Members of the Anchor Society of East Hampton — as well as anyone else interested or simply curious — have been invited to attend the group's New Year walk on Saturday morning at 10:30, meeting at the East Hampton Cinema on Main Street.
The walk is a citizen effort to gather data on how business buildings in the village core are being utilized or underutilized.
According to an email from the nonprofit, participants will break into groups to stroll Main Street, Newtown Lane, Park Place, the Circle, and the commercial alleyways with clipboards in hand to take note of what's open, what's closed, what's fully vacant, and whether the tenant businesses are locally owned or owned by national or international corporations. There will also be brainstorming about what sorts of businesses participants feel might attract the most foot traffic and buzz as part of the Anchor Society's Winter Shops program of off-season pop-up stores in otherwise empty storefronts, slated to debut in the autumn.
This is the third time the Anchor Society has conducted such a survey. The group was founded in the summer of 2021 with the ultimate aim of founding a general store as a year-round "anchor business" in the village. The first walking survey, that summer, resulted in a trove of data that is not available anywhere else, but is being made available to members; the data will also inform the group's new secondary mission, the Winter Shops.
At the end of the walking survey, participants will reconvene at the Sweet Spot on Newtown Lane, where they will be offered warm beverages and treats.
In case of light snow, according to an Anchor Society representative, the walk will go on as scheduled. In case of heavy snow or storm, the walk will be postponed until Saturday, Jan. 27.
