Year in Review: Top 5 East End News Stories of 2025
As the world prepares to bid farewell to 2025 and ring in the New Year, no change of the calendar would be complete without reflecting on the year that was.
Looking back, the news has been as dramatic in the Hamptons and on the North Fork as it has been nationally — and all three were often intertwined.
You can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been, as the saying goes, and here are the top five local news stories of the year that bear reminding.
Democratic challengers ousted more than a half dozen Republicans in elections across the Twin Forks region on Election Day. Two of the biggest upsets were on the North Fork, where firefighter Jerry Halpin of Calverton unseated freshman Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard and Southold Town Councilman Greg Doroski upset the re-election campaign of first-term Suffolk County Legislator Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead). Stark’s loss meant the GOP no longer has a supermajority in the Suffolk County Legislature. On the South Fork, Democratic challenger Tom Neely, a member of the town planning board, unseated Republican Southampton Town Councilmember Rick Martel, giving Democrats a 4-1 supermajority on the Southampton Town Board. And Democrats also swept the Southampton Town Trustees races, ousting incumbents Ed Warner Jr., Chip Maran, and Scott Horowitz. The blue gains continued in the East End’s smallest town when Democratic challenger Shelby Mundy unseated Shelter Island Town Clerk Amber Wilson, a Republican.
In January, bird flu was detected at the Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, forcing owner Doug Corwin to cull his entire flock of up to 100,000 ducks. It’s a strain that has affected the poultry industry for years, and though Corwin has lobbied for vaccinating flocks, the chicken and egg industries largely oppose it for financial reasons. With Crescent being the last duck farm on Long Island, this outbreak threatened to permanently close the storied chapter of Long Island’s duck farming history. However, Corwin was able to save eggs unaffected by the outbreak, and Crescent Duck Farm is slowly rebuilding its flock – and expects to be fully operational again in 2026. Fundraisers were also held to prevent permanent closure of the farm. Long Island once produced up to 50 percent of the nation’s duck meat and at one point had almost 100 farms, but most of them closed due to stricter environmental regulations by both New York State and Suffolk County. A few relocated.
In April, Faustin Nsabumukunzi, 65, a beekeeper from Bridgehampton, was arrested by federal agents and charged with immigration fraud for lying on his 2003 visa applications. Nsabumukunzi had claimed to be a refugee from Rwanda, but a federal investigation revealed that Nsabumukunzi was allegedly an active participant in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, perpetuated by ethnic Hutus against ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda. Nsabumukunzi allegedly held the title of “Sector Councilor” in Kibizi, Rwanda at the time and oversaw attacks on Tutsis. Nsabumukunzi pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was released on bail by a federal judge, though ordered to wear an ankle monitor. Nsabumukunzi’s attorney claimed he was a victim of the Rwandan genocide and has mixed Hutu and Tutsi heritage. Additionally, Nsabumukunzi was convicted of genocide in absentia by a Rwandan court.
In April, Dan’s Papers published a story about the administration issuing a stop work order for a 54-turbine Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project near Long Beach with the headline “Wind Worries: Will Sunrise Wind Farm Project Get Cancelled Next?” The question surrounded what the move would mean for the 84-turbine Sunrise Wind project under construction off the coast of Montauk. Well, just as this story was going to print, we got our answer: Trump ordered all construction halted on all offshore wind projects — including both local efforts — a few weeks after a federal judge in Boston had issued a ruling blocking Trump’s bid to stop offshore wind farm construction. Now the question is, will the industry be able to win the fight to complete these projects in what are likely lengthy court battles to come?
Trump’s campaign promise to task U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with a mass deportation effort came to pass with reports of immigrants arrested in the region — a move that triggered protests from critics of the administration. In addition to protests in the streets and dominating the conversation at some local government meetings, a U.S. postal worker was also arrested for allegedly helping a detainee flee from the back of an ICE vehicle — but the postal worker was charged and the detainee was apprehended following a short pursuit. The issue has been among the most controversial of the year, and brings us to our Person of The Year…
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