The Parrish Art Museum is expected to break ground on its new — and long-awaited — expansive museum this coming Monday, July 19. The $25 million building, which echoes the barns and artists studio’s that dot the East End, is designed by celebrated Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and will be located on a farm field just east of Duck Walk Vineyards on Montauk Highway in Water Mill.

The building allows for three times the amount of exhibition space as is available at the Parrish’s current location on Jobs Lane in Southampton. The 34,500 square-foot building is the first art museum to be built on the East End of Long Island in more than a century. Among the amenities are a café, gift shop, offices and climate controlled storage areas.

The future of the Job’s Lane space in Southampton is undetermined.

A timeline for construction is expected to be available at Monday morning’s groundbreaking.

Popularity: 1% [?]

They call their dynamic “a Lucy and Ethel relationship,” but unlike many of Lucy’s harebrained ideas, Joyce Shulman found an unfulfilled niche in her concept for an extremely local, free, online newsletter for kid and family-friendly activities in the Hamptons. With her Ethel, Bridgehampton-resident Nicki Hemby, working by her side and Shulman’s husband Eric Cohen, in a year-and-a-half their business — Macaroni Kid — has become a go-to resource for parents on the South Fork and beyond. “Publisher moms” nationwide are operating their own Macaroni Kid websites ensuring parents will never have to worry about what to do on a rainy Saturday again.

Macaroni Kid began over dinner and a bottle of wine at Shulman’s Water Mill home. Hemby, recently returned to the East End after living in Florida, was once employed by Shulman and met with the mother of two to catch up after several years a part.

“I had not seen her in seven years and within an hour-and-a-half we had started a business,” said Shulman.

The idea had been in the back of Shulman’s mind for several years. As a mother herself, she saw a need for a “hyper-local,” weekly resource for parents looking for activities, classes and programming for their children.

“Busy moms and parents do not have time to parse through it all,” she said. “I believed if we built it, they would come.”

Hampton Kid debuted in May of 2008, but quickly, after garnering great reviews from local parents, Shulman, Cohen and Hemby realized creating a way to market this to other communities, and other parents, was possible without taxing the time of the already busy trio.

“The key element was to find terrific publisher moms,” said Shulman. “It allows these moms to build their own business and one of my favorite things is we are building an incredible network of publisher moms. They are single mothers, they are married, they are breast cancer survivors, they worked and are now at home, or have always stayed home with their kids.”

Macaroni Kid has so far included over 50 publisher moms. In addition to the Hamptons Macaroni Kid, there is Manhattan East Side Macaroni Kid, a San Fernando Valley Macaroni Kid, a San Diego Macaroni Kid and a Wichita Macaroni Kid, and that is just to name a few. According to Hemby, the company is reeling in two to three new publisher moms a week.

“A lot of it is word of mouth,” she said. “When you are getting something you like as a parent and you are happy, you tell your friends about it.”

Publisher moms are responsible for their local content and Hemby provides them with weekly suggested content that applies to parents and kids nationwide, for instance this week’s piece on flu prevention, or arts and crafts activities and book reviews. Publisher moms decide what of that they wish to publish.

“We don’t want to be down their throats about it,” said Shulman. “We try to be as supportive as we can be. We do encourage our publisher moms to publish every week, ideally on the same day and time so you become what parents rely on and that is when they really start sharing your service with their friends.”

Shulman said Macaroni Kid is hopeful for its first publisher dad, and already boasts what she calls publisher-mimis – grandmothers running their own Macaroni Kid website.

Publisher moms pay the company a monthly hosting fee of $59 for which they also receive technical support from Cohen, who also recruits new moms into the business. From there, any additional revenue the site earns from its nine available advertising slots is the publisher mom’s to keep.

“We have publisher moms who like the platform and don’t aggressively pursue advertising and we have publisher moms who are in it to make some money,” said Shulman. “They set their own rates and we are here if they need us for any advice.”

