The Independent 051519

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School Budget Votes Tuesday

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The Independent

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The Independent

Letters

Publisher James J. Mackin Associate Publisher Jessica Mackin-Cipro Executive Editors Rick Murphy Jessica Mackin-Cipro

Hunting Ban One Day A Weekend Dear Editor, It must have been fate that I got interviewed about the petition to Ban One Weekend Day A Week From Hunting in East Hampton Town-owned woods and the beaches

by News 12 on the bay on Three Mile Harbor Road in Springs last week, because it all started from there.

My family and I lived in a house on the bay for a few months during our home renovation in October 2014.

One morning, I saw a group of hunters who came to the small beach and gathered around by the entrance to our backyard, from our living room. They had guns and were preparing a spooky disguised boat to shoot ducks.

I became scared for my daughter’s safety, but didn’t know what to do, and called DEC for advice. But the woman told me that as long as the hunters are 500 feet away from the house, and they are not pointing the guns at me, it was legal.

I called the police to ask them to come to warn the hunters at least, but they didn’t, and just warned me to

Tully’s View

stay inside. Since then, we couldn’t enjoy walking on the beach because it was not safe. When we tried once, we found many empty gun shells they had left on the beach, which is littering.

I felt unsafe living in the house, and we were disturbed by the noise, but no one would help me. That’s when I found East Hampton Group for Wildlife. I was so touched when the compassionate man, president and professor Bill Crain, replied to me. He suggested me to speak my concern at the town board meeting, and I testified for the first time. I wanted the town to limit hunting hours. I started an online petition to make some changes, but the town board didn’t even reply to me.

We moved backed to our house in the Northwest Woods, and one early Sunday morning, we were awakened by the horrifying sound of gunshots. The hunting season runs from September to March, and hunters can hunt seven days a week, dawn to dusk. The extended weekend hunting was brought by then Deer ManageContinued On Page 45.

Editor - News Division Stephen J. Kotz Managing Editor Bridget LeRoy Staff Writers T.E. McMorrow Nicole Teitler Valerie Bando-Meinken Desirée Keegan Copy Editor Lisa Cowley Columnists / Contributors Denis Hamill Zachary Weiss Dominic Annacone Joe Cipro Karen Fredericks Isa Goldberg Vincent Pica Bob Bubka Gianna Volpe Heather Buchanan Vanessa Gordon Joan Baum Genevieve M. Kotz Head Of Sales Daniel Schock Advertising Media Sales Director Joanna Froschl Sales Manager BT Sneed Account Managers Tim Smith Sheldon Kawer Annemarie Davin Ryan Mott John Wyche Art Director Jessica Mackin-Cipro Advertising Production Manager John Laudando

Independent/Irene Tully

Director of Business Development/ Branding Amy Kalaczynski Director of Marketing & Real Estate Coordinator Ty Wenzel Graphic Designers Lianne Alcon Christine John Contributing Photographers Nanette Shaw Kaitlin Froschl Richard Lewin Gordon M. Grant Justin Meinken Rob Rich Jenna Mackin Lisa Tamburini Irene Tully Ty Wenzel Bookkeeper Sondra Lenz Office & Classified Manager Maura Platz Delivery Managers Charlie Burge Eric Supinsky Published weekly by: East Hampton Media Holdings LLC Subscriptions by 1st Class Mail: $91 yearly The Independent Newspaper 74 Montauk Highway Suite #19 East Hampton, NY 11937 P 631 324 2500 F 631 324 2544 www.indyeastend.com Follow : @indyeastend Email : news@indyeastend.com ©2019 Entire Contents Copyrighted Financial responsibility for errors in all advertising printed in The Independent is strictly limited to actual amount paid for the ad.

May 15, 2019

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News & Opinion Charges Of Falsified Documents Signatures on East Quogue village petition challenged at special hearing

By Desirée Keegan desiree@indyeastend.com

The debate over whether the petition to incorporate East Quogue as a village is legally sufficient has left Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman and members of the town attorney’s department with a lot of work to do.

Claims that the petition contained the names of people who no longer live in East Quogue — or were even dead — were raised at a public hearing on the matter at East Quogue Elementary School on Tuesday, May 13.

The approximately 100 residents in attendance seemed split, with some backing opponents and others backing the actions taken by members of the East Quogue Village Exploratory Committee, which brought the petition to Schneiderman April 3.

William Kerns claimed that the petition contained the names of 35 people who are deceased. Elizabeth Jackson said she personally knows that 13 of the signees have died. The pair also said the total number of hamlet residents listed

Correction Deepwater: ‘We’re On Schedule’ An article in the May 8 Independent, “Deepwater Pulls Back, Wind Farm On Hold,” incorrectly implied that the proposed South Fork Wind Farm was “dead in the water.”

Although Deepwater Wind, which is now owned by the Danish firm Ørsted, has asked the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for time to amend its application, Meaghan Wims, a spokeswoman for the company, said this week the project remains on schedule.

in the petition is incorrect.

“We need to have some accuracy,” Jackson added.

The committee’s choice of notary was also questioned by Kerns, a member of the Southampton Protection Water Alliance and Long Island Pine Barrens Society. Cynthia McNamara, a member of the exploratory committee who also signed the petition, notarized every page.

“This put the entire petition in jeopardy,” Kerns said.

Jackson, a 2000 graduate of Westhampton Beach High School, said she knows the signatures of classmates of hers are on the petition even though they no longer live in their childhood homes or even New York State.

She added residents were concerned about the origin of the incorporation committee, saying the name committee implied it was a group that had been designated for the task. She said she had also heard that some peo “Our project timeline remains on track. We are preparing an amendment to our South Fork Wind Farm construction and operations plan with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,” she said. “This amendment is related to expanding our offshore survey area, which is in response to feedback from stakeholders who asked us to expand the area we’re studying to plan the best siting of our turbines.

Once our amendment is received by BOEM, the agency will resume review of our applications.” She added the filing of the amendment “does not affect our project timeline.”

Members of the East Quogue Village Exploratory Committee at a special public hearing May 13 on the sufficiency of the petition to incorporate as a village. Independent/Desirée Keegan

ple assumed when they signed the petition, it was to promote further study of the matter and not to bring forth a vote.

Joseph Sinacola wanted to try to set the record straight on that topic by discussing his personal experience with members of the committee before signing.

“It was clearly delineated to me when I signed the petition of what I was signing for,” he said. “And in no way did I feel there was any pressure to sign, nor did I feel I was tricked into signing something. I also want to point out that when I attended one of the public meetings the committee put forth the members did a really wonderful job explaining, actually beyond what I expected.”

Victoria Greenbaum requested Schneiderman reject the petition because she claims there was no formal notification, and that the community members need more knowledge on what incorporation would mean before signing a petition. She said there are too many unanswered questions regarding cost and ramifications.

Ronald Campsey, a 41-year resident, and Vito Gentile, asked residents to look at incorporating as a way to bring the community together, and help it grow.

“When you move to a small community, it’s our moral responsibility to be a part of that community and do as much as you can for each other,” Campsey said. “This is a beautiful for place for us to live and we have the po-

tential, but so few people want to give this the energy to make it work.”

Karen Kooi, co-chair of the exploratory committee, said her 15-member group presented nothing but the facts.

“We decided early on that we would collect signatures that were verifiable at the county level by voter registration data,” she said. “We checked every signature by first verifying a resident’s name and address and in the most current Suffolk County voter registration lists available. We used this date along with Southampton Town tax map information to know exactly how many residents are in East Quogue.”

The supervisor must decide within 10 days of the hearing being closed.

Schneiderman adjourned the matter to obtain more comments until Monday, May 20, at the elementary school. The hearing can be adjourned one more time after that, it would need to be closed within 20 days of the first hearing, which would be Friday, May 31.

“I’m going to do my best to be as factual as possible and review everything as factually as possible,” Schneiderman said. “I have a lot of work ahead.”

Once Schneiderman’s decision has been made, there will be an opportunity to challenge his decision. If, for instance, the petition was denied and the verdict not successfully overturned, future attempts could be made to incorporate.

6

The Independent

School Budget Votes Tuesday Voters will also weigh in on board candidates, propositions

By Desirée Keegan, Rick Murphy, and Stephen J. Kotz The Wainscott School District is the only one on the East End seeking to pierce the state spending cap.

Independent/Bridget LeRoy

Amagansett has proposed a $10.9 million budget, up about 1.5 percent from the current budget. Five candidates are seeking three seats on the school board.

Two incumbents, Kristen Peterson and Hank Muchnic, as well as Anna Bernasek, who was appointed last year, are running again. They will be joined by Mary Eames, a frequent critic of the district’s spending practices, and Matthew Feyh.

In East Hampton the total budget is $70.9 million, an increase of 1.58 percent.

Incumbents J.P. Foster, the board’s president, and Wendy Geehreng are seeking reelection to new terms. Jeffrey Erickson and Sandra Vorpahl will challenge them.

Two incumbent school board members, Thomas Flight and Nicholas Finazzo, are running unopposed in Montauk.

Voters will also be asked to approve a

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There will be three other propo- Westhampton Beach School District. sitions to vote on. One asks voters to Three incumbents, president Lauapprove a $689,114.06 library budget. ren Battista, vice president Barbara SarAnother proposition would establish a torius, and member Steve Failla, are seek$500,000 capital reserve fund for various ing reelection. They will be joined on the infrastructure projects. The third calls for ballot by Paul Bass. approval of the tuition contract to send Remsenburg-Speonk residents students in grades 7 through 12 to Wes- will be asked to vote on a $14.3 million thampton Beach. budget that carries a 2.9-percent tax levy

School board vice president Jessica increase but a projected dip in the tax Stalters and member Dianna Gobler are rate. running unopposed for reelection.

There are also two other proposi Hampton Bays residents will vote tions up for vote. One authorizes the on a $54.3 million budget, which is up 3.2 district to contract with Westhampton percent over last year.

Beach and Eastport/South Manor for the

Voters will also be asked to approve education of students in grades 7-12. AnSouthampton Town the creation of a $5 million capital re- other authorizes the district to contract In Bridgehampton, voters will be asked serve fund as well as another proposition with Suffolk Cooperative Library System to approve an $18.7 million budget that allowing the expenditure of $300,000 for $289,864.26. carries a 14.5-percent spending increase miscellaneous repairs. Board president Board of education incumbents but remains within the state’s 2-percent Kevin Springer and vice president Rich- John Barry and Kevin Toolan are running spending cap. The reason? The budget ard Joslin are running unopposed for re- unopposed. includes the first installment of the debt election.

The proposed budget for the Sagapservice, about $1.1 million, which is ex The Quogue School District is onack School District, which sends high empt from the cap, for a $29 million exseeking approval of an $8.7 million school students to Sag Harbor and East pansion that will double the size of the budget, which carries a nearly 5 per- Hampton, is $1.5 million, less than 1 perexisting school. cent spending hike. In addition to the cent above last year’s total. School Board Five candidates are running for budget, residents will be asked to vote member Cathy Hatgistavrou is running two seats on the Bridgehampton School on the $956,040 proposed Quogue Vil- unopposed for another term.

Board. Incumbents Jennifer Vinski and lage Library budget. A third proposi- There are six candidates seekMichael Gomberg are seeking another tion would allow the district to allocate ing three openings on the Sag Harbor term and will be joined on the ballot by $200,000 to its repair reserve fund. School Board. Incumbents Chris Tice Angela Torres Chmielewski, Randall DaVoters will also be asked to approve the and Brian DeSesa will be joined on vis, and Carla Lillie. expenditure of $160,000 from the capi- the ballot by Julian Barrowcliffe, Caleb

Residents of East Quogue will be tal reserve fund for a proposed learning Kercheval, Thomas McErlean, Yorgo Tsiasked to vote on a proposed $25.9 milspace creation project. A final propo- biridis.

Upholstery, Discounted Fabrics, Slipcovers, Cushions, Pillows, Draperies, Valances, Cornices lion budget, which carries a 2.45-percent sition would authorize the district to Voters will also be asked to apInstallations, Pick up & Delivery,continue Windowits Treatments

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On Page 18. tuition contract withDouglas the Continued $ $19.4 million budget, which carries a $416,375 decrease.

In Springs, the proposed $28.9 million budget represents a 2.8-percent increase. Two members of the school board, Amy Rivera and David Conlon, are being challenged by Deborah Goodman and Joseph Sullivan.

Wainscott, one of the smallest school districts in the state, will ask voters to allow it to pierce the spending cap with a $3.3 million budget, about 18 percent over last year’s spending plan. William Babinski is running unopposed for school board.

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Voters across New York State will go to the polls on Tuesday, May 21, to vote in local school board races and weigh in on district budgets.

On the East End, only the Wainscott School District is asking voters to pierce the state’s 2-percent spending cap, while the Bridgehampton School District, which is beginning the process of paying for a voter-approved $29 million expansion project, will see the largest spending increase, nearly 14.5 percent.

Each district controls its own voting hours, so residents should check with their district to make sure to get to the polls on time.

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8

The Independent

Howard Dean Speaks At Peconic Landing Former chair of DNC leads nonpartisan talk

By Bridget LeRoy bridget@indyeastend.com

It’s not every day that a past presidential candidate comes to speak on the East End, but for Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and six-term governor of Vermont, it’s like coming home.

“I more or less grew up out there,” he said, speaking of East Hampton, in a phone interview on May 9. “It’s the only place I’ve ever voted besides Vermont. And my mother still lives out there.” His mother, Andree Dean, is a longtime East Hampton resident, and the Dean pedigree on Long Island goes back to the 18th Century. “Big Howard,” Dean’s father, was passionately involved with St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on James Lane, and was a member of the Maidstone Club.

Dean will be making an appearance at Peconic Landing on Thursday, May 16, at 4 PM, where he will host an intimate, nonpartisan discussion on the upcoming 2020 elections. The event is free and open to the public, although reservations are required.

According to the website at the National Democratic Institute, of which Dean is a board member, he is listed as “former DNC chairman, presidential candidate, six-term governor, and physician,” who currently works “as an independent consultant focusing on the areas of health care, early childhood development, alternative energy, and the expansion of grassroots politics around the world.”

“We are happy to have Mr. Dean speak at Peconic Landing,” said Robert J. Syron, president and CEO of Peconic Landing, in a statement. “His discussions inspire us to participate in conversation with our friends and neighbors. This is a special event for the Lifetime Learning Speakers Bureau, which offers lectures and discussions throughout the year. We thank Mr. Dean for his time and invite our neighbors in the community to attend this public event.”

“We’ll talk about 2020 and Brexit, for sure,” Dean said. “Everyone wants

Investigation Intensifies In Riverhead Scandal Police reviewing allegations made by student against principal

By Rick Murphy rmurphy@indyeastend.com

The public, particularly parents, are outraged no charges have been filed in a high-profile scandal at Riverhead High School that has rocked the community.

Dr. Charles Regan, the principal, is being sued by Anastasia Stapon, an 18-year old student, who is claiming in court papers he systematically groomed her to have an affair with

him, and then forcibly tried to take it further.

But Riverhead School District officials and Riverhead Town Police are cautioning that the case is a complex matter that will require time and patience.

The pair exchanged hundreds of text messages to one another that were reviewed by The Independent. Many

Former presidential candidate Howard Dean. Independent/Mona T. Brooks, Courtesy Howard Dean

to discuss that. And this is a very interesting, and interested, group of people; they follow current events,” he said of the residents of Peconic Landing. When asked if he was going to be stumping for any 2020 candidates during his talk, Dean replied, “I’ve been doing a lot of work for the DNC, but this is going to be a mixed-bag at Peconic Landing, so I have to remain neutral.”

Dean shared some of his happy childhood memories of growing up in East Hampton, “when you were allowed to have fires on the beach and it wasn’t a big deal,” he said, laughing. “I are obscene and contain graphic descriptions of sexual acts. At one point Regan offers to take over as the counselor for the accuser and vows, “If he f**ks with MY ANASTASIA (his caps) I’ll dead ass lose my job and kill him,” apparently referring to her current class counselor. There are numerous references to hooking up on school property and in his office.

Regan had already been suspended on April 30 when Miller Place attorney John Ray held a press conference on May 6 announcing his intention to file a $10-million claim against the school district and Regan, who remains on the school payroll. Stapon attended and spoke to those assembled.

“Charles Regan and Riverhead school have destroyed my spirit,” she said.

There are no allegations that sexual activity took place other than an allegation Regan tried to forcibly kiss the student.

Regan has been principal at Riverhead since 2006. He is 48 and ac-

remember going to Georgica Beach and surfing, then having a cookout around the fire, toasting marshmallows, and just having fun.”

Peconic Landing is a Continuing Care Retirement Community overlooking the Long Island Sound. It’s located at 1500 Brecknock Road in Greenport.

Those interested in attending Dean’s talk are asked to visit http:// peconiclanding.ticketleap.com/ to register.

For more information about Peconic Landing, visit www.peconiclanding.org

Riverhead High School principal Charles Regan.

Independent/Courtesy law offices of John Ray.

cording to Ray is married to a schoolteacher. They have two children, Ray said. The Riverhead School Board had a meeting on Tuesday, May 14, but it is not known if the matter was discussed — it was scheduled for the purpose of discussing the school budget.

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10

The Independent

PSEG Long Island relocated more than 20 osprey nests on the Twin Forks, moving the birds away from hazardous electrical equipment. Independent/Courtesy PSEGLI

New Homes For Sea Hawks PSEG relocates osprey nests

By Bridget LeRoy bridget@indyeastend.com

According to the folks at PSEG Long Island, it’s a win-win. A recent press release states that the utility provider has “carefully relocated” more than 20 existing osprey nests, both to protect the

birds and also to improve the electric company’s reliability.

“We have identified more than 20 locations across Long Island in the last couple of months and have provided

new platform homes or resolutions to keep the returning osprey safe,” said John O’Connell, vice president of Transmission and Distribution, PSEG Long Island. “Within days of completing the platforms, we were pleased to see the birds return and begin building new nests on them.”

The nests, located around the East End — in Southold, Mattituck, Riverhead, Westhampton, Water Mill, and Montauk — were discovered on electrical equipment during standard annual inspections. PSEG Long Island moved nearly two dozen osprey nests from electrical facilities in time for egg-laying season, over the course of a couple of months.

Ospreys — which at one point were perilously close to being endan-

gered — instinctively seek lofty places for their nests, often choosing utility poles and transmission structures.

When ospreys build a nest on electrical equipment, it puts the nest in danger of catching fire, which can cause significant damage and outages to customers, as well has harm to the ospreys.

The birds, which have a large wingspan, are at high risk of electrocution. The installation of nesting platforms provides a safe nesting area for the osprey away from vital electrical infrastructure.

O’Connell continued, “We want to help ensure these wonderful birds continue to return to the area year after year while, at the same time, protecting the reliability of the energy grid. This was a great opportunity to do both.”

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The Independent

Southampton Town To Freeze Assessments A committee will review market trend analysis, impacts of full valuation model

By Desirée Keegan desiree@indyeastend.com

Following a nearly 10-percent jump in Southampton’s town-wide assessed valuation, the town board said it would support Supervisor Jay Schneiderman's resolution to freeze assessments for a two-year period on May 14, while an expert panel evaluates the impacts on people with limited or fixed incomes, looks at how reassessment positions school districts for state aid, and finds where the market is growing.

The committee, which will be made up of appointed members including the supervisor or his designee, the town attorney or his designee, the comptroller, tax assessor, a representative from the real estate community,

and a property appraisal expert, will also advise on policies to protect property owners from rapid appreciation of their property.

Southampton is one of only two towns on Long Island that uses a system of full valuation to determine each property’s share of the total tax levy.

While other towns adjust property values based on improvements, Southampton also updates the tax rolls based on changes in the real estate market.

“This trend analysis creates an unpredictability that can be detrimental to some homeowners on a fixed or limited income,” Schneiderman said. “If your income increases, you expect to pay higher income taxes and you have the

Duffy Denied Spot On Ballot Court rules against would-be town board candidate

By Rick Murphy rmurphy@indyeastend.com

Eileen Duffy’s bid to run for the Southampton Town Board on the

Democratic Party ballot was denied last week.

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Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman proposed the resolution to freeze assessments for a two-year period. Independent/Desirée Keegan

means to do so. But if your property value goes up significantly, it doesn’t mean you have the ability to pay the higher property taxes.”

A property tax bill consists of tax lines for various entities including the town, fire district, ambulance service, library, and other special districts. The local school district is typically the larg-

est tax line. Each entity determines the budget necessary to run its operations.

The taxes are then collected based on each property’s proportional share of the town’s total assessed value.

Although tax rates have been steadily declining, if a property’s value goes up significantly, it can erase the Continued On Page 15.

State Supreme Court Justice David T. Reilly ruled on May 3 that he would not allow her to run as a town board candidate in a Democratic Party primary. In fact, he concluded Duffy committed election fraud. Duffy reportedly will appeal the decision.

Duffy screened for a spot on the ballot with the town’s Democratic committee, party leaders said. She wanted to run for the town board, but was rebuffed. Instead, the committee suggested she run for town trustee.

In his decision, Justice Reilly found that Duffy committed election fraud, having knowingly had her name appear on two separate designating petitions simultaneously — the first for town trustee and the second for a seat on the town board. Duffy filed an appeal on Monday following the decision.

Duffy’s attorney, Carl Irace, noting an appeal has ben filed, said, “Technically, Eileen is still a candidate” for the town board because if the appeal is granted she can run in the Democratic primary. “‘We’re disapppinted with the decision.”

Irace said to commit election fraud the accused has to show intent.

“The judge said she defrauded whether it was intentional or not.”

In the town supervisor race, Alex Gregor successfully petitioned to force a primary against incumbent Jay

Schneiderman for the Independence Party line.

Gregor took a thinly veiled shot at Schneiderman, criticizing candidates who “bow down to the rich and put on brand-new hard hats at construction sites for photo opportunities.”

“My record as highway superintendent speaks for itself: For the past 10 years, I’ve fought tooth and nail for resources in the face of cynicism and complacency, ” Gregor said. “The bottom line is I think I can do a better job.”

The primary is June 25.

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Open to high school rising seniors and up. Contact Bridget LeRoy at bridget@indyeastend.com.

May 15, 2019

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14

The Independent

The Eagle Has Landed!

The national bird has made a comeback on Long Island

By Frank Quevedo

My first sighting of a bald eagle on Long Island came during the fall of 2005 — in Napeague Harbor, Amagansett. The bird was a juvenile, as indicated by its dark plumage and white underwing feathers. It was soaring from the vicinity of Hither Hills State Park in Montauk toward Promised Land in Amagansett.

With its nearly seven-foot wing span, the bird effortlessly glided over and landed on the remnants of a chimney stack from a once-active fish factory on Hicks Island in Napeague Bay. My colleagues and I were provided with a quick glimpse of the majestic raptor before it took flight and

disappeared toward Gardiners Island.

