East End Notebook: Busy Start to Summer for Emergency Responders

EAST HAMPTON

Holiday Weekend Kept EMS Crews, Cops Busier Than Usual

While holiday weekends offer a big boost to the local economy, they also mean many more calls for emergency responders, from police to ambulance crews.

This past Fourth of July weekend proved even busier than most holidays, officials said.

"It seems to me, we all kind of expected this based on what the real estate agents were saying with regards to the rentals going fast. We anticipated this summer to be a little it busier," Town Police Chief Ed Ecker said, adding that his department answered 555 calls from Thursday to Sunday. Plus, the Fourth of July fell on Thursday, leaving many to take a four-day weekend.

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

Hallmark Shop Closing After 40 Years

The Hampton Bays Hallmark shop, located on the Wild by Nature shopping center, shut its doors for good this week. 

A fixture in the community for 40 years, the store sold not only cards, but also served as a prescription center and variety store.

SOUTHAMPTON

Man Brought 'Back to Life' After Electrocution

A man who was setting up for ArtHamptons in Bridgehampton was electrocuted Tuesday evening, and town detectives and federals officials are investigating the incident that temporarily killed the victim.

Bridgehampton Fire Department Chief Gary Horsburgh said EMTs with the department's ambulance company were called at about 5:30 p.m. to the site of ArtHamptons on Millstone Road, an annual multi-day modern and contemporary art fair. "They did bring him back to life," Horsburgh said.

NORTH FORK

Two Water Rescues In Southold Over Holiday Weekend

Four boaters were rescued in two separate incidents that took place in Southold waters over the long holiday weekend.

On Sunday at 2:55 p.m., two boaters from Meriden, CT, were at Long Beach Point on Gardiners Bay when their vessel began taking on water, police said.

According to Southold Town police, the pair boarded their dinghy until Southold bay constables took the two aboard their vessel. Sea Tow rescuers worked to keep the sinking boat afloat.

RIVERHEAD

Rising Costs Swamp Horton Avenue Flooding Fix

New projections that a much-needed fix to the Horton Avenue flood zone will cost over $2 million more than previously believed has brought the remediation project to a halt, though the homes that were once swamped and boarded have already been destroyed.

Lots remain leveled where over a half dozen homes once stood. The homeowners, displaced by the 2010 floods, have been bought out and relocated, and while Riverhead Town had $600,000 budgeted to creating a man-made wetland to replace the homes, that number has since grown to $3 million. Until further notice, the vacant lots will remain unfixed.