Macaroni Kid does require its sites to comply with privacy guidelines and asks that content be restricted to kid and family-friendly editorial. It also, said Shulman, aims to be inclusive of all kinds of families.

One aspect of the Hamptons Macaroni Kid both Hemby and Shulman hope to expand on is focusing on the individual achievements of local children.

“Please, let us know about your kids,” said Hemby. “We want to highlight their accomplishments.”

While the Macaroni Kid offices in Water Mill may be a little hectic in the summer, Shulman, Cohen and Hemby maintain a focus on their own children, in addition to the schedules of children across the South Fork.

“Nicki is an extrodinary mother and she gives very sage advice and part of it is to not sweat the small stuff,” said Shulman. “You are not doing your kids any favors by making sure all things are perfect and you don’t have to worry about them every second of the day. They are okay.”

“And if not, you’ll get a call,” laughed Hemby. “Just keep checking your phone.”

For more information on Hamptons Macaroni Kid, visit hamptons.macaronikid.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

A former Suffolk County legislator was among five suspects arrested Wednesday on grand larceny charges by fraudulently obtaining more than $50 million dollars in mortgages on dozens of homes in Southampton Town, including several a few miles from Sag Harbor in and around Noyac and Water Mill. 

In a second scheme, an East Islip man and a Farmingville suspect are charged with attempted mortgage fraud for filing bogus paperwork to attain mortgages for homes in Deer Park, Amityville, Jamaica, Queens and Brooklyn.

District Attorney Thomas Spota said the alleged frauds employed the use of straw purchasers to victimize lenders by filing false loan applications that claimed the homebuyers were employed by various corporations owned or controlled by the scheme’s participants. Another scheme, alleged to have been used to secure money, District Attorney Spota said, involved “mortgage stacking”; the creation of bogus title reports that concealed outstanding mortgages on properties and showed the homes to be owned “free and clear” and unencumbered by existing liens.  

Arraigned Wednesday in Southampton Justice Court on three counts of first degree grand larceny and first degree scheme to defraud are former Suffolk County Legislator George O. Guldi of 44 Brushy Neck Lane Westhampton Beach and Ethan E. Ellner, 54 Sagamore Drive Plainview. 

Guldi, 55, an attorney who served two terms in the county legislature, and Ellner, 49, an attorney and operator of Suburban Abstract, a title company in Stony Brook, allegedly defrauded lending institutions of millions of dollars by using forged documents, false employment and income information on applications, straw buyers, false powers of attorney, deed flipping, and mortgage stacking, said the district attorney in a press release Wednesday.

Codefendants Donald C. MacPherson, 65, and Carrie Coakley of New York and Dustin J. Dente of Roslyn pled not guilty at their arraignments today in Southampton Justice Court.  MacPherson is charged with two counts of first degree grand larceny and one charge of first degree scheme to defraud.  Macpherson’s wife, Carrie Coakley is charged with first degree scheme to defraud.  Dente, 37, an attorney, is charged with two counts of first degree grand larceny. 

 “The damage these defendants single-handedly caused to our local economy is simply appalling,” Spota said.  The district attorney said the defendants engaged in “a seven-year mortgage fraud spree” involving dozens of several east end homes, including a house at 1106 North Sea Road in Southampton, and two Water Mill homes at 982 Noyac Path and 2027 Deerfield Road. 

 

The alleged scheme to defraud involved three basic forms of fraud:

Use of “straw buyers”:

Evidence gathered during the course of the investigation, said Spota, found the defendants used straw buyers (or as they called them “investors”) with fictitious employment and income information for use on mortgage applications to make the mortgage applicants appear far wealthier and thusly, a much lower risk for lenders.

Specifically straw buyers in the scheme charged Wednesday were falsely listed as having incomes as high as $45,000 per month as employees of companies the defendants owned.

One of these companies was Arena Studios, Inc. located at 407 Broome Street in Manhattan; a business that at one time provided dominatrix services. This club was also used by the defendants to successfully solicit straw buyers.

