When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the area hard back in March, a lot of people who have summer houses on the East End moved into those homes, figuring they were safer in a rural area.

Real estate agents were also inundated with calls from people - mostly from the city - looking for temporary places to live.

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Many local residents were upset over that. They say the sudden influx of out-of-towners was a health threat to them, and they worried about if the small hospitals in the area would be overwhelmed. They were also upset because the shortage of food and cleaning supplies got worse.

Many local businesses say the early arrival of summer people helped their businesses survive the crisis financially.

Rashid Sulehr, of the Beach Bakery Café, said that on Mother's Day weekend, that Sunday, they made over 200 cakes.

"That was over our capacity with the staff we have. Two hundred cakes in one day, that's amazing. We delivered cakes all the way to Montauk," he says.

While many businesses say they are still struggling, they say they could be doing much worse if they didn’t have the influx of out-of-towners.