The Hamptons

For other uses, see The Hamptons (disambiguation).

The Hamptons, highlighted (center) on South Fork of Long Island, an island 118 miles (190 km) long

The Hamptons, also called the "East End" (of Long Island), are a group of villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which form the South Fork of Long Island, New York, U.S. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort, one of the historical summer colonies of the American Northeast. The area features some of the most expensive and luxurious residential properties in the U.S.

The Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, the Montauk Highway, the Hampton Jitney, and the Hampton Luxury Liner connect the Hamptons to the rest of Long Island and to New York City, while ferries provide connections to Shelter Island, New York and Connecticut.

Stony Brook University's Southampton campus is located in the Hamptons.

West to east

Sherrill Farmhouse in East Hampton, New York is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The Hamptons include the following hamlets and villages in the town of Southampton:

• West Hampton Dunes (village)
• Northampton (hamlet)
• Eastport (hamlet)
• Remsenburg-Speonk (hamlet)
• Westhampton (hamlet)
• Riverside (hamlet)
• Westhampton Beach (village)
• Flanders (hamlet)
• East Quogue (hamlet)
• Quogue (village)
• Hampton Bays (hamlet)
• Shinnecock Hills (hamlet)
• North Sea
• Southampton (village)
• Water Mill
• Bridgehampton
• Sagaponack (village)
• Sag Harbor (village, shared with East and Southampton)

The Hamptons include the following hamlets and villages in the town of East Hampton:

• Sag Harbor (village, shared with Southampton)
• Wainscott
• East Hampton (village)
• Northwest Harbor
• Springs
• Amagansett
• Montauk

The Shinnecock Reservation of the Shinnecock Indian Nation lies within the borders of the Town of Southampton, adjoining Shinnecock Hills and the Village of Southampton.

Places

These areas constitute the core vacation area of the east end of Long Island.

Village/Hamlet	Town	Population	Total Area	Land Area
Amagansett	East Hampton Town	1,067	8.0 sq mi (21 km2)	6.2 sq mi (16 km2)
Bridgehampton	Southampton Town	1,381	11.2 sq mi (29 km2)	9.3 sq mi (24 km2)
East Hampton	East Hampton Town	1,334	4.9 sq mi (13 km2)	4.8 sq mi (12 km2)
Sagaponack	Southampton Town	582	8.0 sq mi (21 km2)	6.2 sq mi (16 km2)
Sag Harbor	60% Southampton; 40% East Hampton Town	2,313	2.5 sq mi (6.5 km2)	1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2)
Southampton	Southampton Town	5,687	6.8 sq mi (18 km2)	6.3 sq mi (16 km2)
Wainscott	East Hampton Town	628	7.3 sq mi (19 km2)	6.2 sq mi (16 km2)
Water Mill	Southampton Town	1,724	12.5 sq mi (32 km2)	11.0 sq mi (28 km2)

Seasons

Fall, the off season, is delightful in the Hamptons. The crowds are gone, and the weather is usually pleasant.

Description

Residents include many of New York City's most affluent residents, as well as a number of affluent people from other nearby states, executives, and increasingly, foreigners from Europe and South America.

The villages and the hamlets are distinguished by their significant population increases during the summers, a large number of retail shops and restaurants and extensive arts community. The arts community in the Hamptons has deep roots extending back to the nineteenth century when it was an isolated rural area at the tip of Long Island distinguished more by the growing of potatoes than by fashion. Residential real estate prices in the Hamptons rank among the highest in the nation, and, as of 2013, the real estate market was hot with prices rising for both home buyers and sellers and rentals. Lavish parties are commonly seen in the Hamptons. Particularly attractive were modest homes within walking distance of village centers.

In particular, Sagaponack, Water Mill and Bridgehampton were cited by Business Week magazine as being the first, sixth and eighth most expensive zip codes in the nation, respectively. In 2015, according to Business Insider, the 11962 zip code encompassing Sagaponack, within Southampton, was listed as the most expensive in the U.S., by real estate-listings site Property Shark, with a median home sale price of $5,125,000.