Another source of straw buyers for the scheme to defraud was Maximum Restraint Films and McPherson’s publication, The Soho Journal, said the district attorney, who added publication also promoted Hamptons rental properties fraudulently purchased and used as summer rentals by the defendants.  Another MacPherson firm, the Hamptons Consulting Group, he said, was used as the employer for a straw buyer to falsely report an annual salary of $325,000 per year on a mortgage application.

 

Fraud by Mortgage Stacking and Title Washing:

Mortgage stacking involves the acquisition of a second and in some cases a third mortgage on a house through the use of a bogus title report that falsely reports to the lending institution that no first mortgage exists on the property.

A 2004 mortgage disappeared from the title history of 982 Noyac Path, Water Mill facilitating a fraud in which the name and credit of a person was used to purchase and obtain a first and second mortgage on the property totaling approximately $1.7million dollars, said the district attorney.

The mortgage applicant, on paper, was fraudulently portrayed to have been employed at the SoHo Journal for 10 years as the Director of Sales earning $36,000 a month. In truth, the applicant was not an employee of the publication and had no knowledge that their name and credit was being used to purchase and mortgage a house in the Hamptons, the district attorney said. In 2007, the house went into foreclosure.

While in foreclosure, a straw buyer purportedly employed by Maximum Restraint Films with a monthly income of $45,000 was used in January 2008 to purchase and mortgage the Noyac Path property for another $2 million. The Noyac Path title report was again altered to falsely report to the lender that the first and second mortgage, totaling $1.5 million (and pending in foreclosure), had been satisfied, the release said.

 The mortgage stacking fraud and a straw buyer were also used by some of the defendants to illicitly obtain a loan for a house at 1106 North Sea Road, Water Mill. The investigation established the title report falsely cleared an original $1.25 million dollar mortgage after a new $1.8 million dollar mortgage was obtained.  The evidence found the proceeds of the new mortgage flowed into the accounts of defendants Ellner, Guldi and Dente, claimed the release.

A home at 2027 Deerfield Road in Water Mill, originally titled to Walter Guldi, the father of defendant George Guldi, with an outstanding mortgage of approximately $1.5 million dollars went into foreclosure in 2005. George Guldi acted as the attorney representing the estate in the foreclosure action.  In May 2008, the defendants are alleged to have washed the title of 2027 Deerfield Path of the original mortgage to receive a new $1.8 million dollar mortgage obtained in the name of a straw purchaser.  Proceeds of the stacked mortgage flowed into accounts controlled by Defendants Ellner, Guldi and Dente, the release said.

All three houses are or have been in foreclosure.

 

“We found the defendants repeatedly ignored the obligation to pay off existing mortgages and instead funneled the money into their personal accounts to finance their businesses and lifestyles,” District Attorney Spota noted. 

Arrested by Mortgage Fraud Unit detective investigators Wednesday for alleged mortgage fraud involving homes in western Suffolk and New York City are Ellner, Gary Small, 41, 9 Greentree Avenue in Farmingville and Victor Jinete, 34, of 35 Starlight Drive in East Islip.

Ellner, Small and Jinete pleaded not guilty in first district court in Central Islip today on four charges of Attempted Mortgage Fraud second degree.  Jinete also pleaded not guilty to one count of first degree scheme to defraud. The alleged schemes involve the use of straw buyers and title washing resulting in fraudulent mortgages being issued by duped lenders for properties at 64 Duke Street, Deer Park, 130-25 Inwood Street, Jamaica, 891 Glenmore Avenue, Brooklyn NY and 40 Darerka Street, Amityville.

 

Popularity: 24% [?]

February 1 was a typical Sunday morning at the Grace Presbyterian Church in Water Mill. The adults settled into their seats for the service as the children scampered off to Sunday school. The church’s band had already put aside their instruments and the 50 parishioners quieted down as minister Mark Middlekauff took the stage.

Middlekauff posed an unusual question to his audience of devout followers of Jesus Christ. “Isn’t the Bible just a bunch of made-up stories?” asked Middlekauff rhetorically.

