2013: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on the East End
Whether you view 13 as a lucky number or an unlucky one, 2013 was a year for the books on the East End. Some events made life in the Hamptons better; some left much to be desired; all happened under the auspices of the unique East End universe. Allow us to present you with our second annual list of the best and worst of life east of the rest of the world:
Good Idea: Giving Bridgehampton baseball legend Carl Yastrzemski a statue at Fenway Park to honor his 23-year Red Sox career
Bad Idea: Giving Water Mill basketball legend Jason Kidd a head coaching job in Brooklyn with no head coaching experience, mere months after the end of his playing career
Good Idea: Enjoying lobsters from Red Hook Lobster Pound, Sweet ‘Tauk Lemonade’s summer 2013 roommate in Montauk
Bad Idea: Defacing the iconic Sloppy Tuna pickup truck, parked just around the corner. #TunitedWeStand
Good Idea: Hampton Coffee Company’s expansion to a new location in Southampton
Bad Idea: Not having your coffee before getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in front of Hampton Coffee Company’s new location in Southampton
Good Idea: Expanding County Road 39 to be two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound
Bad Idea: Not expanding County Road 39 to be two lanes eastbound and two lanes westbound
Good Idea: Opening Wikun Village at the Shinnecock Nation Museum and Cultural Center and giving people a glimpse at living history
Bad Idea: Vetoing legislation that would have set up procedures for New York State to consider a claim of recognition by the Montaukett Indian Nation
Good Idea: The New York Giants naming Coach Jack Martilotta of Greenport/Mattituck/Southold Football as “The Lou Rettino High School Football Coach of the Week” for the week of October 7.
Bad Idea: The New York Giants not hiring Coach Jack Martilotta
Good Idea: Southampton Landmarks & Historic Districts Board adding the Benjamin Foster Homestead in Water Mill and the David Rose and Captain John Rose Residence in North Sea to its list of landmark properties
Bad Idea: Ending the 142-year tradition of winding the clock in the Southampton Presbyterian Church clock tower by hand
Good Idea: Playing the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open at Sebonack Golf Club
Bad Idea: Planning to put an exclusive golf club community on Plum Island
Good Idea: Using Kickstarter to fund an East End business, an East End movie project…
Bad Idea: Ponzi schemes
Good Idea: On the North Fork, pening the East End’s only waterfront winery and tasting room, Kontakosta Winery, in Greenport
Bad Idea: On the South Fork, paying $120,000 for waterfront access in the form of a one-foot sliver of sand that effectively cuts your neighbor off from the beach. More “sad idea” than “bad idea…”
Good Idea: Montauk hosting its first-ever, all-release, satellite tag no-kill shark tournament at the Montauk Marine Festival.
Bad Idea: Kidnapping a deer and posting photos of it at a party with you on Instagram
Good Idea: Bringing people together with the opening of the Hamptons Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Center in Sag Harbor
Bad Idea: Keeping kids apart by voting down a proposed merger of the Tuckahoe and Southampton school districts
Good Idea: Southampton Village’s approving a dog park on Windmill Lane
Bad Idea: Negligent dog owners forcing East Hampton Town to ban dogs on the beach
Good Idea: Sag Harbor’s Billy Joel playing at The Paramount in Huntington, his first Long Island show in 11 years. Then, Billy Joel announcing he’ll play the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for New Year’s Eve. Then, Billy Joel being tapped as the veritable Madison Square Garden “house musician,” playing one show a month from now until…
Bad Idea: Waiting more than three seconds after the on-sale time to buy Billy Joel tickets and thinking you’ll score some
Bonus Good Idea: Tuning into the Glee Billy Joel tribute episode on November 21
Good Idea: Saying hello to a Riverhead revival with the grand opening of the renovated Suffolk Theater after 26 years
Bad Idea: Being forced to say goodbye to Mirko’s in Water Mill after 30 years
Good Idea: Chowing down on fare from top Manhattan and East End chefs at Dan’s Papers’ inaugural GrillHampton, hosted by Geoffrey Zakarian
Bad Idea: Looking at Martha Stewart’s “gross” photos of food on Twitter before chowing down on, well, anything
Good Idea: Dr. Beach naming East Hampton’s Main Beach the Number 1 stretch of sand and surf in the country for 2013.
Bad Idea: Keeping East End beaches off the Top 10 list for 2014 (Beaches are retired from the good doctor’s Top 10 once they hit the number 1 spot—Southampton’s Coopers Beach has been excluded since 2010 as a result)
Good Idea: Explaining to someone the significance of “Montick”
Bad Idea: Ticking off a Montauk local
Good Idea: Following East Hampton Idiot Spotter
Bad Idea: Being spotted on East Hampton Idiot Spotter
Good Idea: The LIRR Cannonball offering direct service from Penn Station to the Hamptons
Bad Idea: Thinking you can get a seat on the LIRR Cannonball from Penn Station to the Hamptons
Good Idea: Abolishing the New York State Saltwater Fishing License Fee so we can reap the bounty of our local waters
Bad Idea: Lawmakers not paying enough attention to the causes of brown tide that threaten our local waters
Good Idea: Katy Perry shooting the cover for her album Prism in a field of sunflowers at Schmitt’s Family Farm in Riverhead.
Bad Idea: Twerking anywhere on the East End. Or simply anywhere at all.
Good Idea: A mugger apologizing to Sag Harbor’s Claude Soffel via Facebook for taking Soffel’s bus ticket 30 years ago
Bad Idea: Not buying your own bus ticket
Good Idea: East Hampton Town allowing Montauk Brewing Company to expand and thus begin producing their beer onsite
Bad Idea: Not getting out to Montauk for a fresh beer before 2013 ended
Good Idea: Celebrating landmark anniversaries! Greenport turned 175; Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center turned 15; Parrish Art Museum enjoyed one year in Water Mill; Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton turned one; Wölffer Estate Vineyard celebrated 25 years
Bad Idea: Not being able to celebrate next year’s batch of anniversaries at Neptune’s
Good Idea: Making this Good Idea/Bad Idea list an annual Dan’s Papers tradition