I would soon learn that it was a significant sighting.

In December 2006, during the annual Montauk Christmas Bird Count on Gardiners Island, Mary Laura and Eric Lamont encountered a large tree nest with a pair of adult eagles nearby. In the years after that initial sighting, and after surveying the same territory for the CBC, they observed the same nest being used by bald eagles. This observation provided sufficient evidence and confirmed that this location had become the first bald eagle nest on Long Island in 76 years.

The birds’ absence from Long Island for all those years is mainly due to the spraying of the pesticide Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, which is better known as DDT. When DDT enters the ecosystem, it accumulates in the fatty tissues of many organisms. The concentration of DDT increases as you move up the food chain through predator/prey interactions. As apex predators, the bald eagles absorbed high amounts of this chemical, which inhibited their ability to produce eggs with thick shells, leading to crushed eggs during the incubation process.

In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a ban on DDT spraying based on its harmful effects on the environment and risk to human health.

Since the discovery of the Gardiners Island nest, there have been several other confirmed bald eagle nesting sites on Long Island. One was found along the Carmans River at the Wertheim Wildlife Refuge in 2013. Another was discovered 2014 at the Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island, and one at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River. Yet another has been found in the Connetquot River Preserve in Oakdale. A nest was found at Centerport’s Mill

A mature bald eagle in flight. Independent/Jackie Nunez

Pond in 2017 and most recently one was sighted in East Hampton’s Accabonac Harbor.

These recent sightings, along with other nests not yet seen or confirmed, are an indication that these eagles have landed and are calling Long Island home once again.

Frank Quevedo is the executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum.

The Town of East Hampton will conduct a S.T.O.P. (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) Day on

Saturday, May 18, 2019 at the East Hampton Recycling & Disposal Center 260 Springs Fireplace Rd, NY from 10:00am to 3:00pm Residents are encouraged to bring hazardous waste items such as:

Oil Based Paints Pesticides Stale Fuel Chemical Aerosols

Thinners Urethanes Engine Coolant Flammable Materials

A reminder, this program is open to Town of East Hampton residents only, and will not accept waste materials from residents living outside the boundaries of the Town of East Hampton. East Hampton residents desiring to participate in this program are encouraged to bring their hazardous waste to the East Hampton Recycling & Disposal Center. Hazardous waste will not be accepted prior to this event.

This event is for residential use only.

Need additional Information?

Call the folks at the East Hampton Recycling Center at 324-7191 for further details.

News & Opinion

May 15, 2019

Grievance Day Is May 28 do you think your property taxes are too high?

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By Rick Murphy rmurphy@indyeastend.com

Property owners unhappy with their assessments can seek an adjustment on May 28.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance reminds property owners — homeowners and businesses — that the deadline to challenge their property assessment is the fourth Tuesday in May in most communities.

That day, May 28 this year, is known as Grievance Day. Each municipality has already assigned a value to each property. Those numbers, dubbed tentative assessment rolls, which list the assessed value of each property, are generally made public in the beginning of May. You can access the rolls on your town’s or city’s website, or by visiting your local assessor’s office.

“This is the time to verify that the market value determined for your property is fair and accurate,” said Executive Deputy Commissioner Andrew Morris.

“If you wait until your tax bill arrives,

it’s too late to challenge the value assigned to your property, or to ensure that you’re receiving all the exemptions you deserve.”

Homeowners who believe the market value listed on the assessment roll for their property is significantly higher than the price for which the property could be sold, they can contest the assessment.

Local assessment boards will review cases based on the information property owners provide. When a homeowner files for an assessment review, they are required to provide an estimate of the market value of their home. Those grieving their assessment can support their own estimates with documentation about the sale of comparable homes or properties in the community. A recent appraisal can be helpful, but isn’t necessary.

Visit the tax department’s “How to estimate the market value of your home” webpage for more information.

Freeze Assessments

more valuable, they will have the predictability that we won’t touch that,” Schneiderman said. “Conversely, if for some reason the market goes negative, a homeowner can still grieve it and have their property taxes lowered, but we won’t have the ability to increase it for that two-year period.”

He’s hoping that in two years the town will have a much better sense of what to do moving forward.

“We’ll have a decision to make, whoever is here two years from now, to go back to full valuation or drop market trend analysis, or maybe put some mechanisms in place to protect people, like limit it to a 2 percent delta in a given year,” Schneiderman said. “I say 2 percent because that’s in the spirit of the tax cap.” Preston Scalera added the town will be looking into the legality of what it can do, too.

The supervisor added the town does receive some state aid — currently $160,00 every two years— because it is at full value. Schneiderman said he doesn’t necessarily know if the town is going to lose that, if the market were to stay flat over two years, but added that because market trend analysis does drain staff resources, there should be some savings.

Continued From Page 12.

reduction in taxes.

Also, if a homeowner has made no changes to a property for decades, but the neighborhood has become highly desirable for vacation homes, the homeowner can see his or her property value increase to a point where taxes rise by more than what he or she is capable of paying.

“I think it is clear that our assessment procedures need to be reevaluated,” Councilman John Bouvier said. “Our current system assesses taxes based on a 100-percent market rate valuation that creates an undue burden on some residents as a result.

I welcome this review.”

Bouvier is a co-sponsor of the resolution, along with Councilwomen Julie Lofstad and Christine Preston Scalera, and Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni.

The supervisor added this doesn’t mean reassessments will freeze altogether though.

“If somebody builds a pool or an addition, or does a major renovation, those kinds of things we will still capture, but if, just simply, the market changes and an area becomes

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16

The Independent

District Will Wait For Cleaner Water Hampton Bays residents won’t see iron filtration system for at least a year

By Desirée Keegan desiree@indyeastend.com

Southampton Town Board members met with representatives of the Hampton Bays Water District to discuss recent test results. Independent/Desirée Keegan

Installation of a $3 million iron and manganese filtration system at the Hampton Bays Water District’s fourth well field will take a year as engineering plans are created and money is allocated for the project, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said May 9. Because of this, Hampton Bays residents who live near the well field along Bellows Pond Road near Sears Bellows County Park could still see the kind of discolored water that plagued the hamlet last summer.

At a meeting between the town board and representatives of the water district, maintenance crew leader Warren Booth said initial testing of wells one and two showed combined levels

at their highest during a time sequence at 1.8 mg/L and 5.7 mg/L, respectively.

These readings are well above the New York State Department of Health recommended .5mg/L for the combined substances.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, iron and manganese as secondary contaminants, or substances that can alter the taste, odor, and color of drinking water. They can also have impacts on the structure or function of the water system within a home, the water well itself or, personal belongings and home fixtures. They often cause of blackish or reddish slime that builds up in toilet tanks or within the pipes within water

WATER VIEWS JUNIOR WRITING CONTEST! Students are invited to submit a water-themed short story, poem, or art work on what water means to them. One winner will be chosen and have their work published in The Independent's May 29th issue and presented at Water Views Festival on June 2nd at Guild Hall.

CALLING ALL KIDS!

Stories should not exceed 300 words, and can be as short as a couplet. All ages from pre-K to high school seniors are invited.

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Deadline May 22.

systems, and can leave black spots on clothes when washed.

“People don’t like to bathe in or drink water that is discolored,” Schneiderman said.

Monthly testing is being conducted voluntarily, although the supervisor suggested testing more frequently, especially following cleaning of both wells in the field, which had not been serviced in 22 years, when regulations require wells to be cleaned every seven years.

Ronkonkoma-based Delta Well & Pump Co. Inc. was hired to pull both wells, clean the screens on the wellheads and sleeves, and do an acid wash during the flushing. Pump 4-1 was al-

most entirely rebuilt, receiving a new motor, wellhead, column, and shaft.

To help the issue for the time being, well 4-2 is being shut down, but that leaves the area with half the volume, with the system only able to pump 1000 gallons per minute instead of 2000.

“That is OK now, but when June hits and sprinklers turn on we’re going to have a very serious issue,” said Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, to nods on both sides of the table.

“We need all the wells this year,” Hampton Bays Water District Assistant Superintendent Richard McCuen said.

“We need a filtration system, period.”

Continued On Page 29.

Welcome, Wyche!

Account executive John Wyche has returned to Indy after a long absence.

Wyche, who lives in Bridgehampton, is an alum of SUNY Stony Brook, where he graduated with a degree in child psychology. He has been involved in advertising with several local newspapers for over 30 years. His daughter, Alaykia, now lives in Atlanta, GA, where she is employed as a CPA with the Home Depot corporation.

He is a trustee on the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services, a member of the Southampton Town Anti-Bias Task Force, and the Affirmative Action Task Force. He serves on several Suffolk County boards at the pleasure of the County Executive Steve Bellone.

Wyche also enjoys helping young people decide on their future endeavors, whether college bound or preparing them for a rewarding technical career.

Email: john@indyeastend.com BL

An architect’s model of the proposed expanded Montauk Library. Independent/T.E. McMorrow

Montauk Library Vote

Besides the annual school budget vote on Tuesday, May 21, Montauk residents will be asked to approve a $7.5 million bond to pay for an expansion and renovation of the community’s library.

The project calls for the addition of 5000 square feet to the existing 9000-square-foot building, much of that by reconfiguring existing interior space. It will provide a larger children’s space, a new teen room, a local history and fishermen’s center, expanded adult services, and new archival space.

Voting will take place at the Montauk School from 2 to 8 PM in conjunction with the school board and budget vote.

SJK

News & Opinion

May 15, 2019

17

Listeria Warning For Mecox Bay Raw milk cheese may cause illness

By Bridget LeRoy bridget@indyeastend.com

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball warns people not to consume Mecox Bay Dairy Mecox Sunrise raw milk cheese made by Mecox Bay Dairy, LLC, located in Bridgehampton, due to possible Listeria contamination. No illnesses have been reported as of yet, but a routine sample taken by an inspector on April 30 was discovered to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The product is packaged with the names “Mecox Bay Dairy Mecox Sunrise

raw milk cheese” or simply “Mecox Dairy Sunrise” and may or may not display the plant number 36-8445 and a code of L2148. The consumer alert affects all packages with this code; however, any package with an unknown code date purchased after March 1, 2019 should not be consumed.

This product was sold at the Cheese and Spice Market, Wading River; Citarella stores in East Hampton, Southampton, and Bridgehampton; Schiavoni’s IGA in Sag Harbor; American Hotel in Sag Har-

bor; and Fairview Farm in Bridgehampton. The farmers and their products were also at Riverhead Farmers’ Market and the Mecox Bay Dairy Farm Store.

On May 2, the manufacturer was notified of a preliminary positive test result and voluntarily recalled the product from its customers. Test results were confirmed as positive for Listeria monocytogeneson May 7. The cheese will be destroyed by the manufacturer.

Listeria-contaminated product may cause Listeriosis, a disease that usually

causes mild flu-like symptoms in healthy individuals; however, in immune-compromised individuals, meningitis and blood poisoning can occur. Pregnant women are also considered a high-risk group, as Listeriosis can also result in stillbirths.

According to the Mecox Bay Dairy website, “Out of an abundance of caution we are recalling our Mecox Sunrise cheeses . . . Please bear with us while we work diligently & swiftly to correct this issue.”

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The Independent

School Budget Vote Continued From Page 6.

prove a $42.9 million budget that represents about a 2.4-percent spending increase and a separate proposition to spend $103,524 for a new school bus and $74,922 for a Chevrolet Suburban.

In Southampton, voters will be asked to approve a $71.9 million budget, which is about 2 percent above last year’s budget. Several propositions will also be on the ballot, including one that would extend the life of the district’s capital reserve fund, one that would allow the expenditure of $1.8 million from that fund for heating and air conditioning upgrades in district buildings; and one that would authorize the expenditure of $380,000 for three new buses.

Voters will also be asked to approve a $404,314 contract with the Southampton Youth Association, and a $235,000 contribution to the Southampton History Museum.

Four candidates are running for two openings on the school board: Donald King, Meesha Johnson, Leslie Duroseau, and Charles Styler.

A $21.8 million budget that carries just under a 3-percent spending increase will be put before voters in the Tuckahoe School District. Voters will also be asked to approve an $8000 contribution to the Parrish Art Museum and a $55,000 contract with the Southampton Youth Association. Timothy Gilmartin is running unopposed for the one seat on the district’s school board.

Residents of the Westhampton Beach School District will be asked to approve a $58 million budget that carries a 1.6-percent spending increase. Voters will also be asked to approve a $2.3 million library budget.

Stacy Rubio is running unopposed for the one opening on the school board.

Incumbent James Hulme has chosen to not run again.

On The North Fork Spending will rise by just over 2 percent in Greenport if voters approve the proposed $19.4 million budget, which is up by about $423,000 over last year. Newcomers Sandy Martocchia and Kimberley Moore Swann are running unopposed for school board to replace incumbents Christina Volinski and Heather Wolf who are not seeking reelection.

Voting takes place from 2 to 8 PM.

If voters approve a proposed $40.7 million budget in the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District, spending will remain nearly flat, rising by only .26 percent.

Voters will also be asked to approve two additional propositions. One would use $1.9 million from the capital reserve fund for a number of security upgrades and new air conditioning in the Mat-

tituck Junior/Senior High School and Cutchogue East Elementary School cafeterias, while the other would use $1.6 million from the reserve fund to install a synthetic turf field at Mattituck High School.

Two seats are open on the school board. Incumbent Sarah Hassildine is seeking reelection and will be joined on the ballot by Jennifer Anderson and George Hasse.

Longtime incumbent Joseph Polashock will run unopposed for another term on the New Suffolk School Board.

Voters will also be asked to approve a $1,010,378 budget, a substantial 27-percent decrease over last year. Voting takes place at the school on 4th Street in New Suffolk from 3 to 9 PM.

Three board seats are open in the Oysterponds School District. Incumbents Dorothy Dean-Thomas and Thomas Stevenson will be joined by newcomer Miriam Foster in seeking three-year terms. Incumbent Krista de Kerillis is stepping down. Voters will also be asked to approve a $5.8 million budget, which carries a 0.26-percent spending increase.

Voting takes place in the school gymnasium from 2 to 8 PM. Two incumbent board members, Laurie Downs and Elizabeth Silva, are seeking reelection to the Riverhead School Board. They are being challenged

by Jerome Bost and Matthew Wallace, who are running as a team. Voters will also be asked to approve a $144.4 million budget that carries a 2.9 percent spending increase. Polls are open at Riverhead High School from 6 AM to 9 PM.

Incumbent School Board member Sarah Hassildine is seeking another term and will be joined in the battle for two seats by newcomers George Haase and Jennifer Anderson. Voting takes place in the high school gym from 3 to 9 PM. Southold School Board member Judi Fouchet, who has served since 2004, is running unopposed for another term. Voters will also be asked to approve a $30.6 million budget that carries a 2 percent spending increase over last year’s $29.9 million budget. Voting takes place from 3 to 9 PM at the high school.

Shelter Island Shelter Island voters will be asked to approve an $11.9 million budget that carries a $200,000 spending increase over last year’s $11.7 million budget.

Three candidates are vying for three openings on the school board including incumbent Jason Lones and challengers John Klupka Sr. and Katharine RossiSnook. The top two vote getters will serve three year terms, while the candidate in third place will complete the last year of an unfinished term that ends on June 30, 2020.

May 15, 2019

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20

The Independent

Moody’s Reaffirms Southampton’s AAA Credit Rating Financial strength helps town save money refinancing debt

By Desirée Keegan desiree@indyeastend.com

It’s all happening at Ross School Come to Ross School’s beautiful East Hampton campus for these community events!

OPEN HOUSE AND STUDENT VISIT DAY Friday, May 24, 8am–2pm Spend the day attending classes (Grades 1–11) RSVP online today! ross.org/visitday

SUMMER CAMP@ROSS OPEN HOUSE Saturday, May 25, 10:30am–12:30pm See what camp at Ross is all about RSVP online today! ross.org/campopenhouse

NEXUS LECTURE SERIES: DR. SHEFALI TSABARY Saturday, May 25, 7pm A best-selling author talks about conscious parenting RSVP online today! ross.org/nexus

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Southampton Town’s full assessed value has significantly outperformed Suffolk County as a whole, according to a graphic in Moody’s Investors Service May 1, 2019 report. Property values are reflective of the town’s strong appeal as a vacation and second-home destination. In addition to general housing improvements, ongoing full value growth is driven by new construction across the town. Independent/Graphic from Moody’s Investor Service credit analysis

Following a stellar financial report from Moody’s Investors Service, Southampton Town was able to refinance $13.3 million in outstanding debt to save $725,000 over a 10-year period.

The town’s interest rates were reduced from an average of 3.09 percent to 1.42 percent as a result of its AAA credit rating being reaffirmed by Moody’s for the fourth straight year.

“We timed our borrowing to hit the bond market at a time when interest rates were at their lowest point in recent years,” Town Comptroller Len Marchese said.

At a certain point in the life of a bond, the note becomes “callable,” meaning any remaining debt can be paid off without penalty. The new revenue will be used to pay off existing loans, replacing them with new ones at the nowsubstantially lower interest rates. The town will see a savings of $110,000 in each of the next three years.

“Our strong financial standing allows us to borrow at very low interest rates, thereby providing significant savings to taxpayers,” Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said.

The town also realized consider-

ably lower rates than anticipated on its current year capital program borrowing, the lowest bidder being Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. at 2.313.percent Moody’s AAA reaffirmation, the highest rating issued by the investment service, came in its investor report dated May 1. “We continue to budget and to forecast revenues conservatively,” Marchese said. “Moody’s report confirms the value of these sound financial practices.”

The report noted the town’s large and stable tax base, which continues to grow; there being ample reserves and liquidity; a manageable debt burden; and strong fiscal management. “The stable outlook reflects the expectation that the town will maintain solid financial performance and its tax base will remain extremely large and diverse,” the report stated.

It follows an April 23 presentation led

by Schneiderman to the rating agency.

“Moody’s continues to recognize the strong fiscal management and conservative budgeting practices of this administration,” Schneiderman said.

“It was a very strong report. It was very favorable with a good, stable outlook.

So we’re in good shape.”

May 15, 2019

21

Police

Police identified Chace Quinn, a member of the Bloods street gang, as the driver in a fatal hit and run. Independent file

Quinn Pleads Guilty In Fatal Hit-And-Run Deliveryman was killed on CR 39 in 2018

By Rick Murphy rmurphy@indyeastend.com

FR EE

IN SP W EC HO TI LE ON H –C O AL USE LT OD AY

It’s possible Joseph Lynn McAlla, never knew what hit him.

McAlla, a 63-year-old from Clifford, PA, was a workingman. On April 5,

2018 he was making an overnight delivery run, and had just dropped off a load at Southampton Masonry.

Meanwhile, prosecutors said,

Chace Quinn, 20, a resident of the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, was barreling down County Road 39 in his Jeep. It was sometime in the middle of the night.

McAlla, crossing the road to get back to his rig, was struck so violently that his leg was severed by the impact.

Police said debris was scattered 300 feet and McAlla’s leg was found 70 feet from his body, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini’s office.

New York State Troopers said Quinn, who was the driver of the 2013 Jeep Wrangler that struck and killed McAlla, planned to leave the state to avoid arrest but instead he was taken into custody on May 28, 2018.

Quinn, identified as a member of the Bloods street gang, now faces be-

tween eight and 24 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 13, according to the district attorney’s office.

Quinn was hoping to hide out with family in Georgia, authorities said. Instead, on Wednesday, May 8, he pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in Suffolk County court. The guilty plea includes charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death, intimidating a witness, and driving while intoxicated, all felonies.

“This is a significant conviction of a highly dangerous gang member,” Sini said in a statement. “This case was the result of excellent investigation and collaboration between my office, the Southampton Town Police Department, and the New York State Police.”

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22

The Independent

Felony DWI Charge Alleged drunk driver had teenager in van

By Rick Murphy rmurphy@indyeastend.com

Speeding on Old Stone Highway Saturday, May 11, got Ronald Merrill in a heap of trouble.

East Hampton Town Police said they spotted his 2002 Ford Van by Albert’s Landing Road traveling 42 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone. Merrill, 56, who lives on nearby Barnes Landing Road in Amagansett, exhibited signs of being intoxicated and failed roadside sobriety tests, police said. A computer check allegedly revealed a prior DWIrelated incident within the last 10 years.

That meant a felony charge was leveled.

In addition, a 14 year-old boy was

riding in the back of the van, sitting on an overturned bucket when Merrill was pulled over, police said. His presence triggered another felony DWI charge because the youth was under 16. Merrill was also hit with a misdemeanor charge for endangering the welfare of a child. Merrill was held overnight for arraignment.

Polivio Pintado-Pizarro, 30, of Wainscott, was charged with DWI at about 11:30 PM May 11, just yards from his Bathgate Road residence. Faulty taillights led to a traffic stop, according to police. He was arraigned and released on $250 bail.

EH Doctor Guilty Of Fraud State attorney general says local doctor bilked Medicaid

By Rick Murphy rmurphy@indyeastend.com

Dr. Bernard Bentley of East Hampton apparently lived pretty high off the hog . . . a swanky East Hampton house, two Teslas, and no fewer than six bank and brokerage house accounts.

But Bentley, 61, who reportedly

lives on Whale Rock Lane in Northwest Woods, will have to make do with a lot less after his attorneys acknowledged in court last week that he is guilty of Medicaid fraud.

Prosecutors from the New York

Other DWI and DWI related arrests made by East Hampton Town Police included James Mitchell, 49, of Montauk who police said was involved in a road rage incident, and Julio Pena-Tacuri, 25, of Amagansett.

A police unit spotted a vehicle being driven by Christian Vasque-Rios, 26, of Underwood Drive in Springs on Saturday on Montauk Highway near Georgica Drive. The accused was driving a black 2004 Nissan Frontier truck, but his inspection sticker was for a 2006 Avalon sedan, police said. He was charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of a forged instrument and processed and released on an appearance ticket.

Three times is not a charm when it comes to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Being charged three or more times with unlicensed operation triggers a misdemeanor. Christopher Maxwell, 45, of Brooklyn, was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the third degree after he was stopped on Montauk Highway in Montauk and a computer check revealed a

litany of similar indiscretions.

Wayne Ehlers, 39, of Flanders was charged with the after getting pulled over in Wainscott early Saturday morning, May 11.

Sharon Inez Dibseh, 24, who hails from Florida, was hit with second degree aggravated unlicensed driving charge after being pulled over in Montauk on May 9 as was Jorge Calle Verdugo, 27, of Springs, who was stopped on May 10 in Amagansett after police said he was observed swerving over the lane line.

State Attorney General’s office said the scheme involved “ringers” who were paid to undergo unnecessary medical tests. Bentley and two accomplices then billed Medicaid for treatment that the so-called patients never required nor received.

