As the South Fork of Long Island saw a housing boom in the mid-1980s, development pressed into woodlands—the very areas whose environmental worth was finally gaining currency. Roughly 40 years ago, a pair of adjoining subdivision proposals north of Quogue Village drew particular press and public notice. Unlike several other large projects floated during theContinue reading “Subdivisions That Sustained a Hamptons Middle Class”
Category Archives: Hamptons Land
Tangled Politics of Tribal Construction in Southampton
I’ve been waiting for the New York Post, which this month ballyhooed a coverage push into Long Island, to seize on a land-use story that captures its aggrieved-middle-class shtick. It’s the Shinnecock tribe’s rush to build a “travel plaza” (for starters) on its 79-acre adjunct site in a wooded part of the Hampton Bays hamlet,Continue reading “Tangled Politics of Tribal Construction in Southampton”
Affordability May Hit the Fan Again in Southampton
New and potentially partisan battle lines over “affordable” housing–or overdevelopment, if you prefer–are forming in Southampton town. It’s a tussle that has shape-shifted over recent decades but is now resulting from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s carrot strategy with local governments. After Long Island in particular bucked her earlier plans to intensify residential building inContinue reading “Affordability May Hit the Fan Again in Southampton”
Kmart Goes the Way of the Old Hamptons
Word has finally come of a planned closure of the Kmart store at the Bridgehampton (N.Y.) Commons center. When this occurs next month, Kmart’s remaining presence in the continental U.S. will be nearly gone, but the other story here is what becomes of the giant commercial space in increasingly tony Bridgehampton. Word is it willContinue reading “Kmart Goes the Way of the Old Hamptons”
50 Years On, Is Caro’s Word on Robert Moses To Be the Last?
Robert Caro has gone on to greater national fame with his (still in the works) biographies of Lyndon Johnson. But in the New York area, particularly, he is renowned for his work, The Power Broker, about local planning czar Robert Moses. It is the 50th anniversary of the publication of that Pulitzer Prize-winning book, whichContinue reading “50 Years On, Is Caro’s Word on Robert Moses To Be the Last?”
Why the Hamptons Has No Bike Path Like This
Go to many affluent communities in North America and you notice some kind of safe cycling path. Not on the South Fork of Long Island. You do see, outside of winter, some intrepid bicyclists—occasionally I am one. A few streets have designated bike lanes, where vehicles shouldn’t be blocking, but rarely do these extend forContinue reading “Why the Hamptons Has No Bike Path Like This”
Hampton Jitney’s Tale Is LIRR’s Shame
The East Hampton Star this week adds to the 50-year commemorations of seminal events on the East End of Long Island in the early 1970s, when its transition to being a weekend and warm-weather retreat for ordinary (but affluent) New Yorkers kicked in. This short article’s focus is the Hampton Jitney, the preferred connection forContinue reading “Hampton Jitney’s Tale Is LIRR’s Shame”
When Anti-Mansionization Isn’t Just Meddling
The Wall Street Journal is catching up with the movement in the Hamptons and elsewhere to contain the maximum size of homes. This week’s article focuses on the aesthetic and probably sociological objections to the mansions (the biggest ones aren’t really “McMansions” because they are built to a scale that is not…er, scalable). In response,Continue reading “When Anti-Mansionization Isn’t Just Meddling”
Taking Hamptons Traffic Seriously
Here’s a “letter to the editor” from me, published this week at the Southampton Press site. It concerns the worsening traffic situation on the South Fork of Long Island, not only the backups on the primary east-west arteries, but the onslaught of diverted traffic onto residential roads (including–no surprise–mine). I make reference to some renderingsContinue reading “Taking Hamptons Traffic Seriously”
Arf! Arf! Is a Hamptons Sound
Among the many 50-year milestones being observed in “the Hamptons” over the last year or two–reflective of the fundamental changes that were taking place there in the early 1970s–is a four-legged one. This golden anniversary year for the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF), now a celebrated (and sometimes celebrity) charity, will culminate inContinue reading “Arf! Arf! Is a Hamptons Sound”
Tim W. Ferguson 