Sag Harbor is not a village that can be narrowly defined. Just as it can no longer be referred to as an industrial or blue-collar community, it is not solely... more
It’s not fair to suggest that the last two weeks, when Southampton Town, with Suffolk County’s blessing, tested some various strategies for managing the flow of traffic westward in the afternoon rush hours, will be enough to “solve” anything. This is a Gordian knot, but Charlie McArdle is no Alexander the Great, sword in hand, ready to cut the snarl free. At best, the town’s highway superintendent is diligently picking at various parts of the heap, hoping to loosen it a tiny bit. Suffolk County officials were active participants this time, which is helpful, and they will be sitting down ...
7 May 2025 by Editorial Board
When your publication dispenses its “Gold Stars and Dunce Caps,” I hope you will take the unprecedented step to add an additional star alongside the name of Town Highway Superintendent Charles McArdle. As an administrator who could have easily monitored the challenges of westbound traffic modifications from the comfort of a construction trailer, Charlie was planted roadside throughout the entire ordeal, wrapped in the neon OSHA jacket of his subordinates, barking orders into a walkie-talkie while simultaneously scowling at hapless motorists who were reluctant to merge into a single lane. My daily afternoon eastbound commutes confirmed his presence, a battle-hardened ...
6 May 2025 by Staff Writer
The recent “The Downtown Dilemma” editorial [May 1] asks the right question: If our streets are overflowing with people in summer, why are our Main Street businesses falling behind? The answer is not just about parking or nostalgia. It’s about how money flows — and how little of it stays. Every summer, millions of dollars pour into the South Fork. But, too often, those dollars bypass local businesses entirely — spent at national chains, short-term rentals or online retailers. Even when tourists walk through town, they often browse without buying. The result: Packed sidewalks but struggling storefronts. One practical, proven ...
by Staff Writer
It was discovered last week that 11 upper-class members of a high school lacrosse team near Syracuse had terrorized their younger teammates. They invited five of them out for some fast food and then staged a kidnapping. Four escaped, but one was thrown into the trunk of a car, with a pillowcase over his head, and later dumped in the middle of the woods. The young victims were terrorized and terrified. The incident was videotaped. Surprising? Horrifying? Really? As a psychologist, let me remind you what our children are surrounded by every day: • The cruel and inhumane treatment of ...
by Staff Writer
I find the jubilation surrounding the achievement of a $2 million price tag for a home in my neighborhood macabre — the equivalent of a white collar crime. Charles B. Grubb Bridgehampton
by Staff Writer
Questions were recently raised about the identity of a frequent letter writer, who self-identified as “Jose Reyes of Hampton Bays.” Southampton Democratic Committee officials provided documentation strongly calling into question the legitimacy of the letters. The letter writer has since acknowledged — without revealing his or her true identity — that this was a “pen name,” or an assumed name, and apologized and promised to stop submitting letters using that pseudonym. The Express News Group policy is to require verifiable address and phone numbers with published Letters to the Editor, with the information kept confidential but used to verify a ...
5 May 2025 by Editorial Board
I’m a textile artist, one of several convening in Sag Harbor who make art in support of local and pro-democracy causes. You may have seen some of my handmade art “VOTE” banners, which the village removed, and that I personally pulled out of garbage cans along Main Street [“Vote Banners Don’t Last Long in Sag Harbor,” 27east.com, November 5, 2024]. Recently, Mayor Tom Gardella reposted on his only Instagram account the following: “To all the people complaining about Doge! ... F--- YOU.” Many of us who saw the post were shocked. One of my fellow textile artist-friends asked the mayor ...
by Staff Writer
The Noyac Civic Council once again is proud to have many volunteers join in the Great East End Clean-Up. This year, we had a few different surprises as we picked up the usual trash along Noyac Road. We found a five-point deer lying on the side of Noyac Road, no doubt hit by a car. Many thanks to Lucas of the Highway Department, who took care of the carcass. Then we found police handcuffs, an unopened bottle of Patron tequila, a Powerball lotto ticket for April 18, and an autographed New York Yankees baseball cap. Miller Lite seems to be ...
by Staff Writer
The Southampton Town Democratic Committee has shown the town residents what it really is: a political group filled with elitism and character assassination. Voters of other political stripes are paying close attention to your back-and-forth written letters of desperation, filled with venom, printed in this newspaper. Your words really matter and won’t serve you well moving forward to the November election. The dark cloud that looms over the Southampton Town Democratic Party will forever remain, unless you do something positive to lift that dark cloud. Remove the negative elements in your inner circle. Be more inclusive and welcoming. It’s time ...
by Staff Writer
While the latest volley of bells, whistles and delayed red-light cycles are welcome in alleviating the South Fork’s colossal bottlenecking problem, any superficial effort to ease the traffic is akin to using a hand bucket to stop the sinking of the Titanic [“Southampton Traffic Experiment Showed Big Improvements in Commute Times During First Week; New Changes Tried This Week,” 27east.com, April 27]. Short of turning all the quaint towns to car-free Amish-type communities, the East End will remain a collision course of cars, trucks, buses, vans, cement mixers, dump trucks, lumber semis, landscaper rigs, construction and professional vans, UPS, FedEx, ...
by Staff Writer
