Fighting The Good Fight Together

Any hope that this sleepy part of the world could somehow avoid the shockwaves that shake this troubled globe has vanished.

The opioid crisis — our young dead in the street from overdoses — came at a sickening pace. Word from the border, and small-town USA, revealed stark images of racism at its core: infants alone in cages, crying parents in cuffs with everything they own slung on their backs like mules.

Closer to home, the subtle signs of Mother Nature’s fury crashed onto our shores, killed off our scallops, and infiltrated our once pristine waters. Yes, the East End fights with the world not just to save our lifestyle, but our planet. It’s a fight that hopefully defines our future resolve.

Next week is a very special issue, one that brings back to life all the major events, good and bad, that shaped our lives. The Best of 2019 will be available all over the East End, so grab one and hold onto it. It will be interesting to reread in the coming years.

But we survived, and we prevailed. In his holiday season, regardless of how you worship, remember we wipe the slate clean come January.

Our little piece of the world, with it sumptuous displays of food and art, offers world-class galleries and museums. There is plenty of good live music and please, East Hampton town, remember it needs to be heard. The shorelines may be eroding and the sea rising, but these are still the best beaches in the county. Here’s hoping a few wheeler-dealer politicians and idiot savants don’t have to look in the mirror and face themselves a few years from now after allowing one of our sacred beaches to be raped by cranes and drills.

If it touched a nerve, chances are The Independent covered it in 2019. The New York Press Association adjudicated us to be the best single-flag newspaper in the state, and next year, we’ll be adding even more features.

We are by no means resting on our laurels. If you haven’t noticed, The Independent is constantly growing, breaking local news on our various award-winning social media platforms, adding special sections and special events.

Stay in touch. Let’s make this brief holiday one filled with joy and make sure every neighbor is treated like friends and family.

If it’s anything like last year, we will be tested anew, and together we will take on our adversaries with resolve. We are East Enders, and we are New Yorkers.