Villages

Few small businesses in East Hampton Town have been more adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic than fitness centers, which were shut down from mid-March through the end of August. During that span, several closed their doors for good and more may soon follow.

In this photo from January 1938, Norma Edwards appears lying on a sled, with mittens and a hat, half covered in snow at 13 years old. The photo is part of the Carleton Kelsey Collection, digitized in partnership with the Amagansett Historical Association.

The years-long process of turning the home and workshops of the Dominy family craftsmen into a museum is in its final stretch. Just a few more months of construction remain to restore key historical details such as an 18-century forge, and to install modern utilities such as water service and a septic system, according to Robert Hefner, East Hampton Village's director of historic services.

“We have gotten to the end of the lottery list for the higher-income applicants and welcome any new applicants we could potentially get qualified quickly and make an immediate offer of a rental opportunity at Gansett Meadow,” said Catherine Casey, executive director of the East Hampton Housing Authority, in an email to The Star on Dec. 21.

A drive-through Covid-19 testing site is scheduled to open at East Hampton Town Hall on Wednesday. The outdoor site, which will be open seven days per week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., has been established in response to the surge in coronavirus transmission across Long Island and in New York State. 

By most measures, Suffolk County had its worst month of the pandemic so far: New cases per day were above 1,000 on 27 days, and hit a new high of just over 2,000 on Dec. 30. The total cumulative Covid-19 cases increased by 50 percent in the five East End towns during December.

As the year comes to a close and a new one begins we celebrate people who went above and beyond to make their communities a better place in 2020's darkest of days. These are but a few of the many who inspired us this year through their strength, kindness, resilience, and bravery. 

Local food pantries usually see the greatest need in the winter months, when those with seasonal jobs struggle to make ends meet, but because of the pandemic and job losses caused by the economic shutdown, they have been helping feed a record number of people all year. 

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. 

In the spring, when Stony Brook Southampton Hospital began to fill up with patients who were "all so sick at the same time with the same thing, that's when it really got hard . . . and everything we were doing felt like it wasn't helping," recalled Samantha Jiudice, an intensive care unit nurse there. "Now, when the patients come . . . we have a checklist. It's not easier, it just comes more comfortably because we've experienced it already."

Share the Harvest Farm in East Hampton is among the East End farms that have donated high-quality produce to food pantries and have raised awareness about food insecurity on the East End. In 2020, the farm expanded its outreach to include additional food pantries, for a total of 11 sites over the main growing season.