Gold Stars and Dunce Caps

DUNCE CAP: To the National Weather Service, for giving the East End short shrift at a time when accurate weather forecasting is becoming more and more essential. In a Viewpoint published this week at 27east.com, veteran meteorologist Bill Evans of Sag Harbor noted that the NWS has a particularly spotty network of weather stations and reporting stations — with none currently on Long Island’s East End. The best we get is a recap of weather events, but, as Evans noted, a better weather predicting infrastructure would provide “timely, accurate forecasts for an East End that only continues to increase in population.” It’s time for Suffolk County to step in, help the good folks at the NWS find some funding and establish a few weather stations to help tell us when and where to expect extreme weather — not just what already happened.

GOLD STAR: To Kirby Marcantonio of East Hampton, for a Letter to the Editor that makes a point that should be heard loud and clear. Yes, he has a project to pitch — a proposed 48-unit affordable housing complex in East Hampton — and his back-of-the-envelope calculations are extremely loose in estimating that a billion dollars a year is lost to the local economy because so many of our workers no longer live here. But there is a crucial message nonetheless: Affordable housing is an economic driver, too. Having workers of all kinds, blue-collar and white-collar alike, living outside of the towns where they work definitely siphons money out of the area, as those workers buy groceries, restaurant meals and goods at merchants near where they live in communities to the west. So much of the discussion about housing focuses on the costs: Let’s also remember just how beneficial creating new housing here can be for the local year-round economy.

GOLD STAR: And sincere congratulations to Tuckahoe School District students, for a 100 percent pass rate on their New York State Living Environment Regents and the New York State Algebra Regents for the 2023-24 school year. The latter is actually an annual achievement, a streak dating back to the 2009-10 school year. These students went through the difficult educational climate of the pandemic and are still posting numbers other districts should aspire to. Great work.

GOLD STAR: To the Sag Harbor School District — yet again — for committing to another year of its cellphone ban in the classroom, using the Yondr pouch system as a wall between students and the constant distraction in their pockets. For the second year, Sag Harbor is the only East End school district with such a policy. New York State, however, is paying attention and could well move toward something similar in the not-too-distant future. If it does, remember just how far in front Sag Harbor was, and consider how its students have benefited.

GOLD STAR: For Hamptons Pantry Pickup. The concept is so simple: Seasonal visitors have stuff left over in their cupboards that they need to get rid of, and far too many families could use the same kinds of household items, sometimes desperately. Connecting the two groups is something attorney Thomas Crouch, Compass real estate brokerage, the Springs Food Pantry and the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center teamed up to do last year, and it’s back this year. Credit to Crouch and his wife, Libby Kane, who planted the seed — and don’t fail to appreciate that these folks are going out of their way on a holiday weekend to volunteer to help families on both sides of this equation.

GOLD STAR: To those (largely) seniors who came out to the East Hampton Town Board meeting on August 15 to support a change in density, from eight to 12 units per acre, for affordable senior housing. They helped tell very personal stories that show the impact far beyond the impact on the zoning code. One woman who had finally gotten her own stable housing secured had her mind on others: “I want this for as many other seniors as can be accommodated here in East Hampton.” That carried a message that the Town Board members needed to hear.

GOLD STAR: To the region’s lifeguards and rescue squads, for keeping the beaches safe all summer. Considering the massive influx of people to the South Fork’s beautiful beaches this summer, these men and women really did make a difference in keeping the recreational opportunity as safe as it can be. And a star, too, for those young people who do the thankless job of managing the many beach parking lots — and the inevitable unpleasantness that can result. In some sense, they’re heroes as well.

GOLD STAR: Also for local police, fire and ambulance, for making it through another summer season. Same point: So many people in such a small place, with so many variables and so many dangers. One unfortunate “sound of summer” on the East End is the constant sound of sirens. These folks work nonstop helping and serving residents, thousands of tourists and second-home owners. Say thanks, provide financial support — and volunteer if you can.

GOLD STAR: To the East Hampton Village Foundation, for another season of “Tuesdays at Main,” which presented free live music to anyone willing to brave the traffic to get to Main Beach. The East Hampton Press is a sponsor of the series, because we wanted to support family-friendly, affordable entertainment in an area where that sort of thing has become hard to come by. But the foundation does the heavy lifting, and the result is beautiful music in an even more beautiful setting, something that’s invaluable for residents and visitors alike.

DUNCE CAP: To those of you out there — you know who you are! — who spend a lovely evening at the beach, and then leave without cleaning up after bonfires. Many years ago, rules were put in place so that anyone going to our local beaches wouldn’t have to navigate around burned-out piles of wood — or, worse, still-hot embers — while trying to go to the beach the next day. Local hardware stores carry all the equipment you need to have a safe and clean bonfire. This Labor Day weekend, support a local business and keep our beaches clean.

DUNCE CAP: To the ongoing acrimony around the small, and reasonable, changes being suggested for the park commonly referred too as the Springs Dog Park. While many dedicated users are fighting the idea of a small area, inside the park fences, reserved for smaller or elderly dogs, this is not an unreasonable request in the slightest, particularly since there have been numerous reports about aggressive dogs knocking people over in the park and getting into fights with other animals there. The Town of East Hampton has a responsibility to make this park safer for residents and dogs of all sizes. Mob mentality should not be allowed to rule this discussion.

GOLD STAR: To Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella, for making the restoration of the Sag Harbor Fire Museum a priority. Sag Harbor remains a village that takes deep pride in volunteerism and history, and this is a project that will celebrate both of those things. The Fire Museum is a faded jewel that needs some polishing. Good for the mayor for recognizing the opportunity.

GOLD STAR: To ReWild Long Island, the Town of East Hampton and the East Hampton community at large for their collaboration with the Lester family to restore Matthew’s Pollinator Garden at the East Hampton Farm Museum. Matthew Lester had intended for the pollinator garden to be his Eagle Scout service project; after he died in 2017 at age 17, Troop 298 and other volunteers completed the project in his memory. It is a beautiful tribute and, as Matthew had planned, an ecological asset. The volunteer dates are Thursdays, August 29 and September 5, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.