Families that are keeping the family business alive
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Colleen Reynolds on Sep 1, 2010
When Lewis Hildreth founded the landmark Southampton Village store now known as Hildreth’s Home Goods in 1842, its shelves were stocked with whale oil, harpoons and buffalo robes. While its... more
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 ...
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
Shippy’s stood before the Zoning Board of Appeals to appeal the final phase of their development plan [“Divided ZBA Denies Request for Additional Outdoor Seating at Shippy’s,” 27east.com, April 30]. They asked for variances they believe are required to exist. What they experienced violated my sense of business normalcy and decency. Since the Betts family purchased the restaurant, they have become an attractive and favorite spot in the Village of Southampton. The zoning board chairman declared that he couldn’t support their requests and imputed “greediness” to the owners. The Betts family paid their staff for an entire year while the ...
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
On June 13, 1942, Nazi saboteurs landed on Atlantic Beach in Amagansett as part of a larger plot to strategically cripple U.S. infrastructure. Next month, the Life-Saving Station there will commemorate the historic event. Thanks to the courage and ingenuity of a young seaman, John C. Cullen, the saboteurs — who had buried explosives in the dunes — were quickly reported, later arrested and eventually tried under the framework of the Alien Enemies Act. Yeah, that act. The same 1798 act under which the Trump administration is trying to disappear hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a gulag in El Salvador. ...
by Carlos Sandoval
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Colleen Reynolds on Sep 1, 2010