Hamptons Verified
The practical answers second-homeowners learn the hard way — who to call at 11pm in February, where the dump is open on Sunday, which ambulance corps covers your hamlet, and what to do when the well pump quits on Christmas Eve. This is the directory we wish we’d been handed at closing.
Hospitals, urgent care, 24-hour vet, and the people you call when something is on fire (literally or figuratively).
Southampton · south fork
Full-service hospital with a 24/7 emergency department — the South Fork's primary ER. The closest hospital for everywhere from Westhampton to Montauk.
Source: year-round resident network
Riverhead · north fork
Full-service hospital with 24/7 ER serving the North Fork and points west. The closest hospital if you're north of the canal.
Source: year-round resident network
East Hampton · south fork
Walk-in urgent care for the things that aren't ER-worthy but can't wait until Monday — strep, sprains, stitches, poison ivy that has gotten away from you.
Editor’s note: Multiple urgent-care brands operate in East Hampton; verify the current operator, address, and seasonal hours before listing publicly.
Source: year-round resident network
south fork
Most South Fork hamlets are served by volunteer ambulance and fire companies. Call 911 — dispatch will route you to the right corps. Knowing your hamlet's name (not just the street) speeds dispatch.
Source: Suffolk County 911
Riverhead · north fork
After-hours and 24-hour emergency vet care on the East End — the place to head if your dog meets a porcupine at 2am.
Editor’s note: Confirm current name, address, phone, and that 24-hour coverage is still in effect — emergency-vet hours change.
Source: year-round resident network
Riverhead · north fork
Long-running full-service animal hospital on the North Fork; commonly cited by locals for after-hours and emergency care.
Editor’s note: Verify current emergency-hours availability before listing.
Source: year-round resident network
south fork
Locked out of the house at 11pm in February? You want a mobile locksmith who covers East Hampton/Southampton towns and can come to you. Ask your nearest hardware store for a current name — this category churns.
Editor’s note: Locksmith vendors change frequently; this slot is a placeholder for an editor-curated, currently-operating recommendation.
Source: Sag Harbor Express classifieds
Sundays, holidays, and after-6pm answers — the gaps that catch every weekender off guard.
Southampton · south fork
Long-running independent hardware store. The kind of place that has the weird brass fitting nobody else stocks. Ask the people behind the counter — they know.
Editor’s note: Confirm current ownership, address, and hours — particularly weekend/holiday hours.
Source: year-round resident network
Southold · north fork
Agway carries the agricultural-grade stuff a regular hardware store doesn't — deer repellent, well-pump parts, propane, livestock supplies. The North Fork answer when Home Depot doesn't have it.
Source: year-round resident network
islandwide fork
National propane supplier with East End service. Set up a delivery contract before winter — running out on Christmas Eve is a year-rounder rite of passage you do not want.
Source: year-round resident network
islandwide fork
The other big propane name on the East End. Comparable service to AmeriGas; it's worth getting quotes from both before locking in a contract.
Source: year-round resident network
south fork
Both Southampton and East Hampton villages have national-chain pharmacies (CVS / Rite Aid–lineage / Walgreens) that keep Sunday and limited evening hours. Always call ahead in shoulder season — hours shrink off-season.
Editor’s note: Pharmacy chain ownership on the East End has shifted recently; confirm exact brand and current hours per location.
Source: year-round resident network
Permits, dump hours, recycling, ferries, EV charging — the bureaucratic plumbing of life out east.
East Hampton · south fork
Beach permits (resident & non-resident), shellfish permits, dump stickers, building department, tax receiver. Most things you'll need a sticker for live here.
Source: Town of East Hampton
Southampton · south fork
Beach permits, parking permits, transfer-station (dump) stickers, building department, and the tax office for the Town of Southampton — which covers everything from Eastport through Sagaponack.
Source: Town of Southampton
Sag Harbor · south fork
Sag Harbor is its own incorporated village (straddling two towns), so village permits, parking, and code enforcement go through here — not East Hampton or Southampton town hall.