Tea Kaganovich, 47, and Ramazi Mitaishvili, 58, both of Brooklyn also pleaded guilty to the scam and agreed to pay back $18 million in overpayments. The pair, who co-owned diagnostic testing centers, acknowledged they paid kickbacks to obtain referrals.

Attorney General Letitia James announced the convictions on May 10.

“These individuals preyed on unsuspecting patients and stole government funds to line their own pockets,” she said. “Medicaid fraud is a serious crime and we will take action against anyone who seeks to cheat our system or our patients.”

Kaganovich and Mitaishvili were both convicted on charges of grand larceny in the first degree. Bentley was convicted on charges of grand larceny in the first and third degrees.

As part of their respective guilty pleas, Kaganovich, Mitaishvili, and Bentley admitted that they individually and through their corporations engaged in a systematic scheme to subject Medicaid recipients to a battery of diagnostic tests that were neither medically necessary and were fraudulently referred, according to James’s office.

Kaganovich and Mitaishvili, with the assistance of Bentley, then submitted and caused to be submitted claims for reimbursement to the Medicaid program, including to Medicaid-funded managed care organizations (“MCOs”), based on fraudulent referrals for services that were either not provided or not medically necessary.

On Shelter Island Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and the Shelter Island Police Department, in conjunction with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, are seeking the public’s help in identifying and locating the person or people who damaged parkland in the Hay Beach section of Shelter Island, near Menhaden Lane.

More than an acre of trees and vegetation were damaged sometime between January 7 and January 8, 2018. The damage was estimated at $66,000.

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News & Opinion

May 15, 2019

23

Glowing Remembrance Southampton holds candlelight vigil honoring those lost to opioids

By Justin Meinken justin@indyeastend.com A circle of 297 candles lit the stage of the Good Ground Park amphitheater, representing the lives lost to drug overdoses in Suffolk County last year; in the center burned six candles for those from Southampton.

Standing up Saturday was East Quogue resident Denise Erwin, who paid tribute to her daughter Melanie, 27, who died from a heroin overdose September 5.

“I will do anything to help people not go through what I am going through now — the pain of losing her,” said Erwin, who later clutched a framed picture of her daughter.

Fatal drug overdoses in Southampton climbed from five to 19 between 2016 and 2017, before dropping

to six last year. One death has been recorded so far this year, according to statistics from the Southampton Town Police Department. Last year, there were over 400 county-wide deaths.

“We’ve cut that number down, and hope to continue to reduce it,” Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said.

Former News 12 anchor Drew Scott held the microphone for a grandmother who read a poem written by her 15-year-old grandson who also succumbed to a drug overdose.

“It’s much more intimate, a place to share stories of people you know that you loved and lost,” Schneiderman said. “It’s really moving.”

No stranger to the grief, Scott suffered the same heartbreak in 2017 with

the loss his granddaughter Hallie Ulrich. The vigil “is a chance to remember those who have been lost,” Scott said.

He credited the work of the town’s Opioid Addiction and Recovery Committee, which sponsored the event, with the reduction of drug overdose deaths.

Schneiderman expressed hope that continuous education and awareness programs, as well as those aimed at helping with recovery, will continue to make an impact. “This epidemic is affecting everyone — these kids are under so much social pressure,” the supervisor said. “You may think, ‘I don’t have to worry about my kid.’ But you just might save a life.”

Town Director of Communications Connie Conway said she thought

having a parent roundtable was crucial, to go along with previous medical and youth forums. “We really want to reach the young people,” Conway said, “and a parent is the first teacher of a child, so we’re trying to help them with tips to keep their children safe.”

The Opioid Addiction and Recovery Committee launched a new website earlier this year, www.findhelpsouthampton.com, which provides information about addiction and links to Suffolk County resources.

“When you have a child, they don’t give you a handbook,” Schneiderman said. “You have to learn a lot. We’re trying to help. We’re all learning. This is really valuable to people.”

With reporting by Desirée Keegan

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The Independent

Editorial

JUST ASKING

By Karen Fredericks

Your reaction to news that unemployment is at a 50-year low?

Barbara Smith

Eyesore — And A Money Maker

My reaction? I think Trump is doing a good job. Shhh. Don’t tell anyone I said that. Saying something like that could get you in big trouble these days!

Ed Mott Make no mistake about it, the Shinnecock Nation’s decision to erect a pair of 60foot “monuments,” which in reality are nothing more than electronic billboards, on either side of Route 27 just west of the Shinnecock Canal has certainly caught the attention of elected officials and townspeople alike.

Tribal leaders say the structures, which will have the tribal seal at the top, an illuminated advertisement in the center portion, and the time and temperature running along the lowest level, will provide a much needed source of revenue that will help it pull many of its members out of poverty.

But town officials and — judging by the comments on social media — many residents see the tribe’s decision to erect the signs as little more than an in-yourface effort to force an eyesore on the rest of the community.

In reality, both sides are right to a degree.

From the tribe’s perspective, it has seen its efforts to take advantage of its sovereign standing to raise the living standard of its members rebuffed, indirectly or directly, by town officials. Think back just a few years when the tribe stepped up efforts to obtain federal recognition so it could build a casino on land not far from where the signs are being constructed. Town government fought that effort tooth and nail. So why should the tribe be willing to listen to the town now and turn down an opportunity to cash in?

But people who will drive past or live near those signs are also right: They will be downright ugly. It’s hard for people to square the notion of Native Americans, who so often defend the sanctity of the environment, with the decision to so quickly despoil a wooded roadside.

Of course, if you asked a Shinnecock what they thought about the kind of development white settlers have brought to their homeland, you might get a similar reaction — and that includes the four-lane highway that runs right next to the signs.

In the end, given the town’s apparent lack of power to intervene and the state’s silence on the matter, it appears the signs are coming. While that’s a pity, so is so much of the environmental degradation newcomers have brought to this once beautiful strip of land.

Is it just me? © Karen Fredericks

I thought it was good news to be hearing. It definitely surprised me. It sounds like a good deal for the country and agreeable news.

Jean Deeks I was kind of surprised because I know so many people who are out of work looking for jobs. They’re either laid off or retired but they’re looking for work. Or they’ve lost their jobs due to downsizing.

Jerry Pilgrim I think Obama did a great job of setting it up by retrieving us from the Bush mess.

If a man says something in a forest and there’s no woman to hear him is he still wrong?

Karen was chosen Best Cartoonist by the New York Press Association in 2017 and again in 2019. She’s the recipient of multiple awards for her illustration of the international bestseller How To Build Your Own Country, including the prestigious Silver Birch Award. Her work is part of the permanent artist’s book collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

May 15, 2019

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Arts & Entertainment Bookstore, And More Berry & Co. offers books, botanicals, and a bit of magick

By Bridget LeRoy bridget@indyeastend.com

Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it, and Taylor Berry learned a lot when she closed Harbor Books on Main Street, Sag Harbor. “I was trying to please everybody,” said Berry, whose enthusiasm for life bubbles over when she speaks. “Now I’ve realized I have to follow my own heart, my own instincts. But everyone is so supportive; everyone is waiting for this, anticipating this.”

Berry opens her new bookshop, Berry & Company, on Saturday, May 18, with those instincts for what she likes firmly in place. The new location is on Division Street (Route 114), in a space above Jack’s Stir Brew Coffee and the Sag Harbor Baking Company, with an outdoor area and a peak-roofed retail space that — despite the last-minute painting and construction — already feels like a magical treehouse.

“I added the Dobra tea a few years ago, at the other space, and what Dobra allowed me to do is get into all the fun, witchy stuff that I love,” she said, laughing. “And that evolved over time.

I added in things like essential oils, smudging sticks, the Whiskey River soap line, that’s going to continue and grow here.”

Those who have been around the area for a while will remember the Metaphysical Books & Tools store at 83 Main Street, Sag Harbor, which has been closed for almost a decade, about as long as Berry has been in the area.

Berry & Company plans to offer many of the products one could get at the extinct new-age shop, like crystals, cards, smudge sticks, and more.

Berry also has a place in her heart for CBD products, used mindfully, and will carry them as well.

“I was raised by a single mom, who owned a spa,” she said. “I love herbs. I love nature. I love the whole concept of the healing aspects of herbs and tea.

And this is the space that will allow me to explore all of that in greater detail.

It’s not just books.”

Visitors to the new space will be able to make their own smudge sticks from a variety of herbs Berry will carry.

With other bookstores in the area, and the ability to get a book the next day from the internet, Berry said, “I love books, I believe in books, but I think that booksellers and bookstores, at this time, need to be innovative. I don’t think there’s a substitution, algorithms or not, for a hometown bookseller who gets to know you and your tastes. Especially being a community bookstore. I know people. I know the community. I love being a part of this community,” she added.

“We are certainly always going to do author events of some sort, but I’m not really into traditional book signings and readings, unless that’s what the author is comfortable with,” she said. “I guess I’m really not into traditional anything. I like doing meet-andgreets, I like doing cocktail parties, I like collaborating with the other businesses in town.” She is already stepping outside the new space, cohosting events in other places, like the launch party on May 11 at the American Hotel which celebrated the publication of Jamie Brenner’s latest tome, “Drawing

Taylor Berry has been hosting “Roving Books,” like this one in Grindstone Coffee & Donuts, until her new store opens just around the corner. Independent/Bridget LeRoy

Home,” a book set in Sag Harbor with scenes at the American Hotel.

An upcoming event has Jessica Soffer, author of “Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots,” leading a workshop called “The Note.” “Without giving too much away,” Berry said, “she guides you through journaling and music. And it’s a beautiful thing.” With local Juli Everett of Knead & Seed, Berry plans evenings of “sip and spell, sex mag-

ic, and fun like that.” Expect further workshops on wine training, how to make your own teas, herbal education, and more.

“I guess it’s really a lifestyle store as much as a bookstore,” Berry said.

“The store expresses me, and what I love, and what I think other people love.”

To learn more, visit www.berryandcosagharbor.com.

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The Independent

INDEPENDENT THINKING : THE FUTURE OF EAST HAMPTON

SPONSORED BY ADAM MILLER GROUP & ADVANTAGE TITLE

JOIN US FOR LUNCH! MAY 16 PANELISTS Maziar Behrooz, MB Architecture Rosemary Brown, Village Board Member Jesse Bartel, BookHampton Mayor Paul Rickenbach Barbara Layton, Babette's

The Independent presents a panel discussion luncheon series sponsored by attorney Adam Miller and Advantage Title at The Maidstone Hotel

THURSDAY, MAY 16 / VILLAGE VITALITY

How can we attract new jobs, strengthen the village?

THURSDAY MAY 23 / DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT THURSDAY JUNE 6 / ARTS: CREATIVE PLACE MAKING Moderated by Bridget LeRoy, Managing Editor 12:30 - 2:00 PM • $25 at the door • RSVP: events@indyeastend.com The Maidstone Hotel: 207 Main Street, East Hampton, NY

Arts & Entertainment

May 15, 2019

IndyLit Rinse off the sand, grab a cocktail, and get some culture!

The Independent invites you to join us for an after-the-beach summer reading series hosted at the Southampton Inn.

May 25 Clive Thompson CODERS The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World A technology writer for the New York Times Magazine and Wired, Clive Thompson has the rare ability to translate tech for the rest of us. Join the Smarter Than You Think author for an anthropological journey into the heart of the digital jungle.

June 22 Rachel Love Nuwer POACHED Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking Rachel Nuwer, a frequent contributor to Scientific American, The New York Times, and National Geographic, traveled the world to shine a light on this global black market. Come hear her tales from the front lines.

An event series presented by

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In collaboration with

When May 25, June 22, July 20, July 27.

All readings begin at 5:30pm.

Where The courtyard of the Southampton Inn, 91 Hill Street.

RSVP Free but space is limited. Please RSVP to events@indyeastend.com.

July 20 Jeff Gordinier HUNGRY Eating, Road-Tripping & Risking It All With the Greatest Chef in the World A must for foodies: Former Times critic and current Esquire food and drinks editor Jeff Gordinier will give us a taste of his rollicking four- year culinary safari with Danish chef RenĂŠ Redzepi, whose restaurant, Noma, has been called the best on earth.

July 27 Taffy Brodesser-Akner FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE (A Novel) You may know her as the New York Times Magazine staff writer behind the super-viral profile of Goop guru Gwyneth Paltrow (and countless other cultural icons), but Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s new novel is earning raves from the literati.

Settle in for a drink and a shot of good old tri-state-style neurosis.

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The Independent

mill Center with the mindset to continue the body of work I’m involved with in the city, our mortality and how we as humans let it shape or alter our environment, trees in particular. Once I stepped into the WMC, it was like I had never been here before. I dove into Robert Wilson’s 8000-volume library and most especially, his in-house digital library.

Along with that research I photographed some of the vast collection here of masks, photographs, and statuary.

From these photographs I made collages that I referenced, along with observation, developing or shall we say “In Progress” — making a left turn, and doing so have started a new body of work.

This week I’ve been referencing Robert Wilson and David Byrne’s 1988 “The Forest” in my last few drawings.

I’m reading the legend of Gilgamesh and both artist’s writings of making the production hoping to realize this topic in paintings I will produce while in residency at the School of Visual Arts this summer.

You’re rooted in the idea, literally, of trees and death.

What’s the interconnection?

Do you depict a certain type of tree?

Eileen Kornreich. Independent/Lindsay Morris, courtesy The Watermill Center

Branching Out Artist Eileen Kornreich discusses her Watermill Center residency

By Nicole Teitler nicole@indyeastend.com

The Watermill Center continues “In Process,” an ongoing series engaging the community directly with its artistsin-residence through open rehearsals, workshops, artist talks, and studio visits. Six artists from around the world, with very unique backgrounds, gather in a common space with an open invitation to the public to observe, learn, and interact with each other.

Colectivo Zoológico, of Chilean and French descent, focuses on man and woman’s place in today’s capitalism through audiovisual technology; Bridgehampton native Laurie Lambrecht works in fiber and photography; sculptor Toni Ross moves between elemental geometries and site-responsive installations; Maya Watanabe joins from Peru with her video installations; Agustina Muñoz traveled from Argen-

tina to showcase solo performances in tandem with collective pieces to express a view on heritage, desire, destiny, and memory.

Indy caught up with New York City resident Eileen Kornreich, who has deep roots with the East End community. Kornreich has dedicated years of her time helping to fund artist-run non-profits.

How did you become involved with The Watermill Center?

My late husband, Bill Kornreich, and I met Bob Wilson in 1993 at the first benefit for his then future center. I encouraged my husband to join the Byrd Hoffman board of directors, which he served as treasurer, and a member of

the executive board for 15 years. We were dedicated supporters of the center and its artists, from its early days to present.

You’ve worked on the East End and across New York City helping artists. How does the culture differ between the two areas? How have you seen it change?

Both have their share of positive and negative aspects for working and ‘notpresently-producing-work’ artists.

Some practices require execution by a group; some visual artists and writers work alone. All require a supportive community in realizing shows or staging productions. They all require a community of audiences that attend galleries and productions. In the past five years or so, the East End has certainly stepped up its game in supporting the growth and serious scholarship for artists of all practices.

Will you be working on anything in particular at The Watermill Center?

I started my residency at The Water-

There are a few trees in a historical New York City park I am referencing that are over 300-400 years old. I am most interested in what they have witnessed and how the violence, naturally or unnaturally, has pruned and groomed them. The park depicted was used as a potter’s field and organized church cemeteries in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most people think the cemeteries are the ones with gates and drives and headstones. We have centuries of people underneath our feet when we walk to the grocery store to get that quart of milk.

What park or nature preserve do you find inspiration in?

When walking in New York, and I walk a lot in New York, I spend time in any park that is closest to where I am at the moment. New York has wonderful parks, and the little community gardens that exists still are terrific. In East Hampton, I have a dear friend who is my early morning walking buddy; we walk miles and pick up garbage. When I want to be alone, I walk to and walk around LongHouse.

The Watermill Center is located at 39 Water Mill Towd Road in Water Mill.

Learn all about its special programs at www.watermillcenter.org.

May 15, 2019

Arts & Entertainment

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‘The Initiation’ Author Chris Babu ventures from Wall Street to publishing

By Nicole Teitler nicole@indyeastend.com

It’s an uplifting story of one man’s journey as he abandoned a life of security to pursue one of self-fulfillment. This true life narrative is that of Chris Babu, an MIT graduate and former Wall Street bond trader-turned-author of the young adult series, “The Initiation.”

He currently resides in Southampton.

Like so many, Babu’s demanding career took precedent over creative interests and allowed little room for his long-standing love for reading. Upon turning 40, Babu realized the stressors of trading on Wall Street had outweighed his desire to continue in that career path. In a sort of “a-ha” moment where money can’t buy happiness, he realized there was more to life “than slinging bonds around,” and so he resolved to do what felt right. To challenge himself, Babu picked up writing and it in turn became an addiction. In 2015 he began fitting in his new hobby wherever he could; after work, the subway commute — he even traded in TV for reading and writing. Amid all of this effort, there was no intention to be an author.

“In the same way my interest in finance waned while my love for writing blossomed, the city I once found fun and exciting grew morose and tiresome,” Babu expressed. Logically, giving up one’s day job to pursue writing isn’t a financially sound decision. By going all in, he felt he had no excuse if he failed and thus focused on the minds of a profitable demographic, teens.

It’s impossible to dispute the bandwagon of successful young adult books-turned-Hollywood hits such as “Hunger Games,” “Divergent,” and “Twilight.” These dystopias of 2008 to 2013 inspired Babu’s “The Initiation” series. “The teen years are the most exciting, most emotional, and most hopeful in everyone’s lives; full of first experiences, first loves, hopes, and dreams.

A large chunk of the readership of YA is adults, because it often evokes powerful nostalgia for those thrilling albeit difficult years.” Babu acknowledged reading YA novels himself. “Writing a series is fairly common these days because it’s a great way to build a dedicated readership.”

Part of the demographic, that of

social media and Netflix, is his 12-yearold daughter, Lily, who influenced the series. “Only a truly gripping story would hold their attention,” Babu noted of his audience, as he made a point of no inappropriate language or content is in his novels, minus some mild violence here or there. “I wanted her to know that her father wasn’t too scared to believe in himself. That you can accomplish anything if you want it badly enough and are willing to put in the work.” He hopes to set the example that a person is more than numbers on a paycheck.

There are three books in the series, that has, thus far, been dubbed “the nerd version of ‘The Hunger Games,’” substituting death puzzles and brainteasers for weapons and murder. However, Babu prefers the comparison to “The Maze Runner”

by James Dashner. “The Initiation,” “The Expedition,” and coming out in fall, “The Insurrection” were carefully planned as a trilogy from the beginning. Babu outlined the entire series before a single word was written. In doing this, he allowed for a concise storyline without diminishing the quality of each individual novel.

Four teen heroes, called pledges (a reference to his fraternity days at MIT), set in the near future in a dystopian New York City, are trying to save mankind.

They team up with a security team, the Guardians, to leave New America, which is stricken with poverty, hunger, and an unfair justice system, to venture beyond the walls and into the unknown in search for signs of life and windmill batteries to save its citizens. What’s particularly interesting is the leading character, 16-year-old Drayden, has many physical insecurities that serve as a motif, not often touched upon for males today. Boys reading the novels will find relatable situations without the fear of being mocked, an outlet of sorts. Drayden is on a literal journey, as well as one of self-discovery into the unknown.

Babu’s books are both art and science. It’s all an intricate wave of creation and deliberation to keep it a pageturner. But also, every book becomes

its own business with marketing plan, branding, websites and SEO, social media, book signings. How does one make themselves known when their biggest selling point is words on a page?

Wall Street taught Babu how values and understanding outweigh inherent knowledge in the long run, for any career. It also shaped his view of delivering a product, a parallel to his writing career. “Nobody cares if you outperformed expectations. They only care about great books, and your competition is Harry Potter.” His experience

at MIT also shaped him; the race to become better caused many to stumble and fall, it was only the ones who got back up again that true perseverance was displayed.

“I’m not sure there is a more humbling profession than writing,” Babu said, recalling the countless waves of rejection from the publishing industry on top of the occasional bad review.

“It’s easy to wither into a catatonic shell of self-pity and self-doubt.”

Learn all about the author and the series at www.chrisbabu.com.

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The Independent

HAMPTON DAZE

By Jessica Mackin-Cipro

Death By Zipper A look at my carnival ride fears jessica@indyeastend.com @hamptondaze

I didn’t realize what a wimp I’d become until I was at the carnival in Southampton on Saturday night. I found myself paralyzed with fear while staring up at the infamous ride, The Zipper. Just looking at the long, rotating, oval boom made me weak in the knees. Listening

to the screams of small children as they experienced strong vertical G-forces and numerous spins made me want to run for the hills — or at least to the closest cocktail bar.

I may not have been the most adventurous child, but I was still always

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ready to ride the Gravitron or the ferris wheel. Believe it or not there was a time when I wasn’t afraid of rip tides or carnival rides or even riding the subway (don’t judge!). Still, for the most part, I was no daredevil. Now, I’m somehow super aware of my own mortality just riding a bike down a semi-busy Hamptons’ road.

At the carnival my friend Christine we realized that both of our parents wouldn’t allow us go on The Zipper as kids. For a moment there was talk that we should go for the first time. Talk that I quickly ended.

The screams from inside that swinging oval of death were enough to have me break my “Whole30-ish” cleanse and go stress-eat a churro. (FYI, Whole30-ish is a new cleanse I’ve started, it’s Whole30 without giving up wine or lentils, and I feel it will be wildly successful.)

I’m not big on the sense of unpredictability that comes with carnival rides. The words of my father are always in the back of my head: “You’re going to trust a ride that’s taken apart and put back together every week?”

When I told him the next day that I’d gone to the carnival, his stance on the issue had not changed, and now has become my own.

We’ve all heard the horror stories: cages coming lose, doors flying open, helpless riders flying through the air to an untimely death. I’m just not into the idea of willingly being upside-down in a piece of machinery that is disassembled onto a truck and transported from site to site each week. Even if the odds of something bad happening are extremely low.

A quick Google search of “death

by zipper carnival,” and all of my fears were confirmed. The internet is littered with videos with titles like “Inside the Death Trap Fair Ride, The Zipper” and headlines like “Life And Mortality At The Carnival.”

It turns out in 1977 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urged carnival-goers not to ride The Zipper after four deaths occurred due to compartment doors opening midride. While this happened long before my carnival days, I now understand my parents’ hesitation for us kids to ride it.

My sister Jenna eventually wore them down and would ride The Zipper nonstop, but I was always alright with the initial rule to stay away.

Today, as an adult, you literally couldn’t pay me to ride it. I’m more about the “let’s try to win a goldfish and eat a funnel cake” type of carnival vibe.

So on Saturday night we settled for The Sizzler and a dinosaur-themed version of the Tea Cups — basically the only two kiddie rides that didn’t have height restrictions. My first choice was The Caterpillar but I sized out being taller than five feet. Even though it was mostly small children I have to say that The Sizzler was the most frightening thing I’ve done since walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (seriously, those rickety wooden planks they call a bridge do not feel safe!).