The discussion stemmed from “It Pays to Question God” a program the church has been sponsoring for the last few months. “It Pays To Question God” was originally set up as a website where South Fork residents could submit their questions for God. With each submission, the church donated $5 to a local charity of the person’s choice. Middlekauff gathered the top 10 questions asked, and has compiled them into a 10 part sermon series that began last Sunday.

Of the impetus for the program, Middlekauff said “I asked myself ‘how well do we know what our neighbors think of God? What questions run through their minds?’”
“In order to have a vibrant faith, one needs to continue to question and seek,” said Middlekauff. “This is a campaign to re-investigate and challenge some people’s presumptions about faith. We want to open up that dialogue.”

Middlekauff said that of all the queries he received, those pertaining to human suffering and the presence of evil were high on the list. To fully address these concerns, Dr. Os Guinness, a noted lecturer, spoke in a discussion forum called “God, if you are so good why does evil exist?” at The Wolffer Estate Vineyards in Sagaponack on February 3.

Middlekauff’s sermon series will continue every Sunday through April 5 with a different question addressed each week. The questions range from the co-existence of science and faith, to broader inquires about the afterlife. Other people asked why God doesn’t prove his existence and why he sends sinners to hell if he is a God of love.
Middlekauff hopes to guide his parishioners, and other members of the community, through these difficult questions in an effort to deepen their faith.

Fifteen years ago, Middlekauff was anything but a spiritual guide. Middlekauff was in his 20s and living the life of a successful bachelor. He owned a computer business in St. Louis, Missouri, and spent his down time with friends. Although raised a Christian Scientist, Middlekauff defined himself as an atheist throughout college and into his 20s.

One night, however, Middlekauff woke up with a strong and inexplicable sense of “something above.” The following day Middlekauff bought a Bible. With that purchase, Middlekauff’s investigation of Christianity had begun. For the next three months, he read the Bible and other noted texts on Christianity, including C.S. Lewis’ work “Mere Christianity.” He volunteered with the junior high youth group at the Central Presbyterian Church in St. Louis.

“I was investigating Christianity as a plausible belief system,” said Middlekauff. It was a journey that ultimately changed the course of his life.

Eventually, Middlekauff sold his computer business, accepted a position as the youth director at the church and later entered seminary. While working for the church in St. Louis, Middlekauff met his wife, Lesley, who was hired to run young adult programs. After earning his masters degree in divinity, Middlekauff and his wife were ready to leave St. Louis and start a parish of their own.

With help from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, the Middlekauffs raised enough money to lease space from the Hamptons Alliance Church in Water Mill in the summer of 2006. At first, the parish had only five families who regularly attended. Last summer, nearly 80 people consistently visited on Sunday mornings.
Middlekauff is hoping the “It Pays to Question God” sermon series will not only attract new followers, but also re-invigorate the faith of his regular attendees.

“A lot of people aren’t raised as followers of Jesus Christ, but I think that knowing Jesus can change their lives,” he says. “Fifteen years ago, I wouldn’t have said that.”

Popularity: 9% [?]

A Water Mill man faces charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and attempted escape in the third degree after he was arrested by Southampton Town Police and allegedly tried to climb out the passenger window, while in handcuffs, and flee the scene.

On Wednesday, September 10, police said they arrested Christiaan Houtenbos, 62, of Water Mill for disorderly conduct after he was found in an allegedly intoxicated state on Flying Point Road in Water Mill. Police said they placed Houtenbos under arrested but he attempted to climb out the passenger window of the squad car and run away, adding charges of resisting arrest and attempted escape in the third degree once he was apprehended.

On Monday, September 15 just after 4 a.m. Sag Harbor Village Police pulled over Christopher J. Tierney, 36, of Sag Harbor on Main Street, after police said he was unable to maintain his lane of travel, almost striking a parked vehicle. After stopping Tierney police said he appeared intoxicated, failed field sobriety tests and allegedly said during testing, “You got me, I am not going to be able to do it, I am going to fail it.” Tierney was charged with driving while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and aggravated driving while under the influence, all misdemeanors. He was released following his arraignment later that morning on $500 cash bail.