Source: Village of Sag Harbor
Shelter Island · shelter island fork
Shelter Island is its own town. Beach permits, dump stickers, ferry-related questions, and building department all live here. Bring patience and a sense of humor.
Source: Town of Shelter Island
shelter island fork
The South Ferry runs between North Haven (Sag Harbor side) and Shelter Island. Cars and passengers, year-round, frequent service. No reservations — you queue.
Source: South Ferry Inc.
shelter island fork
The North Ferry connects Shelter Island Heights to Greenport on the North Fork. Cars and passengers, year-round. Pairs with South Ferry for a North Fork ↔ South Fork shortcut.
Source: North Ferry Co.
Orient · north fork
Car and passenger ferry across Long Island Sound from Orient Point to New London, CT. The fastest way to New England without going through New York City. Reservations strongly recommended for cars in summer.
Source: Cross Sound Ferry Services
islandwide fork
The bus that runs the East End ↔ Manhattan corridor. Multiple daily departures, reservable seats, the de facto NYC connection for anyone who doesn't want to drive Sunday-night traffic.
Source: Hampton Jitney
islandwide fork
Higher-end coach service between Manhattan and the East End — leather seats, more legroom. Good shoulder-season alternative when the Jitney is sold out.
Source: year-round resident network
islandwide fork
Helicopter / seaplane shuttle between NYC and East Hampton (and other East End points). Pricey, weather-dependent, fast.
Source: BLADE
islandwide fork
The Long Island Rail Road's Montauk branch serves the South Fork (Westhampton, Hampton Bays, Southampton, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Amagansett, Montauk). The Ronkonkoma branch + a transfer reaches Greenport on the North Fork. Slower than the Jitney, but no traffic.
Source: MTA / LIRR
Tick testing, deer fencing, well pumps, oil burners, septic — the things only year-rounders know cold.
Southampton · south fork
The closest expertise on tick identification, tick-borne illness testing, and current advice for the East End — which is the epicenter of Lyme, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and alpha-gal in New York. If a tick bit you, this is the place to start.
Editor’s note: Stony Brook Southampton hosts tick-related research and outreach. Confirm the exact current program name and contact channel before listing publicly.
Source: Stony Brook Medicine
islandwide fork
If you garden out here, you need an 8-foot deer fence. The good installers book months out — start in winter for a spring install. Ask a year-rounder for a current name; this category is small, local, and word-of-mouth.
Editor’s note: Deer-fence vendors are a small local field; we want a human-vetted current recommendation here, not a guess.
Source: year-round resident network
islandwide fork
Most East End houses outside the village centers are on private wells. When the pump fails, you have no water — and the people who fix wells are a small group with long wait lists. Get on a service contract before you need one.
Editor’s note: Several long-running well-pump outfits serve the East End; the editor should pick a current recommendation rather than fabricate one.
Source: year-round resident network
islandwide fork
Most East End houses are on septic, not sewer. Get the tank pumped on a schedule (every 2-3 years for a typical household) and you'll avoid the emergency call. When the emergency does happen, the local septic companies know your hamlet's water table.
Source: year-round resident network
islandwide fork
Many older East End houses still run on heating oil. The local fuel companies (the same names that have been here for 50 years) deliver oil and service burners — get on an annual service plan, and they prioritize you on the coldest morning of February.
Source: year-round resident network
south fork
The Hamptons privet hedge is a craft. The crews who do it well are booked from April through October; the good ones are booked a year out. Ask your neighbor whose hedge you admire — that is literally how this works out here.
Source: neighbor-to-neighbor
islandwide fork
The single most-asked second-homeowner question on the East End. The honest answer: there isn't a directory — there's a year-round network. Find a year-round neighbor, ask who they use, and treat the referral like gold. Pay on time, tip in December, and you become someone whose calls get returned.
Editor’s note: Editorial entry — intentionally not a single vendor, because the honest local answer is 'find a year-round neighbor and ask them.'
Source: every year-round resident, ever