At the end of the evening I was satisfied with the dose of classic Americana the carnival provided and proud of myself for riding The Sizzler, even if my screams could be heard in Montauk. I’ll probably live my life never riding The Zipper, and I think I’m OK with that.

Arts & Entertainment

May 15, 2019

THE 12TH ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND JURIED FINE ART SHOW ON THE MONTAUK GREEN Friday, Saturday & Sunday - MAY 24, 25 and 26, 2019

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The Independent

MARKET PAGE

By Zachary Weiss

It’s A Shoe-In Mark your calendars for Sabah Social, May 25

The Sabah dealer himself, Mickey Ashmore, will be opening the doors once again to his always-anticipated pop-up in Amagansett. This year, the brand will be bringing together a slew of the best and brightest artisans from the East and West coasts, including the

brands you see here along with a pair of shearling-lined Sabahs, exclusive to the summer-long storefront and perfect for a post-surf ensemble. Mark your calendars now, as it all kicks off at the “Opening Sabah Social” on May 25 — and supplies are limited!

By Zachary Weiss

Blue Leopard Sabahs, $215

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Skoby Joe Ceramics Vase, Price Upon Request

Falcone Surfboards Thruster, $875

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Arts & Entertainment

May 15, 2019

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The Independent

RICK’S SPACE

By Rick Murphy

Dressed For Success Code dread for fashion rmurphy@indyeastend.com

I guess having a dress code is a thing of the past, and that’s fine with me.

I did my time. Starting from the first grade, I spent the better part of four decades wearing one sort of uniform or another.

In grammar school, I wore blue pants with a gold stripe, a dark blue knit tie, and a light blue shirt with “Assisi” written on it. That meant for eight torturous years I had to prove I wasn’t a sissy — by running away from the tough kids in my Brooklyn neighborhood.

High school was even worse. We had to wear a jacket and tie, which was fine during the winter. On hot days, though, the temperature was unbearable, and a wool jacket put you that much closer to a heat stroke. One day it was so hot our lay English teacher, Mr. Lombardo, allowed us to take our jackets off. The Christian Brothers, who ran the school, would have never capitulated. Everyone took advantage except one big kid, Frank Rutkowski. Mr. Lombardo kept prodding him, thinking all the kid needed was encouragement.

I noticed Frank turn beet red and when he finally took his jacket off I realized why — the entire back of his shirt was shredded and ripped.

Some folk have had it tough dressing their kids for Catholic school, especially when Mom was a widow. Frank made do with one shirt, and more than a few of the guys were charged with washing and ironing their clothes. My mom laid out my wardrobe for me — like I say, I was no sissy.

I went to work on Wall Street after college. Everyone dressed the exact same way: charcoal suit, white shirt, and muted tie.

Our big thing was Casual Friday, which allowed us to dress down to jeans and a sports coat. I refrained from wearing my paisley PJs and Day Glo make-up, assuming clients would be reluctant to purchase mutual funds from me. I was probably right.

I knew my Wall Street career was over when my friends in Sag Harbor talked me into throwing my Florsheim winged tip dress shoes off of Long Wharf — I couldn’t afford another pair,

and anyway, my suits were getting tight on me.

The local newspapers, thankfully, for the most part, don’t require a dress code. When I went to work at the East Hampton Star, the most popular accessory was a pocket pencil holder, which I hadn’t seen in years. John Charde took a lot of heat for his but he was onto something — he went off and started a computer company before the rest of us even knew what the internet was.

The joke was it wasn’t in his pocket at all, but a hereditary slit in his chest that evolved over generations. This kind of nonsense passed for humor at The Star — that and some bawdy gerund jokes that made the rounds.

Nowadays game jerseys are all the rage, sporting the names and numbers of famous athletes. The licensing fees are enormous — the NFL generates $6.5 billion. But when people buy Tyreek Hill’s jersey, after he’s accused of beating his three-year-old, or a Kareem Hunt jersey, after Hunt beat and kicked a woman while in a drunken snot, we have a problem.

My father was an orphan raised by relatives in Pennsylvania. He went off to nursing school and was the constant butt of jokes from friends (his and mine) because of his all-white uniform.

My friend Craig insisted Dad was a Good Humor man.

It took me years to realize that after watching his dad and uncle die from

black lung disease that he felt pretty damn good in those bleached whites.

I think it’s safe to say women pay a lot more attention to what they wear without drawing the ire of women’s groups, just as it is safe to say they can’t be trusted to operate an automobile safely. I would wager to say women spend roughly three times as much time in front of a mirror than men do, but then again, men tend to have more important jobs, so they have less time to be selfish and vain. I think most women’s groups would agree with that.

Me? I still oscillate between the Catholic High School look circa 1965, the bell-bottom Day Glo craze of the ’70s, and the Calvin Klein ’80s, when jeans cost more then Gross National Product of Russia. Occasionally I’ll lapse into a time warp and take something out of the recesses of my closet and wear it in public, scaring children and dogs alike.

As far as work goes, though Casual Fridays are a thing of the past, I’m anticipating a positive reaction to Birthday Suit Wednesday, at least here at The Independent.

Rick Murphy is a six-time winner of the New York Press Association Best Column award as well as the winner of first place awards from the National Newspaper Association and the Suburban Newspaper Association of America and a two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee.

I did my time. Starting from the first grade, I spent the better part of four decades wearing one sort of uniform or another.

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Arts & Entertainment

May 15, 2019

KISS & TELL

By Heather Buchanan

Outsider Art Who and what determines value? kissandtellhb@gmail.com

Everyone should take a day to immerse themselves in art.

As a writer, it is a creative pleasure to leave behind the world of words and dive into visual images. On a beautiful spring day, I found myself on a ferry enjoying the crisp sunshine heading to Randalls Island for the Frieze art fair.

Stall after stall was awash in color and forms and shapes, some congruous and some incongruous. I responded to works that were aesthetically pleasing or evoked a primal response. Some a bit alarming, like the mermaids in the washing machine, where all I wanted to do was pull their pretty tails out of the horrid metal box.

While I am conceptually fascinated by contemporary art, there are times I see it as the emperor’s new clothes. I don’t see how painting a white canvas white is great art and sells for a huge amount of money. I don’t think I could write a poem that consisted of one word, “poem,” and find myself being considered a genius.

I found some of the art I was most drawn to in the category of “outsider

art.” The images of Minnie Evans filled with bright colors and floral motifs came from her dream world with women both tribal and goddess-like. And Czech artist Anna Zemankova created dreamy botanical pastels.

The term “outsider art” is originally attributed to Roger Cardinal in 1972, and can mean anything from someone who is self-taught or has little or no contact with the mainstream art world or art institutions, to art made by people living with certain disabilities or on the outskirts of society, to work of the psychologically compromised. I was fascinated by the lives of some of these artists. They included a slave, a woman exiled for having an affair with a defrocked priest, a boy raised as a girl by a mother who didn’t want him to be drafted by the Nazis, and a schizophrenic, to name a few.

What their works have in common is rejection of documenting the world around them and instead creating their own world with images to provide order or comfort or beauty. Sadly, their transition from “outsider” to “inside”

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the world of gallerists and collectors often happened after their death or late in their lives, so they didn’t personally benefit from much recognition or monetary compensation.

What I find fascinating is the broader context of who decides which artist’s work is of value. There are no more Medicis, so for artists to survive they actually need to be able to sell their work. Who is the arbiter of their success and sets the market value?

Like the unknown writer who sends a novel unsolicited to a publisher, an artist knocking on a gallery’s door with their portfolio doesn’t face great odds of success. As they say, it’s not so much what you know but who you know. And further, art buyers may not be looking for something to hang over their couch but to put in a storehouse in Delaware (tax shelter) hoping it will rise in value.

At some point you have to ask, is the system rigged? How many graffiti artists get noticed by Andy Warhol and go on to international fame like Jean-

Michel Basquiat? Or a single mother living on the dole in England who wrote in notebooks in coffee shops to come up with Harry Potter? You can look at the price of real estate and justify, “Oh yes, six bedrooms and a lovely water view with that wine cellar and room to house my Birkin bag collection.” Yet what distinguishes one person’s canvas from another’s?

A ferry and Jitney ride back to the Hamptons led me to a bit of solace with the exhibit at the Southampton Arts Center, East End Collected5 and EEC Jr. Here was a group of talented local artists curated by Paton Miller whose work may not yet be on the Sotheby’s auction block but was as compelling as it was diverse.

In this case the insider art, at least in the Hamptons, opened its collective arms to give them not only a showcase for critical attention but to actually sell their work. Posthumous praise is fine but much more fun to be alive to enjoy your success.

I don’t see how painting a white canvas white is great art and sells for a huge amount of money. I don’t think I could write a poem that consisted of one word, “poem,” and find myself being considered a genius.

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The Independent

SAND IN MY SHOES

By Denis Hamill

Every Day Is Mother’s Day Giving thanks to the one who gave you life denishamill@gmail.com I thought of an immigrant girl named Annie Devlin as I drove May 4 on Sunrise toward 75 Main to eat a delicious salmon BLT before a screening of a Hamptons Doc Fest film put on by the Long Island Press Club at the wonderful Southampton Arts Center.

Maybe it was the nagging rain that reminded me of Annie Devlin of Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the sun rarely shines.

I thought about how Annie Devlin, at age 19, crossed the Atlantic Ocean in steerage class aboard the SS Cameronia II and arrived in New York on October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, the day the stock market crashed, triggering the Great Depression.

But this was still America, land of the free.

A land free of the sectarian violence and discrimination Annie Devlin had suffered as a Catholic schoolgirl in predominantly Protestant Belfast still under British rule.

Annie had lived in Brooklyn before with her parents Peter and Catherine Devlin, and older brother, Maurice. Her father was a shipping engineer, earning a fine wage until May 31, 1916 when he lost his footing walking from one ship’s gangplank to another in Robin’s Dry Dock in Red Hook, falling between the two ships, his heading smashing into an anchor.

He was pronounced dead that night in Holy Family Hospital. Gone at 38.

Without a breadwinner and with two young children to raise, Catherine Devlin moved back to Belfast, toiling as a seamstress, always dreaming of one day returning to America.

Annie Devlin’s daughter Kathleen would many years later do a wonderful interview with her mother detailing her school days of sectarian bigotry in Belfast. Her first school was burned down

by Protestants. Then she went to a new school in a predominantly Protestant area.

“Before it got burned it started to become so vicious,” Annie said. “The Protestants would beat the Catholics up. My mother warned me to go on a different street each day. She said, ‘If they stop you, give ‘em a kick in the shins and run.’ What she meant was kick them in the, well, you-knowwhats.” She laughed. “Sure enough, one day, I was stopped by five Protestant boys, about 12 or 13. Only I wouldn’t say, ‘To hell with the Pope,’ like they wanted me to. Instead, I gave one a kick in his, um, ‘shin,’ and I ran like hell half a block, turned around, and said, ‘To hell with your king!’”

Sectarianism grew progressively worse for Annie and her Catholic schoolmates in Belfast. “Eventually we had to be taken to school by what they called a ‘caged car.’ It was an armored car with a cage over the top of it.”

Rioting began in 1920 when the Catholics could not find work. When Catholics were pelted with rocks, they retaliated by setting Protestant businesses and homes ablaze.

In 1926, Annie Devlin’s mother applied to the American embassy for immigration visas. While waiting, Annie’s mother died of rheumatic fever that triggered a stroke. In 1929 when the visas were granted, Annie sold the family piano and sailed alone on the Cameronia II for New York.

Last week, as I sat in the packed screening room watching the HBO documentary “Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists,” I realized it had some of its roots sprouting from Annie Devlin who arrived in New York 90 years earlier. Back then, Annie didn’t know that there was a Belfast immigrant already living in Brooklyn named Billy Hamill, who was 26 and had lost his left leg the year earlier after a tragic soccer accident.

Those two would eventually meet and marry, and their first son would be named Peter, named after Annie’s father, who had died on the Brooklyn

My brother, Pete, at Hamilton Metz Park, formerly Commercial Field, where our father lost his leg on March 25, 1928. Independent/Denis Hamill

docks. That baby would grow up to be the Pete Hamill in the documentary, a dear pal of fellow newspaper legend Jimmy Breslin.

Pete’s also my big brother, the eldest of seven American-born children of Annie and Billy Hamill.

The Friday before the screening I drove Pete two miles from his Brooklyn home to Hamilton Metz Park — formerly known as Commercial Field — in Crown Heights to walk across the soccer field where our father last walked on two good legs on March 25, 1928 when he was playing for St. Mary’s semi-pro immigrant soccer team against another immigrant team called Hakoah. In the fierce game, my father was blindsided with a ferocious slide tackle that broke his left leg, bone piercing flesh.

As we walked in the final footsteps of my father’s two good legs, we were both stirred with emotion. We talked quietly in the stubborn drizzle about how different Billy Hamill’s life might have been had he not sat there on the sidelines by the granite grandstands, endlessly awaiting an ambulance from Kings County Hospital a mere five city blocks away. It didn’t arrive until sepsis had set in, before the discovery of penicillin, and required that the left leg of this young athlete filled with hope and dreams be sawed off three inches above the knee.

“He might never have met Mom,” Pete said, sighing and waving his writer’s hand across the rainy field.

“Dad might not have been at that Irish

dance at Prospect Hall where Mom approached him and asked if he’d like to dance. To which he said, ‘Sorry, I can’t dance.’ To which Mom said, ‘Och, neither can I but let’s do the best we can.’”

And they sure did.

If Billy Hamill had not lost his leg on that anonymous soccer pitch where two of his sons stood 91 years later in the heart of working-class Brooklyn, Annie Devlin might never have led the young Belfast fella with the wooden leg onto the dance floor. She might not have later waltzed him up the aisle of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church where they became husband and wife, and parents of an Irish Catholic tribe of kids.

The eldest of which was up there on the screen in the Southampton Arts Center talking about how everything he accomplished in life started with his mother Annie Devlin who encouraged him to read, read, read.

As I drove home from the screening in the tireless rain I remembered that the following Sunday would be Mother’s Day. There was no real need to remember because my family is no different than most American families, where if you have any human decency, you honor the woman who gave you life on a daily basis, because every day is Mother’s Day. But I did take the time to thank Annie Devlin Hamill for selling that piano and coming to America and asking my father to dance and together for doing the best they could.

Arts & Entertainment

May 15, 2019

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Independent/courtesy Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation

Paws In The Park Friends and family ruff it

By Nicole Teitler nicole@indyeastend.com

Paws will be hitting the trails on Saturday, May 18, at 11 AM as the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation hosts its third annual Paws in the Park event at Red Creek Park in Hampton Bays.

The one-mile hike welcomes friends, families, and, of course, dogs, all to support the shelter.

New this year will be a scavenger hunt for children and providing the music will be DJ Tony Kerr, who is also an animal lover. Additionally, the day will welcome Talk Treats to Me for special pet treats. “Talk Treats to Me is owned

by Maggie Horton, who produces allnatural dog treats right here on Long

Island. She also received the Innovator of the Year award for 2019, which celebrates Long Island’s best and brightest ideas,” noted volunteer and community outreach coordinator Jennifer Wojtas.

Kim Loper of Harbor Pets in Greenport will also be in attendance.

“She has been a long-time supporter of our shelter and has invited us to her Dock Diving event June 1 and 2 in Greenport, which we are really excited for,” said Wojtas.

Another new vendor will be Carol Galanty, a doTerra essential oils wellness advocate, health supportive chef, and holistic health coach. Galanty is

also known for her second business, Scout & Cellar, Clean Crafted Wines.

A family-friendly event, there will be face painting for kids, or the inner child in all participants, as well as a dog agility course. Each year the foundation aims to raise as much as possible, having raised over $20,000 in 2017 and 2018 combined. Last year’s top fundraiser was a volunteer couple that began the fundraising team “Team Dogma.”

Wojtas concluded, “The money raised from the event will help us to continue to provide top-notch care for the pets residing at SASF. Last year, 805 pets were adopted from our shelter and 263 strays were reunited with their families.”

The non-profit organization prides itself as a no-kill rescue with open hearts to animals of all kinds, as seen under the “Other Pets” tab on the website. Beyond adopting, the shelter has a foster program that allows individuals and families alike to temporarily take in any homeless pet.

Through the fostering process, these animals will have the opportunity to be nurtured in a loving environment until they can be placed into a permanent home.

Oftentimes, for those needing extra attention, the foster program provides a space that allows for continued growth and comfort. In particular, animals that have seen one too many months with the shelter get some one-on-one time, allowing them to feel loved. As an added bonus, it frees space for other creatures who may need to immediately be admitted to the shelter. This is a philanthropic option for those who may not be able to adopt but want to make a difference.

“If you fall in love, you can adopt,” the team claims.

Registration is $20 in advance and $25 the day of event. Red Creek Park is located at 100 Old Riverhead Road West in Hampton Bays, directly across from the shelter. Donate or register at www.southamptonanimalshelter.com.

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The Independent

Indy Snaps Montaukila Launch Photos by Richard Lewin Business partners Simon Cascante and Paul DeAngelis chose Swallow East Restaurant at the docks in Montauk on Wednesday, May 8, to launch their new Montaukila, a 100-percent agave azul tequila. The evening featured live music and special tequila-based mixed drinks.

Tea Party at Marders Photos by Richard Lewin On Mother’s Day, guests joined for a tea party at Marders in Bridgehampton. There were floral gifts and other treasures, including a line of decorative hats, designed by Kathleen Marder and Shea Keating. For more info visit www.marders.com.

May 15, 2019

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Indy Snaps One Health Gala Kick Off Photos by David Warren Gabby Karan de Felice and Gianpaolo de Felice, and Gally and David Mayer, hosted the kick off for Veterinarians International’s One Health Gala on Sunday, May 5, at Urban Zen X Tutto il Giorno in Sag Harbor. Guests included Dr. Stacey and Jeffrey Collé, Molly Channing, Jane Gill, Dwayne Hill, Jack Kelly, Michael LaRocca, Laurie Lembrecht, Veronica McMahan, Stephane Dupoux, Anetta Nowosielska, and Dr. Scarlett Magda, the organization’s president. The gala will be held at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club on August 3 in an effort to bring hope, education, and medical care to animals and communities in remote regions of the world. For gala tickets and information visit www.onehealthgala.org.

Haiti Fundraiser Photos by Nicole Teitler Well Mountain Initiative hosted its fourth annual fundraiser for Haiti on Saturday, May 11, at the Boardy Barn in Hampton Bays. Guests enjoyed live music by Kate Usher & The Sturdy Souls.

B16

The Independent

East Hampton Spring Street Fair Photos by Lisa Tamburini The East Hampton Chamber of Commerce held its third annual Spring Street Fair on Newtown Lane on Saturday, May 11. Visitors enjoyed live music, local artists, shopkeepers, and over 20 non-profits. The Independent was a lead sponsor of the event.

May 15, 2019

Arts & Entertainment

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Gallery Events

By Jessica Mackin-Cipro jessica@indyeastend.com

Spring Into Collecting

artists (Hill Montgomery and Laurie Lambrecht) in the museum through November 10.

There will be an opening reception at the Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum on Saturday, May 18, from 6 to 8 PM. To RSVP, visit www. parrishart.org.

Alex Ferrone Gallery in Cutchogue opens a new season of art with its fourth edition of the “Spring into Collecting” exhibit and will celebrate the artists with a free public reception on Saturday, May 18, from 6 to 8 PM. Exhibiting artists include Patricia Beary, Karen Bell, Lucy Dewitt, Alex Ferrone, Richard Gardner, Ray Germann, Gerry Giliberti, Katherine LiepeLevinson, Mike McLaughlin, Barbara Macklowe, Robert Mielenhausen, Jim Sabiston, Steven Schreiber, Mac Titmus, and Pamela Waldroup. The show runs through June 23.

Artists At Home

Grenning Gallery The Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor presents Carl Bretzke's "Best in Show" and Jim Rennert's "Business in Bronze." The shows open Saturday with a reception from 6 to 7:30 PM. The exhibits run through June 9.

Hills & Valleys The Parrish Art Museum has selected Bridgehampton-based multimedia artist Candace Hill Montgomery as one of two participants in the 2019 Parrish Road Show, the museum’s creative offsite exhibition series featuring temporary projects by East End artists to connect creativity to everyday life. Recently, Hill Montgomery has focused her practice on weavings that reflect her life as well as current political/sociological issues. Approximately 25 of the weavings will be featured in the exhibition “Hills & Valleys” at the Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum, from May 17 through June 16.

In addition to this off-site exhibition, the Parrish Art Museum will feature works by both 2019 Road Show

East Hampton Historical Society presents the photographic exhibition “Artists at Home: The Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios Program,” at Clinton Academy Museum. The show includes 50 images of artists in their studios. This exhibit will run from May 17 through July 6, and is open to the public on select Fridays and Saturdays.

Elizabeth Parker: Library Paintings The Arts Center at Duck Creek presents its first exhibition of the 2019 season, “Elizabeth Parker: Library Paintings.”

The show is on view through Sunday, May 26. The exhibition will be open to the public Friday through Sunday, from noon to 5 PM.

Layered Meanings

“One Perfect Rose 2 for Dorothy Parker” by Lucy Dewitt at Alex Ferrone Gallery.

Ross seventh-grade students present “Layered Meanings: Three East End Artists,” an exhibition featuring Kara Hoblin, Ruby Jackson, and Denise Gale. The show will run through May 24 at the Ross Gallery in East Hampton.

and Lucy Winton. Both exhibits will be on view through June 3.

Sara Nightingale Sara Nightingale Gallery in Sag Harbor presents Suzanne Unrein’s solo exhibit “Slip,” and the group exhibit “Until a Little Bird,” featuring the work of Francine Fleischer, Erica-Lynn Huberty,

Dream Of Roses The William Ris Gallery in Jamesport welcomes the beauty of spring with the exhibit “Dream of Roses (Rêve De Roses),” a photographic collection of roses by Takashi Matsuzaki. The debut exhibition runs through May 19.

Equal parts Tokyoite and New Yorker, Matsuzaki’s roots lie in fashion and he continues to be a sought-after makeup

artist. His natural gravitation towards photography eventually led to a concentrated focus on roses, particularly as Matsuzaki has a deep appreciation for and collects perfumes.

Horses On Main Street Romany Kramoris Gallery presents “Horses on Main Street,” honoring the 145th Kentucky Derby with horse paintings, small sculpture, an old Mexico ceramic folk horse, and more. The show runs through May 23.

