct. 21, $2,400,000.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

D. Boylan to R. and H. Tartaglione Jr., 6 Fair Hills Lane, 1 acre (vacant), Sept. 14, $900,000.

EAST HAMPTON

E. Roye to Gardenia Partners, 156 Buckskill Road, 1.88 acres, Oct. 24, $725,000.

A. and M. Bernstein and R. Ash to J. Holley, 14 Saddle Lane, 1.3 acres, May 27, $577,000.

EAST HAMPTON VILLAGE

Snow globes line the shelf behind the sofa in Chucky Bologna’s small yet orderly house in East Hampton as she talks about the new business, Declutterbug.

EAST HAMPTON

J. Santiago to T. and F. Samuels, 75 Crystal Drive and lot 2, .32 acre, Oct. 21, $415,000.

MONTAUK

D. Weit by executor to A. and A. Gabrielli, 589 Montauk Highway, Oct. 14, $700,000.

NAPEAGUE

C. Celle to E. Margolis and Patrusky, 24J Private Road, .49 acre, Oct. 25, $3,500,000.

NOYAC

D. Dispigna to M. and A. Arrieta, 20 Emerson Place, 1.03 acres (vacant), Oct. 3, $375,000.

F. Angrisani to London Trust, 201 Harbor Watch Court, .99 acre, Oct. 6, $1,076,000.

    While people fret over pesticides and other nefarious additives in our food supply, who will be the watchdog for the four-legged crowd?

    Betsy Petroski Smith has stepped up to the plate — or the dog bowl — with a line of completely natural dog toys and biscuits under the name dogOdog, with all the ingredients, from packaging to product, 100 percent certified organic and made in the United States. Ms. Petroski puts the packages together herself in East Hampton.

EAST HAMPTON

J. and B. Ortigoza to H. and P. Marks, 52 Abraham’s Path, .41 acre, Oct. 3, $855,000.

J. and V. Eisner to J. and B. Jebbia, 3 Whale Rock Lane, .96 acre, Oct. 4, $1,495,000.

L. Driskell by executors to J. and E. Sautter, 2 Timberline Road, 1.79 acres, Sept. 8, $999,000.

S. Diamond to J. and H. Roth, 9 Hardscrabble Close, .92 acre, Sept. 22, $790,000.

D. Huemer and F. Kelly to J. Huminski, 460 Abraham’s Path, .25 acre, Oct. 13, $275,000.

MONTAUK

    Home, James!, nestled in a bright, goody-filled spot at 55 Main Street, is closing its doors after 25 years in business.

    “We’re going to focus our energy into our wholesale collection,” said David Cipperman, who owns the business with his partner, Josef Schreick. The shop features tableware, accessories, and linens, along with other personal items, such as Christmas ornaments, and has been a favored destination for shoppers since it first came on the scene in 1986.

More Awards for Ads

    Blumenfeld + Fleming, an advertising, marketing, and design firm based in Montauk, has won 17 media awards from MarCom, an international marketing and communications competition that received over 6,000 entries.

EAST HAMPTON

P. Greenwald to M. Nelson, 30 Old Orchard Lane, 1.68 acres, Oct. 3, $1,375,000.

M. Duryea to E. Menkes and S. Davis, 35 Floyd Street, .4 acre, Sept. 23, $1,200,000.

EAST HAMPTON VILLAGE

H. and L. Drucker to J. Ende, 121 Pantigo Road, .45 acre, Sept. 29, $1,250,000.

MONTAUK

K. and E. Tikkanen to S. Dejesus, 49 Flamingo Avenue, .41 acre, Sept. 12, $709,500.

J. and D. McDonough to M. and M. Waskiewicz, 9 McKinley Road, .23 acre, Sept. 30, $1,300,000.

SAG HARBOR

Robert A. Moraru, M.D., of Lower Manhattan Medical Associates has opened a satellite office in East Hampton where he hopes eventually to practice dermatology full time.

AMAGANSETT

H. Miller to Cherry Tree Holdings, 61 Indian Wells Highway, 1.11 acres, Sept. 28, $2,850,000.

F. Parsons and A. Lee to J. Reeves IV, 48 Hand Lane, .52 acre, Aug. 17, $1,500,000.

EAST HAMPTON

A. Pontick Jr. to 61 Buell Lane Extension, 61 Buell Lane Extension, Sept. 26, $1,037,500.

R. and C. Webby Jr. to A. Lee, 61 Whooping Hollow Road, .46 acre, Sept. 27, $685,000.

EAST HAMPTON VILLAGE

E. Blake by executors to 46 Huntting Lane L.L.C., 46 Huntting Lane, .6 acre, Sept. 23, $2,350,000.

    Two of the East End’s community banks, Bridgehampton National Bank and Suffolk National Bank, have posted their third quarter numbers, and both report strong earnings, but for Suffolk Bancorp, the good news comes in the midst of more troubling circumstances.

Organic Grapes, New Insurance Adviser, MonkMusic Studio

The prices below have been calculated from the county transfer tax. Unless otherwise noted, the parcels contain structures.

According to Prudential, the number of sales is up sharply over the same period last year, although prices slipped from last year’s results, as did listing inventory.

White’s Pharmacy and a handful of other East Hampton retail establishments have the increasingly uncommon distinction of staying in business, in the same spot, for over four decades, year round.

Operation Rescue Paw

    The Rescue Paw Foundation, founded by Candy Udell, an East Hampton resident and the president of London Jewelers, has teamed up with the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons to rescue young dogs from entering a high-kill shelter in Lawrence County, Ala. Eleven young mixed-breed dogs came from Alabama to Wainscott on Oct. 7, saved from “deplorable conditions,” according to a release from the Animal Rescue Fund.

EAST HAMPTON

Fresno Partners L.L.C. to R. Steininger, 18 Dominy Court, .92 acre, Sept. 1, $2,450,000.

D. Westfall to I. Wilts, 42 Buell Lane, 1 acre, Sept. 12, $1,450,000.

EAST HAMPTON VILLAGE

M. Neko to T. Walsh, 7 Sherrill Road, .13 acre, Sept. 16, $335,000.

Fashion Place Associates to Baldak L.L.C., 10 Drew Lane, 1.63 acres, Sept. 9, $6,008,170.

MONTAUK

E. and J. Porco to C. Tyler and B. Kim-Tyler, 148 Monroe Drive and 5 Jefferson, .35 acre, Sept. 9, $750,00.

AMAGANSETT

S. Falik to Amagansett Beach Box, 1932 Montauk Highway (vacant), Sept. 7, $300,000.

J. Keating by administrators to J. Kirschenfeld, 20 Beach Avenue, .11 acre, Sept. 9, $650,000.

S. Newman to D. and C. Bunzel, 27 Bayberry Lane, .29 acre, July 26, $1,825,000.

MONTAUK

D. Lanzarone to T. and L. Iacovano and Geisler, 167 South

Emerson Avenue, Unit 7, Sept. 12, $557,500.

SPRINGS

M. Bobek to D. and C. McKinney, 8 Clinton Street, .5 acre, Aug. 26, $570,000.