From a winter surge in house rentals to a spring shutdown of in-person showings and a subsequent boom in sales that continued through Christmas week, the pandemic led to an unprecedented year in the East End real estate business. 

By year's end, East Hampton Town's Human Services Department was on track to have provided around 57,300 meals, more than in the prior three years combined. It also makes thousands of wellness calls, coordinates with the Family Service League to provide free mental health counseling, provides virtual activities, and offers a support group via teleconference for those caring for a loved one, all in the service of keeping the town's senior citizens safe, nourished, and healthy. 

For many people, 2020 has been challenging, but as the chief of the East Hampton Ambulance Association, Lisa Charde has led a team of volunteers and professional paramedics in harrowing conditions. 

Eric Firestone, whose eponymous gallery opened on Newtown Lane in East Hampton 10 years ago, has always followed his own path. While most gallery owners learn their trade by working for other dealers, Mr. Firestone opened his first gallery, in Tucson, Ariz., in 1994, when he was 21. Just last month he launched a ground-floor space on Great Jones Street in NoHo.