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The Independent

Baroque At The Beach Concert gives nod to the sea

By Joan Baum

Called “Baroque at the Beach,” the final concert of Bach, Before & Beyond at Old Whalers’ Church on Sunday, May 19, does indeed nod to the sea, because this year, Old Whalers’ is celebrating its 175th anniversary. Of course, local history buffs know that a “house of public worship” has always served Sag Harbor residents, but it was only in May 1844 that the noted architect Minard Lafever finished building the iconic Egyptian Revival (cum Greekstyle elements) church on Union Street, 185-foot-high steeple and all — though the three-sectioned decorated tower fell in the Hurricane of 1938.

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994, Old Whalers’, also known as the First Presbyterian Church of Sag Harbor, dedicated to serving community interests and needs, seems an ideal place to bring together the arts, past and present. The newly renovated organ, the oldest in a church on Long Island, boasts famous lineage, and the recent restoration of the sanctuary includes a knock-out trompe l’oeil wall behind the altar.

It turns out, as musicians report, that the interior space is great for chamber music, as the May 19 program will demonstrate, says Walter Klauss, the music director at the church and the founder of BBB, “Sag Harbor’s only year-round classical music series.”

Featuring works by George Frideric Handel, born the same year as Bach (1685), the program shows why

Handel, who lived in London for more than a dozen years, was such a favorite.

His funeral, a massive state affair, drew over 3000 attendees. Though known primarily for oratorios and Italian operas (and of course for “Messiah”), Handel was an incredibly prolific and diverse composer who also wrote arias scored for voice and accompanying instruments.

At its May 19 concert, BBB will showcase a couple of those arias, sung by soprano Sharla Nafziger, an awardwinning performing and recording artist who has appeared with major symphony orchestras, choral societies, and festivals around the country. Nafziger, who lives with her husband and young children in Rye, NY, notes, incidentally, that her adorable Havenese puppy Rocco “enjoys listening to me practice, though my cat Cha Cha doesn’t really care.” Regardless, music lovers besides Rocco are in for a treat.

In addition to Nafziger, BBB will also feature Terry Keevil. A graduate of Stony Brook University, Keevil studied music as both a graduate and undergraduate, and lives near the university, where he teaches oboe. He is a member of North Shore Pro Musica, founded in 1980, which aims to “provide innovative performances in various settings, including schools and other community facilities.”

Although Keevil is associated with the oboe (and the English horn), on May 19 he will introduce an instrument

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Terry Keevil. Independent/Courtesy Bach, Before & Beyond

that won his heart 20 years ago, and that most people know nothing about: the duduk (pronounced du-DOOK), for which he has composed solo music.

The duduk, which traces its origins to ancient Armenia, is a soft-toned double-reed woodwind made of apricot wood, and proclaimed in 2005 by UNESCO “a masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” Keevil says he fell in love with its “amazingly beautiful sound” when he heard it played by the great duduk master Djivan Gasparian.

All in all, BBB promises to be a fabulous program, says Klauss, who is a professional organist as well as choir director. In addition to offering a performance of Bach’s “Wedding Cantata,” one of Bach’s few secular cantatas and one eminently suited to the season of spring, love, and renewal, the program includes Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni’s

“Oboe Concerto in D Minor,” the most famous of his 12 concertos, and Handel’s “Organ Concerto in F,” composed for organ and orchestras, that in his day often served as an attractive interlude for his oratorios.

Assisting the soloists will be a chamber orchestra of 10 string players, oboe, harpsichord, and organ.

A former long-term Minister of Music at All Souls Unitarian Church in Manhattan, Maestro Klauss noted that for some years toward the end of his life, Herman Melville — who celebrates his bicentennial this year and is the considered the literary patron saint of whaling — was a member of All Souls.

BBB will take place on Sunday at 3 PM at Old Whalers Church at 44 Union Street, Sag Harbor. Tickets are $20. For more information, go to www.bachbeforeandbeyond.com.

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Arts & Entertainment

May 15, 2019

Entertainment Guide

An Evening Of Rhythm

By Nicole Teitler nicole@indyeastend.com

FILM Rembrandt The Hamptons International Film Festival presents “Rembrandt” as part of the Now Showing series in partnership with the Southampton Arts Center on Friday, May 17, at 8 PM. Visit www. southamptonartscenter.org.

Borderline Presented by the East End Mental Health Initiative, Director Rebbie Ratner will show his new film “Borderline” on Sunday, May 19, at 2 PM at the Parrish Hall on the grounds of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. This is a free event. Learn more at www.borderlinethefilm.com.

WORDS BookHampton BookHampton in East Hampton welcomes Allan Retzsky and his book

“Vanished in the Dunes” on Saturday, May 18, at 4 PM and Storytime on Sunday, May 19, at 10:30 AM, followed by Jason Allen and “The East End.” Learn more at www.bookhampton.com.

Tom Twomey Series East Hampton Library launches its fifth annual Tom Twomey Series on Saturday, May 18, at 6 PM with “Biowales: A New Vision for East Hampton’s Village Green” and a panel discussion with Colleen Henn, Stephen Mahoney, and Tony Piazza. For more, go to www. tomtwomeyseries.org.

Guild Hall in East Hampton, along with Our Fabulous Variety Show presents “Tap: An Evening of Rhythm” on Friday, May 17, at 7:30 PM, Saturday, May 18, at 7:30 PM and Sunday, May 19, at 2 PM. For tickets, visit www.guildhall. org.

MUSIC Open Mic Night New Moon Cafe in East Quogue presents open mic night every Thursday from 8 to 11 PM. Check www.newmooncafeeq.com.

Paul G Springs Tavern in East Hampton will have live music by Paul G every Thursday from 6 to 8 PM.

B19 tails, log onto www.greenportharborbrewing.com.

DJ Mister Lama The Southampton Arts Center invites guests for a Saturday Night Stomp: Dance Party with DJ Mister Lama from 7 to 10 PM. Go to www.southamptonartscenter.org.

Stephen Talkhouse Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett welcomes the Unsung Heroes for their CD Release Party on Friday, May 17, at 8 PM, followed by Tradewinds at 10 PM. On Saturday, May 18, dance along with The HooDoo Loungers at 8 PM and Hello Brooklyn at 10 PM. Visit www. stephentalkhouse.com.

Rites Of Spring Music

THEATER

Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill presents Salon Series: Boyd Meets Girl on Friday, May 17, at 6 PM. For tickets, visit www.parrishart.org

The Rites of Spring Music Festival continues on Saturday, May 18, at 5 PM, with Latin American Art Songs at Castello di Borghese Vineyards. See more at www.ritesmusic.org.

Eric Wilzig

Greenport Harbor Brewery

Rising Stars Piano Series

Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center welcomes Eric Wilzig and his show, The Extreme Magic, on Friday, May 17, at 7 PM. Get tickets at www. whbpac.org.

At its Peconic location will be Kathleen Galgano on Friday, May 17, at 5 PM; Bangers and Mash on Saturday, May 18, at 5 PM; and East End Trio on Sunday, May 19, at 3 PM. For de-

Salon Series

Southampton Cultural Center welcomes Nathan Lee, as part of the Rising Stars Piano Series, on Saturday, May 18, at 6 PM. For tickets, visit www. scc-arts.org.

Sweet Charities

By Jessica Mackin-Cipro jessica@indyeastend.com

Reconstructed Bra Fashion Show The annual Reconstructed Bra Fashion Show and auction will be held on Thursday, May 16, at the Southampton Social Club at 7 PM. The event includes a live fashion show and bra auction plus an open bar and appetizers. Tickets are $55 in advance and $65 at the door. The event supports Lucia’s Angels, a foundation that helps women and families on the East End who are dealing with late-stage women’s cancers. Visit www.luciasangerls.org/bra.

HAH Garden Fair The Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons presents its HAH Garden Fair Preview Party honoring longtime member and volunteer extraordinaire Charles Savage on Friday, May 17, from 6 to 8 PM.

The event offers a first choice of all plants for sale, plus a silent auction of planted containers by professional gardeners and designers, as well as talented amateur gardeners from the East

End. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served on the grounds of the Bridgehampton Community House. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door.

The HAH will honor longtime member Charles Savage for his steadfast involvement since 1995.

On Saturday, May 18, from 9 AM to 1 PM, the annual HAH plant sale continues, featuring annuals, perennials, shrubs, pollinators, native plants, deer resistant edibles, and connoisseur’s collections from specialty nurseries as well as plants from HAH members’ own collections.

Admission is free. Visit www.

HAHgarden.org or call 631-537-2223 for more details.

Northwell Health Walk Northwell Health Walk at East End will be held Sunday, May 19, at Tanger Outlet Center in Riverhead. Registration opens at 8:30 AM and the walk begins at 10 AM. Funds raised will go toward cardiac care and the Breast Cancer Hardship fund through the cancer ser-

HAH Garden Fair Preview Party is held this weekend. Independent/courtesy HAH

vices department. Women in the community use these resources to help with utilities and rent while in treatment.

Hamptons Heart Ride American Heart Association’s Long Island Cycle Nation Hamptons Heart Ride will be held on Sunday, May 19.

Each rider can choose from a 27-mile, 59-mile, or 100-mile bike ride through

the heart of the Hamptons.

The ride on Sunday begins and ends at Rotations Bicycle Center in Southampton and has a staggered start from 7 to 11:30 AM. A celebration barbecue will be at 2:30 PM.

For sponsorship or ticket information about the CycleNation Hamptons Heart Ride, visit www.heart.org/cyclenation.

B20

The Independent

Dining Find Your Perch At The Crow’s Nest Yearn no more, the restaurant opens for the summer May 17

By Hannah Selinger

Ten summers ago, a few days before Memorial Day weekend, I got a call from my old friend Celine Valensi. She and I had worked together at a tiny, cramped restaurant on the Lower East Side called Momofuku Ko. That restaurant, and its reputation, would cement David Chang in the annals of restaurant history, but back then, Celine and I were just two 20-somethings waiting on food celebrities and dodging wannabe insults (on her blog, Insatiable Critic, Gael Greene referred to us as “gorgons,” so just call me Medusa). Celine took to calling me Momo Hannah.

Eleven years later, that’s still how I appear in her iPhone.

The phone call I fielded that May afternoon contained a question: Would I mind coming out to Montauk for the weekend to help to open a restaurant?

That restaurant would become iconic.

That restaurant would become the Crow’s Nest.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Crow’s Nest, which I associate with how I came to be an East Ender, in turn a story connected to meeting my

husband and birthing my children and buying a home. Still, even if you didn’t help open the Crow’s Nest on a frantic, frenetic Memorial Day weekend, with no point-of-sales system or real drink list, and even if you did not model the restaurant’s inaugural white overalls, which were the uniform for the first couple of years, you might still — nay, will still — want to hang out there, because it’s a swank, beautiful, sexy restaurant that makes everyone who walks in the door feel good.

Sometimes, restaurants are a measure of ambience, of the physical space beyond all else, and I can’t think of a single restaurant out east that I enjoy spending time in more than the Crow’s Nest. I have spent birthdays at the Crow’s Nest, and regular old Tuesdays.

I have watched the buildings expand over time, still retaining their comfort: batik, wood, candlelight.

Yes, the blue crab claw tagliatelle with breadcrumbs is worth busting open a diet for — but it’s not the reason I’m there. Yes, I could drink more than my share of chilled Beaujolais (they

18 Park Place East Hampton 324-5400 Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner Take Out Orders

Independent/Julie Goldstone, courtesy Crow's Nest

keep it in the low boy). But a run on Beaujolais won’t keep me from the bar, either. Sometimes, a place is more than just a place, it’s a feeling, and a culture.

When a place feels like home, even if it isn’t — well, that’s how you know it’s yours.

Plenty of people will patron the Crow’s Nest this summer, just like every other summer. Some will go once, for a special occasion, and some will be regulars, habitués. That’s the kind of place it is. At sunset, though, once you’ve tossed your shoes off at the top of the hill, glass of wine in hand, and allowed yourself the corporeal joy of bare feet in grass; and once you’ve made it to the slip of beach at the bottom, with the pergolas overlooking Lake Montauk; and once you’ve seen the orangepink ball of summer fire descend into

the water, fragmenting the light, then you understand.

The Crow’s Nest isn’t a place as much as it’s a feeling. It’s a moment in time, and one I keep yearning for, and coming back to, season after season.

As the sky turns inky, and you finish those last washes of purple Beaujolais, and as your tagliatelle disappears, mysteriously, before you, you’ll be lulled into the evening, and when you walk out onto the twinkling lawn, where the fire pits are chugging and the Edison bulbs give way to another perfect starry night, you might wonder why you can’t just stay, just a night longer, just another night, please. Don’t leave, the place seems to call out. And, until September, you don’t have to.

The Crow’s Nest opens for the season on Friday, May 17.

NEW MOON CAFE

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Dining

May 15, 2019

B21

Guest-Worthy Recipe: Tom Perini Perini Ranch Strawberry Shortcake

By Zachary Weiss

Who: Chef Tom Perini

Instagram: @PeriniRanch

Chef Perini’s Guest-Worthy Recipe: Perini Ranch Strawberry Shortcake

Why? “The combination of flaky biscuit and fresh strawberries — made with my great-grandmother’s recipe — you can’t beat it! It’s perfect for summer entertaining and always a crowd pleaser.

Everyone needs a simple but delicious go-to, and this is ours.”

INGREDIENTS: For the Strawberry Shortcake: 2 lbs fresh, ripe strawberries

1/2 c sugar 8 buttermilk biscuits, sweetened to taste 1 c heavy cream For the Buttermilk Biscuits: 2 c flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp salt 3 Tbsp vegetable shortening 1 c buttermilk

DIRECTIONS: For the Strawberry Shortcake: Remove the tops from the strawberries and cut in half. Sprinkle with the sugar and let sit at room temperature until they begin to juice. Put the strawberries and juice in a saucepan, and over very low heat, warm thoroughly until the juice begins to thicken.

Independent/ courtesy Chef Tom Perini

Split the biscuits and scoop strawberries onto biscuit bottoms.

Replace top and cover with another spoonful of strawberries.

Top with heavy cream. Serve and enjoy.

Have a little extra time? You can easily take this dessert to the next level with Perini Ranch’s homemade biscuits. They’re delicious and simple to make.

For the Buttermilk Biscuits: Combine dry ingredients. Add the shortening and mix well with the back of a mixing spoon. Add the buttermilk and mix thoroughly. Roll out dough on a flour board to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into rounds and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 °F for about 10 minutes, or until browned.

Japanese RestauRant and sushi BaR

Fine Dining Specializing in Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Offering Lunch & Dinner Menus and Exotic Cocktails We also have a Tatami Room

Open 7 Days for Lunch & Dinner MEZZI RIGATONI

631-267-7600 40 Montauk Highway Amagansett, NY

B22

The Independent

East Hampton Farmers Market Opening Photos by Richard Lewin East Hampton Town Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez brought the giant scissors and joined Councilwoman Sylvia Overby and market manager Kate Plumb in cutting the ribbon at the Nick & Toni’s parking lot on Friday morning, announcing the opening day of the East Hampton Farmers Market 2019 Season.

E

ASTPORT LIQUORS Monday 9-6,Sunday Tuesday-Thursday Friday• &•Closed Saturday 9-9, 12-6 Open 12pm 6pm onSunday Monday OpenSunday 12pm-9-8, - 6pm Monday 12-7pm

Tastings Every Sat. 3-7 pm

Senior Discount Tuesday

All Cards AllMajor Major Credit Credit Cards & DebitAccepted Cards Accepted

Gift Wrapping LOTTO IN STORE

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1.00 Off 10.00 Purchase $

Not to be combined with other offers.

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2.00 Off 20.00 Purchase $

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15 Eastport Manor Road • Eastport • 325-1388 • Open 9 am (In the Eastport Shopping Center, next to King Kullen)

Dining

May 15, 2019

Paola’s East Opens Memorial Day Weekend

thing out here. Just be a neighborhood restaurant.” Fast forward to today, and Paola is supportive but not physically active in the day-to-day operations.

As gastronomy is moving away from the molecular and back to the basics, Marracino is bringing simple Roman cuisine to East Hampton, “driven by love.”

House-made mozzarella, insalata di barbe, artichoke, the list goes on.

With an existing over 80-percent repeat clientele already existing in New York City, Paola’s East plans to incorporate generational recipes with “a little influence with what’s local and fresh.” Aiming “to improve quality but not completely reinventing. Basic ingredients, simple combinations.”

Marracino grew up with the entire family involved in the restaurant, including his two daughters, but he’s taken the reins and absorbed the pressure. With 45 employees, many of them loyally employed for 20 years, it’s a lot of coordination but the core is respect.

“Right now, it is a pop-up dynamic and everyone has been embracing it.

Because we’re not threatening what’s existing.” The restaurant is currently partnering with a farm in Woodstock, where Marracino takes his turn on the tractor, and plans to incorporate local farms, vineyards, and breweries as the

Takes over the former EMP Summer House space

By Nicole Teitler nicole@indyeastend.com

This summer East Enders will be bidding farewell to the world-renowned EMP Summer House as another Upper East Side classic takes its place.

Paola’s East is set to open Memorial Day Weekend with a one-year lease.

The restaurant will serve classic Italian cuisine.

“The beautiful thing about a

neighborhood restaurant is you stick to those basic motivations,” said owner Stefano Marracino of the existing business model that his mother, Paola Bottero, began 33 years ago. The restaurant started with only 10 tables, 32 seats, and two seating times, “it was the boot camp for making anything else afterwards, better. We wish to do the same

WEEKDAY SPECIALS

B23

months progress to lower the carbon footprint.

“We don’t want to interrupt we want to be involved and to add something,” he stated. A passion for the community drives deep into the heart of this operation, hoping to start cooking classes as well as vocational training and therapy. Food, from eating to cooking, is therapeutic as well as a passion. “To be able to work in a restaurant in this environment, it’s a dream.”

To check out Paola’s in the city, the website is www.paolasrestaurant. com.

“The beautiful thing about a neighborhood restaurant is you stick to those basic motivations.”

— Stefano Marracino 47 Montauk Highway, East Hampton, NY (631) 604-5585 ZokkonEastHampton.com

Featuring all your favorite dishes & items.

The best Japanese food in town!

Finest quality meat at reasonable prices All steaks are hand selected and cut in-house

TUESDAY STEAK NIGHT $19.99 16 oz. Steak All steak dinners come with salad and your choice of potato.

Cliff’s Elbow Too! 1085 Franklinville RoadLaurel, N.Y.

631 298 3262

www.elbowroomli.com

Open for Lunch Monday to Saturday 12:00-3:00pm Open for Dinner 7 Days and come in and try our New Menu Items along with Zokkon Classics

B24

The Independent

Food & Beverage News Compiled by Jessica Mackin-Cipro jessica@indyeastend.com

Brooklyn Chop House

Slow Food East End

After a successful month-long pop-up on the East End last August, Brooklyn Chop House will return to Southampton from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend at The Capri Hotel in Southampton. Robert “Don Pooh” Cummins, Dave Thomas, and Stratis Morfogen are the ownership team behind the restaurant.

This Hamptons seasonal summertime location will complement Brooklyn Chop House’s flagship in FiDi by offering guests a vacation destination to dine in that serves Pat LaFrieda steaks alongside Asian fare like Peking Duck and a variety of unique dumplings. DJs will spin in the restaurant’s lounge on Friday and Saturday nights, in addition to Sunday during Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Labor Day weekends.

Slow Food East End will host its next Community Potluck at the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. The event aims to forge understanding and new relationships with the Shinnecock people and the East End food and agricultural community. Following a wonderful meal of dishes brought by attendees, Shane Weeks, who is a Slow Food board member, artist, educator, and member of the Shinnecock Nation, will provide a presentation. The presentation will focus on the history of the Shinnecock Nation, their sustainability practices, and who they are today.

The event will be held on Sunday, May 19, from 4 to 7 PM at the Shinnecock Community Center in Southampton. Visit www.slowfoodeastend. org to reserve.

Independent/Courtesy Brooklyn Chop House

We’re Back! m

m Join us for Lunch or Dinner

Enjoy Fresh Soft Shell Crabs at the

Modern SNACK BAR

Fresh Stuffed Flounder - Lobster Salad - Prime Rib Roast LI Duck - Sauerbraten - Roast Turkey - Fried Chicken Black Angus Burgers - Great Sandwiches

1

Local Wine & Beer - Classic Cocktails Fresh Baked Pies - Children’ss Menu

Bring the Whole Family!

628 MAIN RD AQUEBOGUE 631-722-3655 A North Fork Landmark Since 1950 www.ModernSnackBar.com

Closed Monday

May 15, 2019

B25

Camps & Recreation East Hampton Sports Camp @ Sportime 631-267-CAMP (2267) www.sportimeny.com/ehsc 320 Abrahams Path, Amagansett East Hampton Sports Camp @ SPORTIME Amagansett offers children between the ages of three and 13 an exciting program of sports and games that includes tennis, baseball, swimming, basketball, soccer, dodgeball, capturethe-flag, and more. Experienced art and music teachers also provide campers with a variety of creative activities, special events, and fun theme days.

The Country School Summer Camp 631-537-2255 www.countryschooleasthampton.org 7 Industrial Road, Wainscott The Country School Summer Camp is for kids ages two-and-a-half through seven.

There is a full range of activities to choose from, including art, music, gymnastics, jewelry making, team sports, swimming, and more. Located on Industrial Road in Wainscott — call for dates and rates.

YMCA East Hampton RECenter 631-329-6884 www.ymcali.org 2 Gingerbread Lane, East Hampton At YMCA Summer Day Camp, children learn leadership skills and develop selfconfidence in a safe, accepting, and stimulating environment. Flexible programs are designed to accommodate all families across Long Island and cater to meet your child’s interests and abilities.

If your child can dream it, they can do it at the YMCA Summer Day Camp. Weekly sessions begin July 1 and run through August 30. YMCA membership is required, and space is limited. Visit the

YMCA’s website for more information.

Summer Camp @ ROSS 631-907-5555 www.ross.org/programs/summercamp 18 Goodfriend Drive, East Hampton Summer Camp @ Ross offers a variety of programs from surfing to sailing, filmmaking to ceramics, and robotics to rock band for campers between the ages of six and 14. Early childhood programming for children six and under includes music and movement, creative exploration, and sports exploration.

The camp’s Majors and Minors programming gives campers the opportunity to explore their two favorite areas.

Weekly sessions begin July 1 and run through August 23.

Camp Blue Bay 631-604-2201 www.gsnc.org/en/camp/CO/camp-blue-

bay.html 103 Flaggy Hole Rd, East Hampton Located on 179 acres in East Hampton, Camp Blue Bay Sleepaway Camp is the perfect place for girls in third to 11th grade to have fun while discovering new things. Camp programs are available for one or two-week sessions or a special four-day mini-session for girls entering first to sixth grades.

Camp Blue Bay offers both Troop House Camping and Outdoor Tent Camping. Throughout the week, girls will enjoy swimming in Gardiners Bay, learn to shoot arrows on the archery course, make new crafts, and roast marshmallows over a campfire.