Brendan Kennedy Regan, 24, of Rockville Centre was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, both misdemeanors after police said he failed to stop at a stop sign on Main Street, Sag Harbor on Friday, September 12 just after midnight and was found to be allegedly intoxicated. He was released on $200 cash bail following his arraignment later that morning.

A Southampton resident was arrested after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident on North Sea Road in Southampton and police said he was allegedly intoxicated. Scott Eberle, 37, of Southampton was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree and unlicensed operation on August 30. He was released from Southampton Hospital, where he was transported, on an appearance ticket.

On Sunday, September 14 Southampton Town Police arrested Lois Broderick, 50, of Southampton at Deerfield and Head of Pond Roads in Water Mill. According to police, Broderick was intoxicated and was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended registration.

Tasha W. Spruill, 31, of Bridgehampton was arrested Monday, September 15 for alleged criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree by Southampton Village Police.

On Wednesday, September 10 Winston Huayamue, 49, of East Hampton was arrested by Southampton Town Police on charges of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree after they pulled him over on Route 114 in North Haven and found his license was allegedly suspended. On Friday, September 12 Sag Harbor Village Police arrested James Francis Tenney, 25, of Sag Harbor for alleged aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree after police said they pulled him over on his motorcycle on Bay Street and found his license was suspended.

Allison Pfefferkorn, 25, of Sag Harbor, was arrested for failure to appear on a bench warrant by Southampton Town Police on Tuesday, September 9. On Wednesday, September 10, Angel V. Sinchi, 33, of East Hampton was arrested by Sag Harbor Village Police on a bench warrant for vehicle and traffic violations. He paid $750 in fines at justice court and was released.

An investigation is ongoing by Sag Harbor Village Police after two employees filed complaints about bad checks written to them by a Sag Harbor salon owner, and not being paid for their services. This is the second incident in which police have been called about employees allegedly not being paid at the business. At least one of the checks in question is for over $500, according to police.

On Sunday, September 14 a Lincoln Street, Sag Harbor resident called village police to report that $3,700 had been taken from a drawer in his home, which he shares with six other people.

On Wednesday, September 10, an Arthur Avenue, Bridgehampton resident reported a laptop computer, valued at $1,500 was taken from her home.

Two incidences of graffiti occurred last Saturday, according to reports filed with Sag Harbor Village Police. A Main Street building owner reported that “CDKN” was written in black marker in the stairwell of his building. Another man called police with reports of “Stay Low and Keep Moving” written in orange paint and pencil on an Eastville Avenue retaining wall.

The passenger side front and back tires of a car parked on Bay Street were sliced on the sidewall, according to a report filed with Sag Harbor Village Police on Saturday, September 13. The owner of the vehicle was sailing at the time of the incident. The rear quarter panel of another Sag Harbor resident’s vehicle was damaged in an alleged hit and run at Mashashimuet Park, according to a report filed on Friday, September 12.

On Tuesday, September 9 Sag Harbor Village Police received a report of a stolen, $350 red Mongoose bike, which was taken, unlocked from outside a Main Street, Sag Harbor business.

A Garden Street, Sag Harbor resident signed a trespass affidavit on Monday, September 15 against a neighbor after she allegedly came on to his property complaining about noise.

 

 

 

 

Popularity: 9% [?]

Just before 1 a.m. on Thursday, July 31 Southampton Town Police responded to the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident in Water Mill. An East Hampton resident, Kevin Jenkins, 26 was killed in the crash. 

According to Southampton Town Police Jenkins was traveling eastbound on Montauk Highway on his 2008 Kawasaki motorcycle when it appears he failed to negotiate a curb in the roadway at the intersection of Little Cobb Road. Police said Jenkins’ motorcycle ran off the roadway, striking a guardrail along the eastbound side of Little Cobb Road. 

