Is this a sales pitch for the Rechler's condo project in Hampton Bays , on the Shinnecock Canal ? The glamorous name, Boat Houses at Shinnecock, a development with 37 two- and three-bedroom townhouses, sandwiched on a strip of land too small to handle sewage, so that a neighborhood across the highway has to house the sewage system. These 37 townhouses, down from a proposed 48 (!) are sandwiched directly between a railroad bridge and a busy overpass. They are right on the highway and the " dockside" is a very busy boat traffic canal. Oh the fumes ! Boat House idyll, indeed!
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Boathouse on the shoulder of the road and under the RR tracks. Don't open the windows !
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Surely you mean a pier. A dock is just water.
In the Bronx a home is not a home when it's a city run shelter.
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This area is all but unaffordable to 90% of the population. I grew up in Queens and we used to rent summer houses in Hampton Bays. I occasionally get out to the Hamptons but I now realize that I do not belong there. SO, sad because it is really lovely, for a tiny minority.
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The Cramptons, Hamptons 2.0.
Docks are very rare on the open waters of the Peconic Bays, Noyac Bay and Gardiner's Bay. There were a few when I was a child, but hurricanes did away with them.
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Re: Susan’s comment. She is right. In fact building a dock on the open bay as opposed to having a dock on a creek or inlet or protected harbor is not advisable. Your boat will not be safe from rough seas . It is the worst place, plus the water is often very shallow so you cannot dock a large boat that requires deep water close to shore where you build the dock. Building docks on the Bay is not something you will get a permit for anymore.
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All though a lovely dream, docks in the bays behind the barrier beaches bring problems
Our bays are shallow due to moving sand
Often, the docks need to be over sized, extending into the water over 100 feet to get to where a small boat won’t sit on the bottom at low tide
Put a bunch of these on small lots out into the water and you create an ugly site and disturb nature
Run off oil and cleaners from the boats goes into an already threatened and delicate eco system
Birds can’t flock and fish the wetlands for food
Feeder fish and shell fish loose habit
Eel grass doesn’t grow, and the marine meadows that harbor all of the fin fish at birth are gone, no scallops! No fish! No sea birds!
Out here we need to balance what we love, the beauty of the water and all of its wildlife with those romantic visions of the good life
A sail or paddle board, or a kayak are less noisy to everyone who lives near these narrow bays, less polluting and easy to beach vs dock..... bonus you get some exercise
The people you quote in the article sell real estate and build docks
The beauty of the beach life is to slow down, breath and appreciate nature
Surf cast! Go out on a party boat! They are fun and the Captains can get you to the right spot. If you need to motor, consider your neighbors and the environment
Go to a marina!
Sometimes, to live a dream you need to help keep the dream around
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Um... since when did Hampton Bays become part of The Hamptons?
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I guess of all things the town is named Hampton Bays because its not part of the Hamptons. Stop counting your dollars its bad for your health.
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In a world of tyranny and oppression, I think The NY Times doesn’t have time to cover lifestyles of the wealthy and dissatisfied. This article reeks of privilege.
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Why is the NYTimes always rediscovering the wheel when it comes to real estate articles about the East End of Long Island including both the Hamptons and The North Fork. The east end has always been dominated by boating- we are a maritime community since our earliest days. Boating is both a necessity and a hobby. It is also a major part of the economy out here. The boater’s dream is to walk out their kitchen door and onto their boat. The issue with living this dream is the size of your boat and the depth of water on the creek and/ or inlet where you live plus the navigation out of that area. Deep water dockage with bay access is prime real estate for boaters. If you have a really big boat nine times out ten you end up keeping it in a marina. That goes for sailboats as well as stinkpots. My friends used to go to school by boat years ago, leaving the dock in front of their house on the bay in Sag Harbor . It was a short ride across the water and they tied up at Maycroft ( now a private home). Another friend has a husband who is an avid golfer . He takes his boat across the bay on the North Fork to the shoes of the Shinnecock Golf Course in the summer to tee off and avoid the traffic.
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The NY Times RE publishes these pieces on the Hamptons because we enjoy them and because there is a streak of envy and ignorance out there still to be informed. Even though the resentful critics commenting here find this article so distasteful, please note they still took the time to read every last word.
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You really have to feel for these people and the incredible challenges they've endured. Thank you NY Times for keeping me appraised of the heart-wrenching and tragic situation facing these people who are truly struggling and facing such serious hardship in today's world.
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I don't believe any of them were asking for sympathy.
In all fairness, you don’t know a thing about the lives or hardships that may have been faced by the people you seem to resent so bitterly.
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Oh, yes they were. They are greedy for everything.
Oh, you can keep the Hamptons, I prefer the Great Lakes. On beautiful Lake St. Clair, near Detroit, Canada is but a 15 minute sail away. The sunsets over Grosse Pointe are just amazing. People say that living here is like living in a resort. I agree! The weather is milder than Long Island and houses are inexpensive too.
Many an evening, I stand on the dock, less a mile from my home and watch the sailboats race and dodge the international freighters bound for the ports of Toronto, Chicago, Duluth and Cleveland. Lake St. Clair has a race just about every day of the week during the season.
$15,000.00 marina fee, Ha! mine are 1/10 that. The maintenance on a boat in fresh water boat is considerably easier than for a salty ocean boat. In fact, boat buyers come here from all over the world to buy a craft that has never seen salt water.
The best part of this area is that one need not be a hedge fund executive or a plastic surgeon to afford living here. I am not sure I would like those people as neighbors anyway.
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... but the problem is... it's still Detroit. And no, the weather is not milder than Long Island, which is milder than NYC.
To each his/her own...
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Detroit is getting to be a very interesting city, vibrant with new growth. We have great music and restaurants here. True, less urbane than NYC, but probably more so than Long Island. Living near Detroit is a blast.
As for the weather, I can only judge from the news. It sure seems like you have had some harsh winters there.
but they don't live in Detroit.
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