Other camp activities include boating at Hog Creek, nature, outdoor survival skills, team building, sailing, games, and sports! At Camp Blue Bay, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

B26

The Independent

Summer Reading Club At East Hampton Library

a weeklong summer program for children ages six to 12. Participants will journey back in time to explore Shelter Island’s story through music, art, performance, crafts, gardening, and games. Monday, July 29, through Friday, August 2, 9 AM till noon in the Havens Barn. Registration is now open.

For more information, email info@shelterislandhistorical.org.

631-324-0222 www.easthamptonlibrary.org 159 Main Street, East Hampton Registration for the East Hampton Library’s Summer Reading Clubs, which have the theme, “A Universe of Stories,” begins May 25. This summer, there will be three groups: Read-to-Me Readers (ages two-and-a-half to kindergarten); Independent Readers (entering grades one through five); and Young Teens (entering grades six through eight.)

Prizes will be awarded. The program ends on August 31.

Future Stars Camp 631-287-6707 www.futurestarssouthampton.com Future Stars Camps is offering junior summer camps focusing on multisport, soccer, tennis, basketball, lacrosse, and baseball programs. Future Stars Southampton LLC, which operates the 46,000-square-foot state-ofthe-art indoor complex on Majors Path in North Sea, is an affiliate of Future Stars Tennis, LLC, one of New York’s largest sports management companies.

Time Travelers www.shelterislandhistorical.org The Shelter Island Historical Society hosts

Bulldog Ball Club www.bulldogballclub.com Based at East Hampton High School for the summer, the multisport camp for children six to 14 is now open for registration. Weekly sessions run from June 24 through August 23 and from 9 AM to 3 PM daily. The camp programs are designed to improve children’s knowledge and skills of sports for both beginners and experienced players alike. All children can enjoy sports with the right coaching and approach.

Camp offerings include soccer, flag football, and basketball in the mornings, and baseball or softball in the afternoon.

All coaches are year-round professional youth sports coaches. A drama and art camp takes place from July 8 to August 2, also from 9 AM to 3 PM daily. Transportation is available from Southampton, Bridgehampton, and Water Mill.

SoFo Camp 631-537-9735 www.sofo.org South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton hosts a marine science program each summer. Children will get to explore various marine habitats and the ecology of their fascinating and secretive occupants. Visit SoFo’s website to learn more.

to 15. Activities involve acting, improvisation, movement, voice, and theatrical arts and crafts, and are led by trained theater educators in an atmosphere of discovery and cooperation. Each weeklong session culminates in a performance for family and friends.

Camp Shakespeare is held on the expansive grounds of and in St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Amagansett.

The Art Farm

Camp Invention

631-537-1634 www.theartfarmhamptons.org The Art Farm offers small groups and tailored schedules that meet the desires of each camper to create a unique experience. Campers spend their morning on the water and the afternoon on Art Farm’s organic, sustainable farm in Sagaponack. Mornings are about being active, challenged, informed, and fulfilled while exploring. Afternoons add a chance for creativity, time spent nurturing the animals, teamwork, and fun, always combined with composting, reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Camp Shakespeare 631-267-0105 www.hamptons-shakespeare.org Entering its 20th year, Camp Shakespeare is a fun, creative, and welcoming place for kids and teens ages eight

800-968-4332 www.campinvention.org Camp Invention is where BIG ideas become the next BIG thing! Local educators lead a week of hands-on activities created especially for children entering first to sixth grades. Camp Invention gives boys and girls the opportunity to investigate circuits, disassemble household appliances, and much more.

As they dream, build, and make discoveries, they will have a chance to examine science and technology concepts during team-building exercises.

Camp Invention will be offered at Springs School from July 22 through July 26 from 9 AM to 3:30 PM and at the John Marshall Elementary School in East Hampton from August 12 through 15 from 9 AM to 4 PM. Continued On Page B28.

SUMMER Basketball CAMP WITH THE KNICKS! Registration Open To Boys & Girls, Ages 6-16 10 Sessions Will Run From July 8th – August 30th

To sign up visit KNICKS.COM/CAMP New York . Westchester . Long Island . New Jersey (East Hampton at The Ross School and West Hempstead at Island Garden)

Junior Knicks Summer Camp (East Hampton Ad).indd 1

3/7/19 4:08 PM

Camps & Recreation

May 15, 2019

B27

Join the East Hampton Library’s

Summer Reading Clubs!

Read-to-Me Readers (ages 2 1/2 to kindergarten) Read 20 books to your child.

Independent Readers (entering grades 1-5) Read at least 10 books.

All participants earn prizes along the way!

Young Teens (entering grades 6-8) Read at least 5 books.

Receive a prize for each book you read.

Lego Prizes End of summer drawing for LEGO sets for kids who have successfully finished the Summer Reading Program!

Registration begins May 26th!

After reading the required number of books, kids are eligible to attend a special end-of-the-summer program!

Registration begins May 25th

EAST HAMPTON LIBRARY 159 Main Street | 631-324-0222 | easthamptonlibrary.org Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9 am - 7 pm • Friday & Saturday, 9 am - 5 pm • Sunday, 1 pm - 5 pm

B28

The Independent

East Hampton Indoor Tennis 631-537-8012 www.ehit.club The Davis Cup Tennis Program provides top summer tennis instruction on a daily, weekly, or seasonal basis. Players of all skill levels are welcome to attend and each camper is placed into an appropriate group.

Peconic Dunes 4-H Camp 631-727-7850 ext. 328 www.ccesuffolk.org/peconic-dunes-4-hcamp The Cornell Cooperative Extension sponsors a sleepaway and day camp for youngsters eight through 15. Includes training in outdoor survival, marine science, forest, pond, and woodlands study. Call for more information.

Amaryllis Farm Equine Rescue Pony Tails Compassion Camp 631-537-7335 www.amaryllisfarm.com For the camper who just can’t get enough of the world of horses, have we got a camp for you. Beginning June 24, camps will run Monday through Fri-

OPEN HOU SE SATU RDA Y, MAY 25

day, 9:30 AM to 1 PM, through August 30. Sign up for one week or the whole summer.

Raynor Country Day School 631-288-4658 www.raynorcountrydayschool.org/camp The best gift you can give a child. Kids can enjoy an all-inclusive summer camp offering both indoor and outdoor options. Twelve-acre grounds offer manicured fields, gymnasium, two heated pools, aquatics center, and sports courts designed for various uses. Flexible options include two-day, three-day, and five-day experiences from 9 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday. A mature and experienced staff is on hand. Located in Westhampton Beach.

Buckskill Tennis Club 631-324-2243 www.buckskilltennis.com Located in East Hampton, the Buckskill Tennis Club offers a program to help develop well-rounded tennis players. Instruction is given in form, technique, fitness, and proper tennis etiquette. Buckskill instructors stress the importance of enjoying tennis as “a game for life.”

Summer Camp in the Hamptons EAST HAMPTON

JUL Y 1 – AUGUS T 23 A GE S 2 – 1 4 EARLY CHILDHOOD (Ages 0–6) MAJORS AND MINORS (Ages 6–14) Culinary Arts, Dance, Filmmaking, Gymnastics, Inventor’s Workshop, Pony Club, Sailing, Surfing, Water Adventurers…and more!

COUNSELOR IN TRAINING

REGISTER TODAY! ROSS.ORG/SUMMERCAMP

3 3 3 3 3

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sailing 8 camp Y • Sailing Skills • Boating Safety • Match Racing • Navigation • Terminology • Exploration

• Ages 6-12 • Small Groups • 1:00 - 4:00 pm • 7/1 - 8/30 M-F • Enroll Online • Flexible Scheduling • (631) 725-5100

sailsagharbor.com

May 15, 2019

Real Realty

25

Rocco Lettieri: The Maestro Of The Hamptons Modern p. 27

Independent/Greg Kessler

26 2

The TheIndependent Independent

Deeds

Min Date = 4/1/2019 Max Date =4/7/2019

To advertise on Deeds, contact Dan@Indyeastend.com

Source: Suffolk Research Service, Inc., Hampton Bays, NY 11946

Area

Buy

Sell

AMAGANSETT

Fagan, E & C

Cohn, M

2,750,000

39 Wyandanch Ln

AQUEBOGUE

Miller, L & Mattera,L Dorfman, J

Lipkin, M Acerbo, A & E

499,000 407,000

129 Promenade Dr 486 Peconic Bay Blvd

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Finestone, J & J Picozzi, M Jones, J

Miller, R Mansfield, J Trust Jones, G & J

1,850,000 3,900,000 275,000

18 Bridge Hill Ln 857 Ocean Rd 43 Wildwood Dr

CUTCHOGUE

Ventura Ramirez & Agost

US Bank National As

427,500

510 Mathews Ln

EAST HAMPTON

Picken, J Kudon, J & G Smith, D & Wallace, R Ari-Even, Y & D Portman, B

Dyakovskaya, N Antoneck, R & C Bucciarelli, E & D Oyster Holdings LLC Portman, B by Exr

350,000* 1,312,500 2,300,000 2,275,000 1,700,000

101 Privet Ln 3 White Pine Rd 21 Diane Dr 45 Wireless Rd 24 Sherrill Rd

EAST MARION

Kessler, G & L

Mohrman, T

875,000

2820 Shipyard Ln, #6B

EAST QUOGUE

Willmott, D Trust

Reale Property Group

674,000

8 Oakland Ln

GREENPORT

120 Caiola Ct LLC 1240 Gull Pond LLC Cliffside A203

WSP Inc Clempner, L Trust 61475 Family Realty

275,000* 1,200,000 362,000

120 Caiola Ct 1240 Inlet Ln 61475 CR 48, #A203

HAMPTON BAYS

Mackenzie, A&G Trusts Catalan,C Shay, C Cervini, D 30 Norbury LLC

Jacobi III, T & M Allen, W & Axelson, etal Hardy, J & M Cervini, W Fasanella, M

816,000 425,000 427,900 396,000 320,000

41 Red Cedar Point 11 Shore Rd 16 Harvard Dr 18 Robertson Ln 30 Norbury Rd

JAMESPORT

Marlow Development Ryan, R

Sysol, T by Exrs Sysol, T by Exrs

745,000* 950,000

44 Tuts Ln 36 Tuts Ln

MATTITUCK

Sachs, R Praeger, A

Sobieray, J by Admr Montgomery, L & E

350,000 442,500

260 Sunset Ave 2005 Deep Hole Dr

MONTAUK

Jiao, R

Ruais, R & M

220,000

236 Edgemere St, #406

NEW SUFFOLK

Lynch, D & L

Cantrell, T & E

940,000

2070 & 2125 Grathwohl Rd

QUOGUE

3 Quogue Station LLC

Goodman, R & E

750,000

3 Quogue Station Rd

REMSENBURG

Murphy, P & D

Adler, R & D

1,375,000

7 Club Ln

RIVERHEAD

Lezama, F & R Hartmann, P & J Espana Abzun & Berganza Saavedra, H & D Aguilera, C &Torres, H Ferguson Enterprises

Aube,D & Laureano,E Horstmann, S 40 Oakland Dr LLC Gallo, T Jones, S & Danowski, R & S Richar Corp

320,000 275,000 327,000 425,000 340,000 1,938,870

61 Maple Ave 4106 St Andrews Ave 40 Oakland Dr N 139 Broad Ave 153 Oliver St 940 W Main St & lots 2, 3, 4 & 5

SAGAPONACK

Under The Sky LLC

Halsey, Beach House &

9,500,000

41 Gibson Ln

SAG HARBOR

23 Wickatuck LLC Wood, N Nordquist, D & Culas, S

Jaget, W & Gerulaitis, R Persan, R Guarino C & Timmermann

840,000 1,500,000 1,350,000

23 Wickatuck Dr 179 Wildwood Rd 1610 Noyack Path

SHELTER ISLAND

29 Winthrop RoadRlty

King, J & K

4,000,000

29 Winthrop Rd

SOUTHOLD

Oshan, A & C Lin, J & Wang, J Raices, M & Gould, S

Tate, H Too Many Homes Inc Vitale, G & Brokaw, B

900,000 480,000 612,500

1600 Mt Beulah Ave 470 Mockingbird Ln 605 Highwood Rd

SPEONK

Russo, R & Rogers, C Carey, J & P Min, E

Deutsche Bank Nat Trst Johnson, B & J Gelardi, E & Rausa, M

467,250 250,000 272,000

6 Sherri Ct 220 Montauk Hwy 220 Montauk Hwy

SOUTHAMPTON

Abumohor, F Cargis LLC 20 White Oak Lane Fitzsimons, S Gavalakis, P & P Crosby JMW LLC 99 Sanford Place LLC Wallach, P & B

Kepczynski Kepczynska 1287 North Sea Road Stillman, S & M HSBC Bank USA, NA Koribanick, D Meigel, T by Ref 99 Sanford LLC 21 Old Town Crossing

2,830,000 874,000 1,358,438 502,600 850,000 1,497,400 1,900,000 5,000,000

715 Seven Ponds Towd Rd 1287 North Sea Rd 20 White Oak Ln 205 Sebonac Rd 65 Shinnecock Hills Rd 51 Blackwatch Ct 99 Sandford Pl 21 Old Town Crossing

WADING RIVER

Palmer, R & T Brigante III & Sanzari 94 Joan LLC

Morris Family Trust XTS Properties LLC Deutsche Bank Nat

417,500 382,000 290,000

41 Sunset Blvd 21 Cross Rd 74 19th St

WESTHAMPTON

Benedetto, J & C

Solow, S & B

650,000

34 Montauk Hwy, Unit 18

WESTHAMPTON BEACH

Solow, S & B Le Trois, LLC

Braat, K Ginsberg & Feshbach

1,595,000 2,800,000

31 Bridle Path 482 Dune Rd

CALVERTON

* Vacant Land

Price

Location

Real Realty

May 15, 2019

27 3

Rocco Lettieri: The Maestro Of The Hamptons Modern As a leader in the community, Lettieri is known as an expert of the ins and outs that are unique to the East End’s landscape, particularly for modern building. He lends his high-end aesthetic from years of traditional building to his now more complex building of modern masterpieces; executing his clients’ visions with his decades of experience, leading to a relationship of trust and eye-popping results. We caught up with Lettieri to learn more about his vision for his own brand of Hamptons building.

You’re a lifelong East End resident. Can you tell us about what that was like for you?

It was great! I love it out here and couldn’t imagine a better place to have grown up. The older I get, the more I appreciate everything the area has to offer. Unlike a good portion of the people that have been out here their whole life I also appreciate the growth in the area. There’s a sense of pride in living full-time in an area most people only hope to visit, and that influence has also given us the ability to enjoy things like restaurants and wineries year-round now.

My referrals come both from my personal client network and the architects I work closely with. I enjoy both scenarios because with the homeowners is a personal connection.

I work very closely with my clients and enjoy bringing their vision to life.

With architects, there is a professional collaboration where we can work together to push the limits of what is possible, which I find really exciting.

Who are some of your favorite architects to work with?

I have had the opportunity to work with the best architects throughout the East End, New York City, and the tri-state area. There is such a concentration of architecture talent working on the East End, which is exciting as a builder.

I really enjoy collaborating with the range of amazing architects across their different styles.

Who are some of your favorite interior designers to work with?

My favorite interior designers are those who take a house we build and make it a home for our clients.

Your work is stunning. How did you become a builder?

Do you have a favorite East End area to build on?

Thank you, I really appreciate that, as the quality of my work is so important to me. My father was a builder and through the family business I learned to appreciate a beautiful aesthetic and developed an interest in architecture.

Naturally I got my start working for my family, but I went out on my own pretty early. Once I started developing projects I created my own company and have been working independently ever since.

My favorite properties to develop are waterfront properties, and there is so much unique waterfront throughout the East End. It’s that excitement of walking out to the water and having the experience of being in the Hamptons.

So for me it’s not one specific place on the East End, but rather achieving that dramatic feeling through our projects.

Do you ever spec build?

I mostly focus on custom homes for my clients, but I will occasionally build a spec house when it’s the right opportunity. I am currently working on a spec project, an oceanfront modern in Bridgehampton with a rooftop pool. It’s pretty incredible.

Do you generally work for the homeowner or do you find yourself bidding on architect projects?

Your finishes are beautiful.

Is your aesthetic part of the design process or do you work with a team to determine best finishes and millwork design?

Thank you. I have been doing this for a very long time, most of my life, and at the start of my career all of the homes we were building were very traditional, finished with complex millwork. So I spent years learning that craft and to this day I am personally very involved in all of the finishes and millwork design on my projects. What is interesting is how much that experience has

Independent/Greg Kessler

informed my work in modern homes, which are now nearly 100 percent of my projects.

With modern, there a fewer details, so those details actually become more important and more complex. I took everything I learned and honed working on traditional homes and use that to take modern homes to the next level. We are now coming up with new finishes for modern homes, often doing things for the first time, to create new custom details.

Are you personally at the sites daily? Can you tell us about your team?

Yes, I am a very hands-on builder. I am the owner and operator of my business and I am responsible for everything that happens on my job sites. I am there on a daily basis and that’s what separates me. Where I gain respect from my clients is that I treat their projects like they are my own home.

How do you incorporate green building into your work?

I have been pushing toward more green building practices for over a decade.

Back in 2007 I worked to develop a project on a renewable energy farm that incorporated solar, wind, and geothermal, but unfortunately it never came to fruition. Through that experience I became very well-versed in green building and always work to educate my clients on these options and incorporate them into our projects.

expression through architecture.

Projects are pushing the limits of structure, engineering, renewable energy, materials, and finishes to taking everything to the next level. It’s exciting.

You build in NYC as well as on the East End. Do you have an office there? How do architects and homeowners find you?

I do projects in NYC, mostly for other developers, helping them with their residential projects. I will go into NYC as an owner’s representative, looking out for the developer’s and/or owner’s best interest, my work in NYC is all referral-based.

What do you do for fun when you’re not building these beautiful homes?

My wife Colette and two young daughters, Lexi and Sloane, keep me busy and entertained. In the winter we ski in Vermont and in the summer we swim and take our boat out. I love to build, so I work on car projects too. I recently restored a 1984 Land Rover Defender and a Mercedes Benz Unimog, those are my passion projects.

Anything to add?

Have you noticed any trends in building that you’re excited about?

The East End is a fun place to build and live. The combination of the people, the landscape, and the possibilities make it a really compelling place to do this work. I am proud of my relationships and projects in this area, which I have cultivated over several decades. Thank you for giving me a chance to speak about it.

The biggest trend is the rebirth of architecture in the Hamptons. We are seeing creative and personal

To reach Lettieri or inquire about his work, call 288.4636 or visit www. roccolettieri.com.

28

The Independent

Real Estate News Brinkley sells North Haven bayfront house

By Rick Murphy rmurphy@indyeastend.com

Several sources are reporting Christie Brinkley has sold her historic bayfront home located just steps from the Sag Harbor/North Haven Bridge.

She originally put the house on the market in 2016, asking close to $25 million. It’s allure is unmistakable: fourplus acres of prime bayfront including

327 feet of private beach and an 1843 Colonial with period pieces galore. Of course there is a pool. The address is 1 Fahys Road, named after the family that owned of the old watchcase factory in Sag Harbor.

According to Newsday the asking price has come down in the last year or

South Fork News Compiled by Genevieve M. Kotz gmkotz@indyeastend.com

Trail Hikes The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society will hold a “Fresh Pond Loop” hike on Saturday, May 18, at 10 AM.

The five-to-six-mile hike will begin at Fresh Pond Park in Amagansett and will follow the Paumanok Path, the Bell Estate, and Barnes Landing and conclude along the beach back to

so. The listing agent was Enzo Morabito of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

The purchase price and buyer’s name have yet to be revealed, but the sale price was “close to” the $17.99-million asking price.

It could be the beginning of a lucrative summer for the supermodel -she listed her estate in Bridgehampton, known as Tower Hill, for $29.5 million.

Named for the century-old observation tower that was built as part of the main house in 1891, Tower Hill is sited on more than 20 private open and wooded acres, the three-story traditional main house has six bedrooms and five-and-a-half baths, while the guest house and artist’s studio add another two bedrooms and two baths totaling over 11,000 square feet of living space. the starting point. Valerie King and David Jones will lead the hike.

The society will also hold a Shelter Island Bike Ride on May 18 at 10 AM. The 20-mile route will follow the less-travelled roads of Shelter Island.

Bikers can meet in North Haven at the South Ferry Terminal. Lois Peltz and Jerry Brown will lead the ride. There will also be two concurrent hikes in Montauk on May 25 at 10 AM.

An Amsterdam Beach hike will

Independent/Rob Rich/www.SocietyAllure.com

be 2.5 miles and will begin at the trailhead across from Deep Hollow Ranch.

Aggie Cindrich will lead the hike.

The Hither Hills hike will be six to seven miles with plenty of water views. Participants have been asked to bring a snack and plenty of water. Hikers will meet at the Hither Hills West Overlook in Montauk. For more information, about any of these events, visit www.ehtps.org.

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News & Opinion

May 15, 2019

Asleep At The Wheel

A man taking a snooze in parked car was packing cocaine, police say.

Southold Town Police said the smell of marijuana prompted them to approach a car parked on Oregon Road in Cutchogue on Saturday, May 4. They said they found Nicholas DiSalvo, 26, of Riverhead peacefully asleep in the vehicle.

He was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana; but police said they also found a quantity of co-

caine as well. That led to a possession charge and a trip to court on a future date, DiSalvo posted $100 bail.

A Greenport man reported around 3:39 AM on May 6 that a man in a hooded sweatshirt was on the front porch of his home. Police arrived to the scene and found another Greenport man, intoxicated and sleeping on the porch. They escorted him to his nearby residence.

with Schneiderman’s approach to the issue, saying notifying homeowners is “the right thing to do.”

“The information flow, continuously, good or bad, is important,” Preston Scalera said.

“I think it’s important too” added Councilwoman Julie Lofstad, a Hampton Bays resident.

Kappers said because the iron and manganese were washed out of the column, it went back into the aquifer and remains suspended at the top, saying it may take a while to flush out all the excess still built up on pipes.

“Since the new filter [on the wellheads] the numbers have continued to drop,” McCuen said. “The well was running at such a deficiency for all these years.”

Schneiderman said it was important to see if the levels continue to drop since the flushing before deciding a course of action.

In well field one, the level of perflourinated compounds (perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA) is 179 parts per trillion, above the EPA-issued health advisory limit of 70 parts per trillion for long-term exposure, but not detected once the water passes

through the granular activated carbon, or GAC filter. The compounds can cause liver, pancreatic, testicular, and mammary gland tumors, kidney damage, and reproductive problems.

“That bad news it’s in the groundwater there, but the good news is we’re taking it out,” Schneiderman said. “The GAC filter Is pulling it completely out. Completely. The water that’s being provided is free of these substances.”

The district will soon be submitting its mandated 30 samples from across the district, doing 10 a month across 30 houses, to review lead and pH levels.

