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”
Category Archives: Newsfeed
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”
War Has a Way of Inspiring Migration
The world migrant population continues to rise–clocked at 281 million in what is still the last (2020) U.N. measure. There’s no reason to think it hasn’t grown since. The causes are well known: escape from tyranny, fear of persecution, hunger (literal, or for a better life), and physical exposure or danger. Often the last ofContinue reading “War Has a Way of Inspiring Migration”
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”
Dining Out on Taxpayers in NYC
Restaurant sheds have been a lingering point of Covid controversy in New York City, and this item in the free tabloid papers from Schneps Media ought to be reason for further debate. The sheds were allowed on public streets to save the eateries during the indoor restrictions of the pandemic. Many of them remain inContinue reading “Dining Out on Taxpayers in NYC”
Bedroom Reform for Today’s Housing Crisis
Long Island, N.Y.’s East End has a housing price/supply crunch, like the United Kingdom. So it might want to look at an earnest argument out of the UK for addressing the scarcity by restricting or reallocating bedroom supply. (See this derivative blog post.) The scholars there found no actual shortfall of home square-footage in theContinue reading “Bedroom Reform for Today’s Housing Crisis”
Tipplers Tax: How NY Hamstrings ‘Big Grocery’
The antitrust-activist Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Biden administration and chair Lina Khan moved earlier this year to block a merger between grocery oligarchs Kroger and Albertsons. Its motivation is to preserve competition (such as it is) in traditional food shopping. There’s a whole debate about whether choice in supermarkets is so relevant whenContinue reading “Tipplers Tax: How NY Hamstrings ‘Big Grocery’”
Empty or Illicit? NYC Shops for a Solution
New York City, like many urban areas, has suffered vacant storefronts in recent years. The causes are likely many: online shopping, property crime, difficulty in hiring low-wage staff or paying the going rents. An article at politicsny.com this week notes that some city councilmembers are on the case and, as often, blaming landlords. Even aContinue reading “Empty or Illicit? NYC Shops for a Solution”
Tim W. Ferguson 