The Cape has always been my stomping ground but travelling through Shelter Island en route to (gasp!) Southampton, I found it intriguing and charming. Apparently my antecedents founded Southold/Mattituck (sp.) so...! The snarky NYT makes everywhere sound evil. I think it sounds great.
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Charming but over priced like most of Long Island. There are other alternatives (other states) which offer more and your wallet is not confiscated.
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As rising seas potentially consume the eastern US coastline how much of this island will be underwater? Maybe renting is the way to go?
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@Tor H Doesn't appear to be much above sea level.
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How can you publish an article about Shelter Island and never mention ticks? The annual tick survey at Mashomack Preserve - where they carry a white hand towel on a half-mile hike and count the ticks clinging to it like so many peppercorns - is a hallowed tradition. It's common knowledge that ticks outnumber residents by nearly a million to one, and the CDC named the Island as "ground zero" of the Lyme Disease epidemic. Where is the Times' vaunted "fair and balanced reporting"? Drowned out by luxury realtors' spin!
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I have to agree here. Deer ticks carry Lyme disease and a disproportionate number of residents have had this disease. Those with children should be particularly careful as kids play outside, roll in the grass, etc. The dramatic increase in ticks is relatively recent but visitors should be warned...
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Which is no way to begin a "sentence".
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You just did!
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Paradise, with lots of deer!! Love this wonderful island!!
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Where the rich can get away from the rest of us.
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Ticks and tick borne illness are rife there.
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Not overrun by tourists but crawling in ticks--a serious problem.
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Paradise Lost. The article fails to mention that there was a recent home invasion that’s led to the death of the homeowner. Now with a recent himicide, Shelter Island isn’t no longer the safe paradise that it was say 4 months ago. It was the sort of place where people left their doors unlocked and keys in their car. No more. Now we fear another incident since no ne has solved the murder and the killer is apparently at large. Too bad for all of us and what once was our quiet safe island.
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Sadly this is true. A senseless and cruel murder in a quiet community. It is unnerving that the perp has not been caught yet.
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I do believe you buried the lead:
"Ms. Ketcham pointed out that the district just passed an $11.7 million budget, and divided among the 222 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, that comes to more than $52,700 per student."
This is an extraordinary amount of money per student (depending on how it's being spent), and I wish this could be the case in every district/state in America. Imagine how much better our education system would be for students and teachers.
I hope the teachers marching and protesting across the country will quote these financial statistics.
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No shopping mall, no movie theater, polite children "totally unsupervised" (gasp!)...sounds pretty nice. Maybe I couldn't afford to live there, but it is a sad statement on modern American society that so seem to want to tear down such places, metaphorically or otherwise. I can't blame the residents for wanting to limit rentals or maintain their lifestyle. There are countless other places one can go to with the generic pre-planned look of one town after another from coast to coast.
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Another NYT article about the lifestyles of the rich and famous. When will it end?
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I think I missed the part of the article that discussed the rich and famous?
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These stories will end when the rich and famous stop reading the Times. And that’s never. I am not among them, but I’m fine with articles like this.
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My heart goes out to these people. No mall?
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I assume the mail is delivered at a central post office and that residents have boxes there.
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Spent many childhood summers on my grandparents’ boat in Coecles Harbor Marina and Boatyard. (It’s still there!) “Chill” is just the word for this island. They and the boat are long gone and I haven’t been back in decades, but now I’m motivated to make the trip.
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The ferry and "lack of" hold Shelter Island back from becoming full on Hamptons. Spent over 20 years there as a resident. Great place to raise children. No movie theater, no shopping mall - you need a healthy love of the outdoors, nature and water to fill your days. Rain brings a book and a cup of tea to sooth the soul.
Everything is getting more expensive so no surprise house prices on Shelter Island are not immune although why they are so big has always boggled my mind.
A beautiful place with friendly hardworking people with a slower pace of life, more New England in feel.
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Private school tuition is closer to $65,000 a year. Mrs. Ketchum ‘ s number is a bit off.
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But $52,000 a year IS 2.5 times as much as the US average of $20,000 per child -- which is among the top 3 in student expenses in the WORLD, surpassing most of the "liberal nations" in Europe! No nation on earth spends anything close to $52,000 per child -- only the super rich enclaves such as this one.