Schneiderman said because he feels there’s still a lot of concern throughout the community, he’d like to, on top of the yearly requirement to send a report to homeowners, have community meetings similar to the forums held at Hampton Bays High School at the end of last year when the idea of handing over management of the district to the Suffolk County Water Authority was discussed.

“We can lay out the problems we’re having, what we’re doing now, and our plans for the future,” Kappers said.

Updates on lab test results are also available on the town’s website, along with any news and other information and water reports.

“Last year’s problem might have been a double-edged sword,” McCuen said. “Out of all bad things come some good things. I think we more or less reversed the flow of the entire district by not having that well field operating.

The most demand is in the center of town, and it drew all that stuff in. By doing that, you could say it cleaned out the mains better.”

McCuen said he’d like to continue flushing twice a year, picking up more iron from the pipes.

“We as a board and water district have come a long way, in both knowledge and treatment,” Schneiderman said. “We now understand a lot more about the emerging contaminants, which pumps are having issues, so I appreciate the back-andforth communication we’ve had, we want to be kept in the loop, give the public more information so it’s on everybody’s radar.”

Notices will be sent to homeowners once a date and time is scheduled for the first meeting, most likely to be held at the Hampton Bays Senior Center.

free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.longpondgreenbelt.org.

bage cleanup, and creating children’s sports areas.

For more information, visit www. y m c a l i . o r g /n e w s /e a s t - h a m p to n cares-day-2019.

Alcalde will give a talk about stopping spam calls on Thursday, May 16, at 5:30 PM.

Driver charged with coke possession

By Rick Murphy rmurphy@indyeastend.com

Cleaner Water Continued From Page 16.

McCuen said the water district will make 4-2 the last running well and first off, to be used on an as-needed basis.

In the interim, polyphosphate and orthophosphate are being used to capture the iron in solution, so it isn’t visible. It’s safe to consume, but does not lower the levels of iron in the water.

If the wells are run at full capacity this summer, Jason Hime of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services said the district will receive a tier three violation, which means a letter will need to be sent to homeowners outlining the issue.

“My phone is going to be ringing off the hook,” Schneiderman said. “I’ll have people asking: ‘Is my water safe to drink?’”

He asked maintenance crew leader James Kappers about seeking a variance from the health department.

Kappers said the town can ask for it if it feels it needs it, to avoid having to send out a letter.

Councilwomen Christine Preston Scalera and John Bouvier disagreed

South Fork News

Continued From Previous Page.

Greenbelt Talk Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton will continue the Sunday at Two series with a talk by Nicole Kinlock on Sunday, May 19, at 2 PM. Kinlock, a doctoral candidate at Stony Brook University in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, will talk about her research on plant interactions in invaded plant communities and the natural history of the invasive plants she studies, including multiflora rose, Japanese barberry, and autumn olive. The talk will also focus on why certain species become invasive and whether communities will be different in the long-term because of them.

Refreshments will be served at the event. Sunday at Two events are

National Beach Safety Week The East Hampton Volunteer Ocean Rescue will offer free water safety and hands-only CPR training on June 1 from 11 AM to 12:30 PM at the East Hampton Library.

National Beach Safety Week will start on May 20 to remind citizens of the need to be safe while in and near water. For further info, visit www.ehvor.org.

East Hampton Cares Day

The East Hampton YMCA will host “East Hampton Cares Day” on Saturday, May 18, from 9 AM to 1 PM.

The event, which is held in memory of Harvey Horowitz, will feature YMCA and neighborhood beautification projects, including gardening, landscaping, painting, repairs, gar-

National Public Gardens Day The LongHouse Reserve along with Bridge Gardens and the Madoo Conservancy will participate in National Public Gardens Day on Friday, May 17, from 10 AM to 5 PM, with a free, onehour guided tour of the LongHouse grounds at 2 PM. Holger Winenga, LongHouses’s new horticulturalist, will lead the tour. Reservations are required. For more information or to reserve a place, contact events@longhouse.org.

At Rogers Memorial Library The Rogers Memorial Library’s Reference and Technology Librarian Steve

29

The library will offer a discus-

sion moderated by Martin Levinson, Ph.D. on regional disorder in the Middle East as part of the monthly “Great Decisions 2019” series, produced by the Foreign Policy Association, on May 20 at 11:30 AM at Cooper Hall.

Certified dog trainer Gail Murphy will talk about how to interpret canine body language and recognize signs of happiness, stress, conflict, and aggression at the library on May 20 at 5:30 PM.

Eileen M. Duffy, author of “Behind the Bottle: The Rise of Wine on Long Island,” will give a talk on the secret history of wine on May 22 at 12 PM.

Register for the events at www. myrml.org.

30

The Independent

North Fork THE

1826

Furry And Fashionable Shelter pets hit the runway in Cutchogue

By Gianna Volpe gianna@indyeastend.com

Grab your kids, your wallet, and your well-behaved pet because your family and furry, as well as feathered, friends are all invited to attend this weekend’s season kick-off event raising awareness for homeless animals seeking forever homes on the East End.

On May 18, the North Fork Animal Welfare League will hold its first annual Furry Fashion Show from noon until 4 PM at private estate gardens in Cutchogue. NFAWL is inviting all wellbehaved pet-friendly animals to be in the audience for the fashion show while runway-ready pets strut their stuff for awards and prizes in categories such as creativity, pet-person look-alike, and most flamboyant costume, all while humans participate in a luncheon with ice cream, pet-themed vendors, and a Chinese auction with items from local wineries, cafes, and shops, as well as works of art donated by the Old Town Arts & Crafts Guild in Cutchogue.

And it won’t just be dogs hitting the runway either. The show is open to all types of socialized animals, including miniature horses, donkeys, and

possibly a parrot or two. “We’re looking forward to a really fun day for everyone — whether they’re watching or participating in the show,” said NFAWL’s executive director Gillian Wood Pultz.

“We’ve invited our volunteers to walk NFAWL’s rescue dogs to help promote adoptions, and we reached out to our East End animal shelter partners to invite them to be part of the show to expand their adoptable animals’ exposure, further promoting the concept of adoption as the best way to get a companion animal.”

A sustainable event, the Furry Fashion Show will feature non-plastic recyclable materials, as well as one very important item in all attendee goodie bags that will help reduce the number of unwanted animals that are born in the region; all who attend will receive a free spay/neuter voucher from NFAWL. Feeding homeless animals is second to spaying and neutering them, as domesticated animals born in the wild often succumb to starvation and predation, as well as add to the area’s number of unwanted pets.

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NFAWL kennel manager Gina Lepine with possible runway model Tigger, a Pomeranian Sheltie mix from Riverhead Animal Shelter. Independent/Gianna Volpe

“It’s all about keeping our eye on the prize and the prize is no more homeless pets,” said NFAWL’s manager of development, Denise LeBeau, who added funds raised at the season kickoff event will help purchase pet food and other needed items, bring Riverhead’s new shelter up to code, as well as benefit shelter programming like the safe keep program.

“If someone loses their home or something happens where the people can’t keep their dog or cat for a certain amount of time, the League will take in the animal and give it shelter without any cost to the owner,” said LeB-

eau, who credits such programming to Wood Pultz, whom she called a “next level animal-welfare visionary.”

At press time, Wood Pultz was in Puerto Rico after teaming up with Kent Animal Shelter, the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, and the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons to save homeless dogs from the streets of Puerto Rico.

The first annual Furry Fashion show takes place at 26850 Main Road from noon until 4 PM on Saturday, May 18. Tickets on Eventbrite cost $50 for adults, $25 for children ages five to 15, and is free for kids under five.

Shelter Tails Adopt a Shelter Pet Bring your new best friend home!!

Pet of the Week: Hazel

Hazel is a sweet girl who was surrendered to our shelter after experiencing a leg injury. Her family wasn’t able to care for her, so we took her in and she was able to receive the surgery she needed. This sweet girl is good with kids of all ages and also enjoys being around other dogs. She would prefer a home without cats. Hazel just wants a comfortable home to relax in. Hazel is a sweetheart who deserves to get out of the shelter to finish up the healing process. Stop by to meet this angel!

Please call 728-PETS(7387) or visit our website at

www.southamptonanimalshelter.com.

May 15, 2019

North Fork News Compiled By Genevieve M. Kotz gmkotz@indyeastend.com

31

East End Arts East End Arts is currently accepting artists, artisans, craft vendors, and street painting artists for the 23rd annual Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival in Riverhead on May 26.

Those interested in participating can register by May 17.

For more information, visit www. eastendarts.org.

Peacemakers Award

Mattituck-Laurel Library The Mattituck-Laurel Library Board of Trustees will meet on Tuesday, May 21, at 6 PM. The event is open to the public.

The library will also offer health insurance counseling for seniors and other Medicare-eligible persons on May 21 from 1:30 to 3 PM. Sponsored by the Suffolk County Office for the Aging, the counseling is free. Call the circulation desk for an appointment.

The library will present “Kayaking Long Island” with Kevin Stiegelmaier, the author of “Paddling Long Island,” on Wednesday, May 22, at 6 PM. Stiegelmaier will review the gear you need, basic paddling techniques, safety, and the best places on Long Island to kayak. The event is free.

Register at the circulation desk. www. mattitucklaurellibrary.org.

Pool Opens Suffolk Community College’s Health & Wellness Center at the Riverhead campus was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, May 10.

The facility’s pool, one of the first public pools available to East End residents, is eight lanes, 25 yards,

and built for sanctioned competitive swimming and diving.

The nearly $22 million, 40,000-square-foot building features an 11,500-square-foot gymnasium, six backboards, a divider, an indoor track, and striping for basketball, volleyball, and badminton.

The new complex will complete the 192-acre Eastern campus near downtown Riverhead. The campus has never had any indoor facilities for physical education. To find out more, visit www.sunysuffolk.edu/for-thecommunity/health-club-east.

Drawn from Nature Class The Old Town Arts & Crafts Guild in Cutchogue will hold “Drawn from Nature,” a four-session drawing class taught by Lee Harned on May 21, May 28, June 4, and June 11 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM.

The class will focus on value, shading, textural techniques, and drawing from direct observation. Prepaid registration is $75 for all four sessions. A single session walk-in is $25 per session. Attendees are asked to bring a number 2 pencil, a 9x12 or 11x14 sketchpad, and an eraser.

To register, visit www.oldtownartsguild.org.

The Riverhead Peacemakers will receive the “United for Kindness” award from PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center on May 22.

The Riverhead Peacemakers are a fourth grade student-led anti-bullying movement started by Morgan Dunn, now in ninth grade, when she was at Roanoke Avenue Elementary School.

The Peacemakers in both schools meet with Shannon Kutner, Riverhead Community Awareness Program’s elementary school social worker, during recess to discuss ways to prevent and reduce bullying in their schools. In January, the students assisted their schools by organizing student and staff participation in the Great Kindness Challenge, as well as other activities.

Flower Power Runway Show New York City fashion designer Alex Vinash will premiere his new Resort Collection at the “Flower Power” Runway Show, which will benefit Community Action Southold Town, at the Greenport American Legion on May 26 at 5:30 PM.

An after-party and fashion boutique will be held at American Beech in Stirling Square in Greenport.

The event will also feature paintings on loan from Anne Sherwood Pundyk, an artist based in New York City and Mattituck, and feature local vendors, including the Times Vintage,

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jonathan G. Hellermann. Independent/US Air Force

the Weathered Barn, Lido, and more.

Ticket prices range from $15 to $50. To purchase them, visit castsoutholdtown.org or call 631-4771717.

U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jonathan G. Hellermann graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio, TX.

The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Hellermann is the son of Lisa and Glenn Hellermann of Mattituck.

He is a 2013 graduate of Mattituck Junior/Senior High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 from Regent University in Virginia.

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32

The Independent

A Walk Down Memory Lane With Barbara Johnson Her motto is: ‘And by your children you are taught’

By Valerie Bando-Meinken valerie@indyeastend.com

Above: Three generations, Lily and Kelly Johnson Kunzeman, and Barbara Johnson.

Top right: The Hess family.

Bottom left: Barbara Johnson.

Photos: Courtesy Barbara Johnson

Feature

“M

May 15, 2019

33

y whole life has been children. I had a nursery school for 16 years and those were the best years of my life,”

said Barbara Johnson.

“I lived on Ocean Avenue, and when I began to look at the wonderful huge rooms that I had in my house that were dormant over the winter, I decided to open a nursery school in my home. I started with eight children and before long, I had 57 between the ages of three and six. It became known as The Blackberry Nursery School,” she said.

“The school was actually named by my son, Eric.

The children were outside playing and they found wild blackberries. When I came out to see what the commotion was about, I was somewhat shocked. Eric’s face and clothing were blue. He was covered with the juice from eating the blackberries. I had to put him in the shower to clean him up! He was such a mess!” recalled Johnson. “He was so excited about the blackberries that he told me I should call the whole place, the house and school, ‘The Blackberry.’ I told him it was a wonderful name, and the rest is history,” she added with a smile.

Johnson also had four children of her own: Charles, Christopher, Eric, and Kelly.

“I also ran a bed and breakfast. There were 13 bedrooms in the house, so I rented out nine of them to people who would come out for the summer. It was another happy time in my life. I enjoyed the guests and spending time with my children, our four dogs, and my mother and father.”

Before she started the Blackberry Nursery School, she worked at the Neighborhood House for five years. After The Neighborhood House, and with a degree in child psychology, theater, and teaching, Johnson had a nursery school at Ashawagh Hall for two years.

“My mother was June Hess Kelly and was an only child. She was a soprano and performed “Aida” and “Tosca” at the Metropolitan Opera. My grandfather was Harry Bellas Hess. He was married to Mabel Bingham Hess,” she recalled. “They lived in

Huntington at ‘The Cedars,’ and he was the founder of the National Bellas Hess Company,” said Johnson.

Based in Greenwich Village, it was a direct-to-consumer catalog retailer.

The family home, Shore Quarters, was on Jeffreys Lane in East Hampton. “I have many family stories I could tell,” Johnson said, “but I especially remember the one about my grandfather Aquin Sarsfield Kelly. He was originally born in Ireland and came to the United States and had a brilliant career as a doctor for many years. In May of 1937, he was driving home from Manhattan and saw the Hindenburg crash into the middle of a field. He pulled his car over and grabbed his doctor bag and ran across the field and was there for two hours helping people, and he followed many of them to the hospital. He said he did what he had to do. He was kind,” Johnson said proudly.

In 1953, Johnson married Robert Schenck. Soon afterwards he was placed into military service and was sent to Korea to fight in the war. He was gone for three years. During his absence, Johnson went to work at the St. Barnabas House in the Bowery, working with children who were orphaned or abandoned, until her husband returned from the war. After her marriage to Schenck, she married Christian Johnson, a local troubadour and the first broadcaster on WLNG’s “Swap and Shop” show many years ago.

“I love to act,” Johnson revealed. “I worked for many years in the summers at Guild Hall. I also did three summers in Maine at The Ogunquit Playhouse.

I’ve worked alongside Hugh King in the Community Theater and did theater in Bridgehampton as well. I also did stage managing. My favorite play was ‘The Little Foxes,’” recalled Johnson. “It was a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman.”

Now living in a historic home built in 1783 as the Riding Club, Johnson is surrounded with many family heirlooms, including a dining room table handmade by her father, a self-made woodworker.

The floorboards in her home were acquired from wood that had washed up on shore from shipwrecks.

“During those times, the men would go down to the beach and collect the wood that washed up and use it to build their homes,” said Johnson. “The floors

in this house belonged to a ship that probably sank in a storm.”

Born in New York City in 1933, Johnson is the

“I lived on Ocean Avenue, and when I began to look at the wonderful huge rooms that I had in my house that were dormant over the winter, I decided to open a nursery school in my home.

I started with eight children and before long, I had 57 between the ages of three and six.” oldest of five children. “I have three sisters, Maureen, Carolyn, and Linda and one brother, Tommy,” Johnson said. “I’ve had a marvelous life and loved almost every moment of it! I now have 12 grandchildren. As I said before, I’ve always been surrounded by children.

They’ve been my life. I have a motto. It comes from a poem but it’s something I’ve always lived by: ‘And by your children you are taught.’ You can learn so much from children if you just listen.”

34

The Independent

Strictly Business

By Bridget LeRoy bridget@indyeastend.com

Hemp For Hamptons Water Mill will be getting its own hemp-wellness destination when 7 Leaf Clover opens, bringing highquality CBD and hemp products to the Hamptons.

Local entrepreneur Jennifer Babaian, founder and CEO of 7 Leaf Clover, is opening the retail store, her third, on May 24.

“We have a thriving CBD market but sadly, the industry’s lack of transparency makes it difficult to find reputable distributors who sell quality CBD products,” Babaian said in a statement.

Babaian has built a name for herself in the short time CBD has risen in popularity in New York and across the nation, with locations in Westbury and Williamsburg, NY. Babaian and her family have owned and operated a group of health food stores in New York that have sold organic food and supplements since the 1970s — when it was both groundbreaking and controversial to sell organic foods and vitamins.

FinalStraw As Southampton bids adieu to plastic straws, people who are looking for a way to suck down their Slurpees have

Town Line Beach Clean-up Photo by Justin Meinken The children of the Wainscott and Sagaponack schools gathered at Town Line Beach on May 7 under sunny skies, intent on cleaning their local beach and restoring the beach grass along the dunes. Supervised by their teachers, the children raced along the beach gathering any visible debris into garbage bags. Once satisfied that they had not missed anything, the children set upon their next task, planting beach grass to help restore the health of the dunes. The children learned that the beach grass helps to hold the dunes in place, providing a healthy environment for both surrounding wildlife and the beach itself.

been left wondering what alternatives are available. Well, now there’s FinalStraw, “the world’s first reusable, collapsible, totally badass straw,” according to the company’s press release.

In the past six months, FinalStraw has delivered more than 250,000 straws and prevented 36,000,000 plastic straws from entering the environment. “During that time,” the company stated, “we received a lot of customer feedback about the product, and when our suckers speak, we listen. The result?

FinalStraw 2.0.”

The new product fits in a small, keychain-sized carrying case and comes with a telescoping cleaning brush. It’s still the length of a standard straw and is made of the same stainless steel and food grade silicone as the original FinalStraw. To find out more, visit www.FinalStraw.com.

B+F Clean Up At Ad Awards blumenfeld + fleming, with worldwide headquarters in Montauk, has won seven platinum and nine gold Hermes awards. Over the past 16 years, the firm has won over 300 awards for ad cam-

Lynn Blumenfeld and Jill Fleming of Montauk. Independent/Eric Striffler

paigns, radio and newspaper and magazine ads, websites, logos, and more.

Platinum awards were received for: Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s Electrophysiology Lab (print, radio) and a video to promote the Phillips Family Cancer Center, Hanover Bank (outdoor billboard), the East Hampton Food Pantry (pro bono poster), an advertising campaign for South Fork Peak Savers, and public relations for Adam Miller Group.

Gold awards were received for: a print ad for the East Hampton Cham-

ber of Commerce, a BMW of Southampton magazine ad, a newspaper ad and in-bank video for Hanover Bank, South Fork Peak Savers print and radio ads, and public relations/media relations for LaGuardia Design and Landscape Details.

The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals.

b+f was founded by Jill Fleming and Lynn Blumenfeld, two Madison Avenue escapees, in 2002. For more information, visit www.bplusf.com.

May 15, 2019

35

Sports DeGroot Challenges No. 2 Seed Bridgehampton senior comes up short in Suffolk County quarterfinals

By Desirée Keegan desiree@indyeastend.com

Bridgehampton senior Jonny DeGroot fell to No. 2 seeded Alan Sabovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Independent/Desiree Keegan

Bridgehampton senior Jonny DeGroot knows he can dominate, and after a three-set Suffolk County quarterfinals loss to No. 2 Connetquot’s Alan Sabovic, he’s hungry for more.

DeGroot, the No. 10 seed, began the individual tournament Friday with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Mt. Sinai’s Juan Perez, and took out No. 7 PatchogueMedford’s Evan Rupolo 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Saturday morning, he fell to Sabovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

“Luckily, I had a chance to see the No. 2 seed play, and thought my game matched up fairly well against him,” DeGroot said. “It was definitely a disappointing match, but my opponent played well.”

DeGroot said because Sabovic hits a flatter ball than most, it makes passing shots more difficult, which was actually an advantage for him.

“My strategy going into the match was to force him to make passing shots off low balls to his backhand,” the senior said. “He ended up being much more precise on his groundstrokes than we had anticipated, and, though I had a lot of missed opportunities with volleys, he still did a good job making tough passing shots.”

The Bridgehampton senior’s approach shots were on, but his volleys often soared out of bounds, and Sabovic had the uncanny ability of placing

the ball just inside the lines when he needed to. In the decisive third, DeGroot showed the supremacy of his serve most players fear, winning a game that brought him 5-3 on three straight aces.

“My serve was very streaky,” DeGroot said. “Overall it was too inconsistent.”

What head coach Kevin McConville liked most was how his No. 1 singles player has developed and trusted in his game plan as the season progressed, saying just his execution needs to be fine-tuned. DeGroot has grown from occasionally serving and volleying and playing baseline tennis when returning, to serving and volleying on almost every point, and chip charging the net on both the first and second serve on almost all his return points.

“He applies pressure throughout and forces his opponent to come up with passing shots under pressure throughout the entire match regardless of the outcome,” McConville said.

“That style requires courage and persistence, and Jonny exhibits both.”

His teammates, No. 11 doubles duo Jaedon Glasstein and Alex Weseley, were knocked out in the first round

by No. 6 Miller Place’s Matt Molinaro and Landon Agic, 7-5, 6-3. The pair play a high-risk set of doubles, hitting big Continued On Page 46.

36

The Independent

Clockwise from above: Hampton Bays junior pitcher Emily Peyton tossed two complete games, racking up five strikeouts a game to help her team earn a postseason berth; Thomas Gabriele went 6-for-6 with three home runs and Gabe Comacho pitched a perfect game while striking out six in Southampton's shutout of Southold. Independent/Desirée Keegan

Camacho Fires No-Hitter Southampton pitcher strikes out six, Gabriele goes 6-for-6 with three HRs

By Desirée Keegan desiree@indyeastend.com

Camacho said. “In my previous starts, errors had been the difference between us winning and losing, so I’m glad that they could back me up in the field. I made sure to keep changing the pace of the game between pitches, and keeping the hitters off balance by using all of my pitches.”

The win lifts Southampton (12-5 overall, 10-5 in League VII) over Babylon for third in the standings behind Mattituck (12-5, 11-4) and unbeaten Center Moriches (15-0, 15-0) whom the Mariners wrap up the season with.

Hampton Bays Secures Playoff Spot

Southampton junior pitcher Gabe Camacho struck out six and walked two in a 15-0 no-hitter victory over Southold May 9.