Jenkins was transported to Southampton Hospital by Southampton Volunteer Ambulance where he was pronounced dead. The Southampton Fire Department responded to the scene to assist with closing the road while police investigated the scene. Jenkins’ motorcycle was impounded by the Southampton Town Police for safety inspection.

The detective’s division is continuing an investigation of the incident and is requesting anyone with information contact them at 728-5000 or via the police department hotline at 728-3454.

A Sag Harbor man was charged with driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree, both misdemeanors, after East Hampton Town Police said they responded to the scene of his car accident on Friday, August 1 on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton. According to police Juan A. Posada, 27, of Sag Harbor said he swerved to avoid a deer and lost control of his car driving it into a wooded area. Posada, who police said was not injured, allegedly failed all field sobriety tests. Police said the charge for aggravated unlicensed came after they discovered his license has two current suspensions for failure to answer a summons out of East Hampton under another name.

On Sunday, August 3 just after midnight Sag Harbor Village Police pulled over Sean Gerrard Macellan, 42, of Bellport after they said they observed him driving on Long Island Avenue without his headlights on. Police said Macellan exhibited signs of intoxication and failed field sobriety tests. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, aggravated driving while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated, misdemeanor offenses, and released from Southampton Town Justice Court later that morning on his own recognizance.

Sag Harbor Village Police pulled over Dawn Marie Lemmon, 35, of East Hampton for a traffic infraction on Monday, August 4 when police said she appeared to be under the influence. Lemmon allegedly failed several field sobriety tests and was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and driving while intoxicated, both misdemeanors. She was released from Southampton Town Justice Court later that day on her own recognizance.

During a State Liquor Authority investigation at a Main Street, Sag Harbor restaurant and bar a Southampton girl was charged with false personation by Sag Harbor Village Police after she allegedly produced a foreign identification card that did not belong to her. Genevieve M. Sanders, 18, of Southampton was charged with the misdemeanor offense and released on an appearance ticket.

A Sag Harbor man called Southampton Town Police to report that his 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee was stolen from his father’s house on Shrubland Road between July 30 and July 31.

Thousands of dollars of jewelry were reported stolen to Sag Harbor Village Police on Tuesday, July 29, although according to the owner it appears the jewelry could have been absconded in March. According to the police report many pieces of jewelry were found to be missing form her residence. The jewelry was usually in a safe, but not this time, the owner said. She remembers seeing the jewelry last in March, around the time a crew came to her house for repairs. A $6000 bracelet, $900 diamond and opal earrings, $800 pearl necklace, $1000 pearl necklace, $1200 emerald earrings and a $3000 engagement ring were taken, according to the police report.

A Milton Avenue, Sag Harbor resident may owe a landscaper over $1500, according to a report filed with village police on Wednesday, July 30. The landscaper said she refused to pay him after he worked 150 hours on the landscaping project.

On Monday, August 4, a Montauk Avenue, Sag Harbor resident called Southampton Town Police to report her deep red Cannondale bike, valued at $600, was stolen from a garage at the rear of her residence.

Southampton Town Police received a report this week from a Noyac man who said someone took clothing, valued at $200, from his car while it was parked at an acquaintance’s house on North Side Drive on Tuesday, July 29.

A Sag Harbor thrift store was the subject of theft on Wednesday, July 30, according to a report filed with village police. While the shopkeeper was counting the money from the register she said she turned around briefly and $180 was taken.

On Wednesday, July 30 a checkbook was reported stolen from a car parked in a lot off Bay Street in Sag Harbor. According to the owner, the unlocked car contained a briefcase that was riffled through and both a checkbook and debit card were taken in the incident.

Two intoxicated men got into a verbal altercation on Main Street, Sag Harbor on Sunday, August 3 promoting a phone call to village police. The duo separated when police arrived and no charges were filed.

A Main Street, Sag Harbor business called village police on Saturday, August 2 just after midnight to request help with two highly intoxicated males who would not leave the premises. Upon police arrival, the men left without incident.

 

 

 

 

Popularity: 4% [?]