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The Southold School District just passed a $29 million budget. The school is larger than Shelter Island District.
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"disastrous experiment in pancake making"
Well, that's rather a stretch. It would have to be an experiment in pancake making outdoors in a hurricane.
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The problems of the (very) wealthy.
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Not true. I don't consider myself wealthy and still loved the Island. Rentals are not expensive so truly don't understand your biased and small minded comment. Rent.
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Manhattan Guy: It's hard to find a description other than "wealthy" for a community with a median home price in the mid-$800,000 range. It would be helpful if you gave readers some idea of what one might expect to pay for a rental. Of course, the idea of what is "not expensive" will vary, but it could help bolster your argument that the island is not just another closed community for the well to do.
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Yes, Shelter Island seems like a nice place…if you can get to it. Its sandy perimeter is patrolled and protected by the Bay Constables—Barney Fifes in boats. These maritime martinets are not averse to stopping anyone for any reason and conducting inspections, ID checks, and name searches for outstanding warrants. It’s petty harassment, but it’s conducted on the water, generally out of sight of witnesses, and so is seldom reported. During our last cruise by the island, we—half a dozen 50- and 60-year-old professionals and experienced boaters—were detailed for half-an-hour by one of these Barney Fifes for no other reason than he could detain us. So, after an equipment check, a search for outstanding warrants, and repeated demands to know if we had landed on the island, we were freed from the grip of one of the island’s petty border guards. I can only imagine how boatloads of teenagers or minority fishermen have fared against these floating flatfoots. Likely, it’s safer and easier to land on Plum Island than the well-guarded sanctuary of Shelter Island.
Edward McSweegan, PhD
Crofton, MD
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You appear to have a huge chip on shoulder. Beautiful Island.....not perfect.... expensive yes. Don't like it then don't visit. Haven't been there in years but fond memories remain.
NY Realist with no chip.
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Nah... those guys started stopping people after 9/11. It’s not a big deal & certainly NOT elitist! We are grateful they do it.
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Dr Mc Sweegan,
So sorry you had a bad experience with our Barney Fifes.
I for one are happy they are vigilant. The boat traffic gets very scary in the summer with, boats, paddlers, kyaks, jet skis sharing our water. People of all ages are on the water and if it wasn’t for our Barney Fifes, more boating accidents would occur.
I hope you have a chance one day to visit our island and experience the Island life. No, we are not turnips who fell off the farm truck. Summers here are full of many cultural activities. Our children can walk and ride bicycles with out fear. The beaches have beautiful views. Sunsets are spectacular.
Put aside your grumbling and come and experience the island life.
It’s a great way to chill.
PS,
We are experienced boaters and have been stopped for safety checks. We take it in stride.
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Time and tide wait for no man; the same can be said about Long Island real estate. Certainly Shelter Island is not immune from increased popularity, overflow from the Hamptons, and the concomitant increase in home prices.
Be that as it may, even in the middle of summer Shelter Island is a fine latter-day example of all the positives of small-town US. With the ferries providing a built-in moat (mitigating, to a large degree, a hip late-night scene-- Andre Balazs' irksome Sunset Beach notwithstanding), hopefully it will remain so.
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Spent many a summer day on the island in the late 70s and early 80s. The island still defines me in ways and I go there when I can. I fondly recall days riding my bike everywhere and watching the North Ferry go to and from Greenport and the oyster boats sail through. If I had the wherewithal to get a place there, I would. But it's like trying to return to my childhood. I'm simply not Peter Pan.
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Your post made me nostalgic for a place I have never been. Great expressing.
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Beautiful Island, fond memories and spent many summer's there when our sons were young. Prior to the Pearlmans purchase of their beachfront property, a great Polish family owned a "rustic beach resort". We were saddened when they sold it in the 90's.
Haven't been back to the Island in years and sad to see the inflated Real Estate prices....which I guess is no surprise given the supply vs demand imbalance.
I wonder if Louis the Barber is still in business.
Great memories.
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Back in the early '80's I spent 2 wonderful weeks at the beach "resort" run by that lovely Polish family with my young son who was 4 at the time. It was heaven! So sorry to hear it's closed. I wonder if there's anything comparable still available on the island?
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Years ago we transitioned to the Pridwin with success. I believe that they are still in business! Good luck.
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Louis is still in business. He and his wife are still going strong.
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