The Mariners’ third straight win was a complete game and team effort.

The defense backed up their pitcher when he needed it, and the offense, led

by Thomas Gabriele’s 6-for-6 showing with three home runs and seven RBI, and Matt Chilicki’s 4-for-6 day with three doubles and five RBI, was firing on all cylinders.

“It was really exhilarating and it happened so fast that at first I didn’t really comprehend what happened,” Camacho said. “It’s really awesome to see your whole team be so excited.”

Camacho said it was important for him to be mentally prepared, adding he’d been working on his curveball and knuckle curveball and had good command of his pitches against Southold.

“I think a big difference in this game versus some of our other games is that my team made plays behind me,”

Emily Peyton pushed Hampton Bays across the finish line. The junior pitched two complete games and her team did what it needed to by winning the last two games of the season to secure a playoff spot.

In an 8-4 win over Southampton May 8, Peyton struck out five and walked six over seven innings. Tara Brochu went 4-for-4 with two RBI, two runs, a double, and a triple, and Pam Grajales was 3-for-4 with a run scored.

Peyton left it all out on the diamond once more when she struck out another five batters and walked five in a postseason-clinching 16-0 shutout of

Southold/Greenport May 9. And so did her teammates in the statement win.

Brochu went 2-for-3 with three runs, two RBI, and a walk to lead Hampton Bays (7-9 overall, 7-7 in League VI).

Elle Dunkirk finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, a run scored, and a walk.

Sports

May 15, 2019

37

INDY FIT

By Nicole Teitler

Essential Oil Basics Marders workshop with Sarah Shepherd @nikkionthedaily nicole@indyeastend.com

A few months ago someone gave me lavender essential oil, which has been proven to reduce stress. Each morning I open the top of this small bottle, inhale, exhale, and go about my day. When I additionally received an at-home mud mask, I instinctively poured a few drops of the oil into the mix and have been applying it to my face, on average, two times a week. I just figured the calming feeling would transfer to my face, I had no idea that doing so could benefit my skin — a fact I only recently became aware of.

I was like so many novices in that lavender was the only essential oil I knew.

Apparently there are over 90, which means I barely inhaled the surface. When I discovered Shelter Island resident Sarah Shepherd was doing an herbal workshop at Marders in Bridgehampton on how to make essential oil perfumes, my interest was piqued.

Shepherd’s magical energy guided me through an informative and interactive class in Marders’ fairly new greenhouse. The sun warmed the room as aromatic oils filled my olfactory senses. By the end of the class, I had created my own, unique compound of an essential oil from a brand called Serene Living. I created it for my mother; eucalyptus, tea tree, Stress Gone, grapefruit, and Tension Release. Additionally, I mixed roughly 15 drops of this oil compound into a perfume mixed with a sunflower seed carrier oil, and a body spray mixed with rose water. I cannot say enough good things about this workshop. As a woman with an inherently chaotic, New York energy, I can tell you Shepherd created a peaceful, inviting space.

So what is an essential oil, essentially? It is a highly concentrated plant oil,

Independent/Courtesy Marders

extracted through distillation; capturing the scent, or essence, of the plant along with the unique chemical composition.

It can be from leaves to roots. To give you an idea of what it takes to make this, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences notes that it takes 220 pounds of lavender flowers to produce nearly one pound of oil.

How do you apply them? These extracts can be inhaled directly (best, if used with a diffuser) or mixed with a carrier oil, diluting the concentrated essential oil, to be applied to the skin. Carrier oils in your own kitchen can include extra-virgin olive oil, almond oil, and coconut oil.

Place them on pulse points. It’s best to do intricate research on what your goal is to pick the oil and location on the body

best for you. Take it one step further and apply a few drops of essential oil to a bath, your face mask (like I did), shampoo, and beyond. To give an idea of ratio, I added roughly 11 drops of my essential oil blend into a two-ounce bottle of rose water.

Skip the hazardous chemicals added to so many household products typically used on a daily basis. Rather than buying into synthetic fragrances, create your own from one of the many essential oils. It does more than heal, it also smells really good.

Upcoming classes include “Full moon flower essences” on May 18 and “Creating your own herbal apothecary” on May 26. Sign up for one of Shepherd’s other classes at Marders by visiting www. marders.com.

outgoing tide this time of year, after the waters have had a chance to warm a bit.

gies should show in the canal any day.

The Quogue canal has seen its share of schoolie bass and a few fluke too.

Shinnecock inlet has seen a few fluke and schoolie bass. The ocean beaches have schoolie bass and some bluefish chasing bunker.

FISHING REPORT

By Scott Jeffrey

Season Gets Under Way The weather has been cold, but the fishing is heating up

Peconics Things have definitely kicked into gear this past week. The Peconics have been the hot spot with porgies in the Jessups area, including a few weakfish in the mix. Fluke have come from the Greenlawns and Greenport areas and schoolie bass from the shores of the North Sea beaches. First reports of shore-caught porgies came

from Noyac Bay.

Shinnecock In Shinnecock Bay there have been a few fluke from the muddy bottom shallow spots where the water has had a chance to warm a bit. Schoolie bass with a few keepers have come from the Ponquogue bridge area. Best bet in Shinnecock is the latter part of the

Shorebound The Shinnecock canal has been a great spot this past week. Fluke, blowfish, bass, bluefish, a couple of weakfish, and, of course, sea robins have all been caught in the canal. Por-

East End Bait & Tackle www.eastendbaitandtackle.com

38

The Independent

Golfing Galore East End benefit outings and raffles

By Desirée Keegan desiree@indyeastend.com

East End clubs, groups, and charitable organizations are swinging in the spring season with golf tournaments, classics, and raffles.

Benefit For Sean Grismer Conceive, believe, achieve. The East End is #SCSTRONG, raising money through a golf raffle to benefit Sean Grismer, a 22-year-old Hampton Bays resident who was seriously injured when he fell from a balcony on vacation from college in March 2018. Grismer, a local high school student-athlete, was rushed back to New York where he underwent spinal surgery at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City March 13, 2018. Grismer emerged from the accident a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down. A 13-hour surgery left him with a spinal fusion, two rods, 16 screws, and a metal cage inserted in his back. He also suffered extreme head trauma, including a fractured skull.

The raffle gives donors a chance for a three- or four-pack to play at some of the prestigious East End golf courses, including Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links, Sebonack Golf Club, Friars Head Golf Club, and more.

To buy a raffle ticket, visit www. sgstrong.com/golf-raffle. There will be a public drawing on Thursday, May 30, at Oakland’s Restaurant & Marina in Hampton Bays at 7 PM. There will be a cash bar. Winners do not need to be present and will be contacted directly.

Golf Classic For ELIH Evening slots are still available for the 27th annual golf classic honoring Jon Divello and Stanley Lomangino of Mattituck Environmental Services and benefiting Eastern Long Island Hospital June 10.

The outing, to be held at North Fork Country Club in Cutchogue, will be played as an 18-hole scramble tournament, where two or more players form a team to play, with the rules emphasizing fun without the pressure of players keeping individual scores. Each player hits a tee shot on each hole, but everyone plays from the spot of the best shot, subject to certain criteria.

Late-day golfers will check in at noon and tee off at 1:30 PM. There is a 6 PM cocktail hour, 7:30 PM dinner, and 8 PM awards ceremony. There is also a special foursome raffle to play at The Bridge in Bridgehampton. Tickets are $100 each and limited to the first 50 sold.

Individuals can golf for $325.

There is a $125 fee for company sponsors or $200 for two. The fee is $250 for cart sponsors. Dinner reservations are $150. Other player sponsor information can be found at www.elih.org.

Ann Liguori Foundation The 21st annual Ann Liguori Foundation Charity Golf Classic will be held at the Westhampton Country Club June 20. The event raises money for not-

The Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center golf outing has an early bird special ending May 15. The event will be held at Atlantic Golf Club, above, in Bridgehampton. Independent/Courtesy Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center

for-profits and awareness for cancer research and prevention.

Registration begins at 11 AM, with brunch to follow. The shotgun start is 1 PM, and there will be cocktails followed by an awards dinner and live auction starting at 5:30 PM.

Foursomes can register for $7500.

The cost per person is $1875. This includes brunch, golf, cocktails, awards dinner, premier goodie bags, and opportunities to bid on prestigious golf and travel opportunities. The dinneronly cost is $250.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Visit www.annliguori. com for more information.

For Peconic Bay Medical Center The 2019 Peconic Bay Medical Center Golf Classic will benefit the Kanas Regional Heart Center, Northwell Health’s advanced-technology Cardiac Cath Lab providing life-saving interventional cardiology service to East End residents.

The outing will be held June 24 at the North Fork Country Club in Cutchogue. Registration begins at 11 AM, and there will be an 11 AM to noon lunch. Golfing will begin at 12:30 PM. Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and raw bar

will be available from 5 to 6 PM, and a dinner and awards reception will be held from 6 to 8 PM.

Child Care Center The Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center Golf Outing at the Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton will be held on September 16 to benefit the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center.

The event will honor Edwina “Winnie” Worth Hatch, who started and sustained the annual golf outing for the center, which was born out of tragedy in 1949 after a migrant camp fire killed two children of seasonal workers.

The center continues to serve community children with educational and enrichment programs. For many working parents, the center, a six-acre farm and field, is a lifeline.

A driving range will begin at 10 AM with tee time set for noon. There will be brunch, dinner, and an open bar, plus a silent auction and prizes.

A foursome can register for $3200, and individuals can register for $850. There is an early bird special by Wednesday, May 15; $2950 a foursome or $800 an individual.

Sponsorships are available. Visit www.bhccrc.org for more information.

Sports Sponsored by

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Sports

May 15, 2019

CHIP SHOTS

By Bob Bubka

One of Golf’s True Gentlemen bobvoiceofgolf@gmail.com For many years whenever I covered the PGA TOUR’s AT&T Byron Nelson in the Dallas area, I always felt excited anticipation, knowing that I would be in the company of the great Byron Nelson himself.

Not only was he a great on the golf course, but he was also a real gentleman and very serious about raising money to help children through a partnership with the Salesmanship Club of Dallas and the Momentous Institute that focus on healing the social-emotional health of children.

Even though Byron is no longer with us, his presence is still felt. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas, a prestigious men’s service club that has been in existence since the 1920s, is the backbone of this event.

In 1968 the Salesmanship Club joined forces with Byron Nelson to raise funds for the Momentous Institute,

owned and operated by the Salesmanship Club. Over the years, over $160 million has been raised. Many thousands of children and their families have benefited and now have their lives headed in the right and sustainable direction.

There’s no question that Byron Nelson could really play the game. In his teenage years, Byron and Ben Hogan were members of the same caddie yard at Glen Garden Country Club and played a lot together whenever they were allowed on the course. A young Byron Nelson defeated young Ben Hogan in the 1927 Caddie Championship. I’m quite sure no two finer players ever caddied together in the history of the sport. It would be like Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth playing on the same Little League team.

It was always a big honor for me to be in the company of Nelson during the

AT&T Byron Nelson Championship and it was a sad day in the golf world when we learned of his passing in 2006.

The PGA Tour schedule has made big changes this year. The AT&T Byron Nelson has the honor of leading right into the PGA Championship, which, this year, is being played at Long Island’s Bethpage Black, often regarded as the toughest public test of golf in the country.

As we now head to the PGA Championship it must be noted that Bethpage Black is a big-time golf course. The last major tournament played there was the 2009 U.S. Open Championship. Two people that will never forget that U.S. Open are Lucas Glover, the winner, and Paddy Power, the loser.

But, just who is Paddy Power? Well, he is one of Europe’s largest legal bookmakers. In addition to penning this column for The Indy, I also broadcast golf to many networks in the UK, Europe, and other parts of the world, and in the leadup to that 2009 U.S. Open, I was asked on many radio shows who I thought would win. As you might guess, Lucas Glover was my pick.

Well, to say that Paddy Power was upset would be an understatement. He was even quoted in the Irish Financial Times that because Bob Bubka picked Lucas Glover to win — which resulted in many of Bob’s Irish listeners placing wagers on Glover at odds 250-to-1 — he

39

wasn’t too happy. The bookmaker lost a lot of money but those savvy listeners were rewarded handsomely. My return to Ireland later this year, as I travel to Northern Ireland for the Open Championship, should be interesting. I have no doubt that the happy betters will still remember their windfall. The trick for me will be how to avoid Paddy Power.

Tiger is very much in the mix this PGA and it could very well turn out to be one of the all-time-greats. According to long-time Southampton Golf pro Bob Joyce, due to the rather cool spring weather, the rough at Bethpage may not be as thick, gnarly, and difficult as the PGA would like. Still, I am sure it will be a very complete examination of the world’s best.

Now the tough part putting down on paper who I think will win. It is easier for me to pick winners on the radio because lots of people will forget who I pick, but once I put it in the paper I am stuck. Well, here goes. My outside-the-box selection is Gary Woodland. But, playing it a little closer to the vest as gamblers like to say, I will put some money on Dustin Johnson. Johnson with one major already on the mantle (the 2016 U.S. Open) looks good to me to add one to his list of accomplishments.

I hope to see some of you at Bethpage this week and as a golf fan all I really want to happen is for this title to be hanging in the balance with nine holes to go on Sunday.

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East End Business & Service Estate Management

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May 15, 2019

Roofing

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ment Advisory Committee, whose members are biased in favor of hunting, and it was voted without taking into consideration all residents. Since then, I found myself as an activist.

In December last year, the Group for Wildlife brought the proposal to ban One Weekend Day a Week from Hunting to the Wildlife Management Advisory Committee. But the committee members that are biased in favor of hunting wouldn’t bring the advice to the town board. I started a petition. We had 342 signatures as of May 7, 314 that came from East Hampton residents.

What I’ve learned during the past month, speaking with over 200 people, is that lots of people have been disturbed by hunting, and many of them don’t even want any hunting at all. I also learned that many people believe hunting is necessary for the right reason, and it needs to stay in balance.

If you wish to sign the petition, the forms are at the Amagansett Wines and Liquors, One Stop Pet Shop, or contact East Hampton Group for Wildlife.

This is about fairness, noise and littering complaints, and public safety versus hunting as a hobby that a lesser number of people enjoy. Hunters can still hunt six days a week.

Let’s urge our leaders to ban just one weekend day a week from hunting.

As members, taxpayers, and voters of this community, we and our families deserve to enjoy one peaceful weekend day together from the hectic lives we all live.

During these stressful times of change, nature is the powerful healer that reminds us of our connection to everything. Let’s create a win-win for us all.

Yuka Silvera

Do Not Have Right?

Dear Editor, The proposal for a One Day Ban on Hunting has been characterized by the hunting community as an attempt to take away their historic rights when actually the opposite is true. Historically hunters did NOT have the right to hunt on Saturdays or Sundays. Hunters were only given that privilege in 2015. The hunting expansion granted by the DEC in 2014 did take away an historic right of the general population when they removed the ban on weekends. Our Proposal only asks for a portion of that right to be restored.

Additionally, our proposal asks the board to address the quality of life issues created by seven days per week, seven months per year, pre-dawn to dusk gun noise from waterfowl hunting being permitted on East Hampton Town land.

The deer season may be relatively

45

brief but it is longer now than it has ever been historically. In addition to the deer season, gun hunting of small animals lasts for four months on many town properties thus keeping many residents out of the woods for that time period.

Contrary to what has been said publicly, this proposal does not challenge hunters’ rights to continue their hunting tradition. The proposal does not ask to overturn the recent 2014 ban on weekend hunting and leaves hunters with more permitted hunting than they had for decades until the 2015 season.

The proposal does seek to restore to the general public some of what was taken from us in 2015 by giving the public one hunt free day per week for safe, peaceful enjoyment of the woods. The proposal additionally addresses dawn to dusk gun noise, which is permitted from September through March by requesting the one-day restriction on hunting.

Carol Buda

See The Light Dear Editor, At the Town Board meeting on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, I addressed the Town Board during the public comment section. Although the supervisor and the three Democratic Council Members appeared to look past me, they must have heard me. They now realize that taxes and assessments impact people’s finances. Although, the supervisor has difficulty pronouncing my last name, ROBINS, I am certain he appreciates my efforts for the citizens who pay the bills. As the campaign unfolds, I will continue to educate the supervisor on the real Southampton, outside his privileged circle.

Greg Robins

Republican Candidate for Southampton Town Supervisor

It’s Good Dear Editor, Hi, read your article about a possible dog park in East Quogue. As a dog owner I think it’s a great idea, plus it is a good use of a piece of CPF land. I know this piece and don’t think it really is much used.

Thanks for the information.

Joseph MooreÂ

It’s Shameful Dear Editor, I personally will not be supporting any business that advertises on the new billboards. The only way to halt the completion of them is to make it well known to the Shinnecocks that there will a movement against all advertisers. What a disgrace calling them “monuments.� It’s a disregard of the community’s wishes. It’s shameful!

Pete Grebinar

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School News Submitted by local schools

Southampton Southampton High School’s select vocal ensembles earned accolades at a national choir competition at Walt Disney World, April 4 through 8.

As part of the competition, the high school’s all-female ensemble, VOSH, and all-male ensemble, MOSH, were graded on their overall sound, complexity of the music, and appearance. Both groups earned “Excellent” awards for their a cappella performances.

Four Southampton students were recognized with Suffolk Zone Awards on May 1 at Bay Shore High School.

Elementary school students Julia Vail and Tristan Angel and intermediate school students Celia Ginsburg and Luis Joya Mendez earned the accolades for outstanding performance and leadership in their physical education classes.

A group of 47 Southampton High School ENL students took an educational field trip to the Bronx Zoo on May 1, where they learned about animal classifications, natural habitats, and geography.

Southampton Elementary School is now home to a new Tower Garden, which is a vertical, aeroponic growing system. The garden has been underwritten through a grant from the Southampton Wellness Committee. Already sprouting, the garden is being tended by third-graders in Coleen Henke’s class

DeGroot Challenges Continued From Page 35.

forehands and getting two up to the net finishing with high volleys and overheads. They hit big second serves and attack weak second serves.

“When they’re hot they beat our best singles players in dubs sets,” McConville said. “Unfortunately, they didn’t play their best in the division final and the county tournament against good competition.”

Glasstein said the inconsistencies lie in confidence, which led to more unforced errors than they could recover from. This was despite the East Hampton senior knowing he had an advantage with his powerful serve, and that his returns would be solid as most opponents he’d face would be relying on a consistent serve over a strong one.

“I think Alex and I did not play to our full potential,” Glasstein said. “I was not very confident in my volleys.

I would go for a finish and mis-hit the ball giving the opponent an easy shot.

And both of us made many unforced

to provide them with hands-on experiences to supplement their science units of study.

Sag Harbor Sag Harbor Elementary School recently participated in a “screen-free week” to teach students about the benefits of technology as well as the wonder of unplugging and engaging with others.

Individual grades worked on projects such as monitoring chicken eggs about to hatch and preparing presentations on what they might want to be in the future. The entire fifth grade participated in the St. Jude Math-A-Thon. Parents and members of the community sponsored students who solved math problems to raise money for the children’s research hospital.

The school’s Parent Teacher Association also arranged a variety of activities for students, before and after school, including a softball clinic and the Fun Run to celebrate the official opening of the school’s athletics field.

Montauk Montauk’s fifth grade will go to White Sands Beach from 9:30 AM to 12 PM, while the third grade class will go to the LI Science Center from 8:45 AM to 2 PM on May 16.

The Montauk Music Festival will errors, which quickly added up.”

Westhampton Beach sophomore Josh Kaplan, the No. 8 seed, lost to Harborfields’ No. 1 Alex Rzehak 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. His singles teammates Andre Insalaco and Trevor Hayes, along with East Hampton’s Ravi MacGurn and Luke Louchheim, lost in the first round. All five of Westhampton’s individual tournament ticket-punchers, which include doubles players Kasper Buchen and Jake Ongania, and all five East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson players earned AllCounty nods.

The Bonackers now turn their attention to the team tournament. After going undefeated (10-0) in League VII and losing close matches to No. 1-seeded Half Hollow Hills East (5-2 March 20) and No. 2 Commack (5-2 May 1), the team was given the No. 5 seed.

Earning a first-round bye, the Bonackers will host the winner of the May 14 matchup between No. 12 Miller Place and No. 21 Sayville, results of which were not available by press time, May 15 at 4 PM. Should they win they’ll ad-

begin on May 17.

Springs Springs students celebrated Mother’s Day by making gifts, such as painted jewelry boxes and poems, in the second grade class. The kindergarten class planted flowers and made cards. The fourth graders drew their own picture to be made into a button for $3 each to raise money for the PTA.

The school is currently celebrating poetry during the month of May with students writing haikus, acrostic poems, rhyming poems, and more.

The school is also selling t-shirts for Green and White Day, which can be ordered on the school website. All the money raised will help support the seventh grade trip to New York City, as well as the physical education department.

Bridgehampton Bridgehampton School fifth-graders Marlin Padilla and Constantine Reilly, and eighth-graders Nava Campbell, Kristopher Vinski, and Scott Vinski were honored as Suffolk Zone winners at the elementary and middle school level, which was sponsored by the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Our Lady of the Hamptons Eighth-grade students from Our Lady of the Hamptons in Southampton met with Congressman Lee Zeldin in Washington, D.C. where they received a tour of the U.S. Capitol.

As part of the tour, Congressman Zeldin brought three students selected by

chaperones onto the House floor during votes to experience the process up close and personal.

Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center The Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center participated in the East Hampton Village spring street fair on May 11 with a booth offering activities and information for children and families.

The center also began it’s “Healthy Food for Life” program, a month-long program highlighting healthy eating.

Westhampton Westhampton Beach Middle School’s Ryleigh Morton-Boone held a fundraiser benefitting both Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Arts Academy at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on May 7. Christiaan Padavan, an American Idol contestant, and Shuan Johnson, a WHB music coordinator and teacher, called five rounds of Bingo, which raised over $1000 to be split between the two organizations.

Tuckahoe Two Tuckahoe students interviewed author Jen Calonita for Kidsday on April 6.

Olivia Casabianca, a sixth-grader, and Emma Cervone, an eighth-grader, interviewed the author about her life as a writer and her new book, “Switched,” from the Fairy Tale Reform School series.

The Spring Concert for grades four through eight will be held on Thursday, May 16, at 6:30 PM and for prekindergarten through third grade on May 21 at 6:30 PM.

East Hampton senior Jaedon Glasstein isn’t worried about returning serves. Independent/Desirée Keegan

vance to the quarterfinals scheduled to be played Thursday, May 16.

“I think all of us are looking forward to the team tournament,” Glasstein said. “The whole team has drastically improved since the start of the season. I think we have a chance to go

pretty far in the tournament. We want to end on a high note.”

“The depth of our team this year is greater than any other year I have played,” DeGroot said. “We are prepared to do whatever it takes to win the championship.”

May 15, 2019

47

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