Amenities in the area include the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in East Hampton; the Parrish Art Museum and the Watermill Center in Water Mill; the Guild Hall, a museum and theater, in East Hampton; the Sebonack Golf Club; the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club; National Golf Links of America in Southampton; and the Maidstone Club in East Hampton. The Shinnecock and National golf clubs were recently voted as the number three and number 10 ranked courses in America by Golf Digest magazine. Exclusive private clubs provide additional recreational resources to the very affluent in the area. These clubs include The Bathing Corporation of Southampton, the Southampton Bath and Tennis Club, and the Meadow Club in Southampton Village and the Maidstone Club in East Hampton.

History

The Hamptons' history as a fashionable summer resort and dwelling place of high society date from the late nineteenth century when the community changed from a farming community with good potato ground to a popular destination. In 1893 The New York Times, based on its natural advantages and the quality of the Summer Colony located there, compared The Hamptons favorably with the Garden of Eden:

The beautiful villages clustering around old Southampton, including Quohue, Good Ground, the rest of the Hamptons, and the incomparable Shinnecock Hills combine to make as close an approach to Eden as can be found in a long journey. Exclusive—in the best sense of the word—society is here represented during the summer by its choicest spirits. Well-bred men and women find a congenial atmosphere, refined attractions in plenty, and innumerable charms about these quaint old villages.

As of 2015 commercial and residential development and the crush of summer and weekend visitors had reached crisis proportions.

In popular culture

The Hamptons and Hamptons society are frequently featured on-screen and mentioned in films and television, with wealth being the overriding theme.

In films

• In Inside Job, a 2010 documentary film about the financial crisis of 2007–2010 directed by Charles H. Ferguson, The Hamptons is depicted as a hub for Wall Street traders and investment bankers. The film covers a bird's eye view of the beaches and homes in the area.
• The majority of the Wayans brothers film, White Chicks, released in the summer of 2004, takes place in The Hamptons.
• In the 2003 film Something's Gotta Give, the main character resides in a beach house in The Hamptons.
• The majority of the 1989 film Weekend at Bernie's takes place in The Hamptons.
• In the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the two main characters meet on a train to Montauk.

In television

• In Seinfeld, an episode from Season 4 featured Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine Benes, George Costanza, and Cosmo Kramer visiting the Hamptons where various antics occur (including the appearance of an ugly baby, Kramer illegally obtaining lobsters from cages, and George getting caught naked and being a victim of "shrinkage"). In a season 9 episode, George has an "imaginary place in the Hamptons" that he takes the parents of his deceased fiancee Susan to in an impromptu game of "chicken".
• Numerous episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City are filmed in and around The Hamptons, where the cast members participate in the East End social life and charitable events and several cast members own (or previously owned) eastern Long Island homes, e.g., Cindy Barshop, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, and Jill Zarin. (Exemplary episodes include 1.3 "The Hamptons"; 2.2 "Hamptons Retreat, No Surrender"; 2.3 "On Their High Horses"; and 4.4 "Ramona'd".)
• In the show Louie, comedian Louie CK performs a stand up comedy set at a private charity function in the Hamptons with comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
• Reality stars Khloé Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick are the main cast of the show Kourtney and Khloé take The Hamptons, that begun airing in November 2014. The show is based on the family spending the summer at a house in The Hamptons, and features guest appearances from other members of the famous family.
• The series Royal Pains takes place in the Hamptons, although most of the series is filmed in surrounding towns and portions of Long Island.

• The series Revenge takes place in the Hampton, though it is primarily filmed in North Carolina and Los Angeles.

• In addition to this, Gossip Girl was set in The Hamptons during the first two episodes of season 2, while the cast were away from New York City for summer vacation.

• The series Castle has taken place in The Hamptons on three occasions, first was in the show's fourth season. The second was at the end of the show's sixth season. The third and most recent trip to The Hamptons for the show was in the show's seventh season.

• Much of the final season of the series How I Met Your Mother takes place in a fictional hamlet in the Hamptons called "Farhampton".

External links

• "Real Estate 101 in the Hamptons", The New York Times.
• "Studios by the Sea", Vanity Fair, August 2000.
• "The Most Expensive Golf Courses in the Country", Forbes magazine.
• “Ruffling A Few Feathers In One Of America’s Most Exclusive Retreats, The Hamptons” Tayfun King, Fast Track, BBC World News (2008-08-01)