The umbrellas are back, the temperatures are cooling, but many wealthy New Yorkers have chosen this year to stay in their resort in the Hamptons, a seaside haunt in the east of the American metropolis, terrified by the pandemic and the rise in crime.
Robert Moore will not be returning to New York. Installed since March 13 in his villa in Amagansett, a stone’s throw from the beach, he has turned the page, after 26 years in the city that never slept.
At 58, this silver-haired entrepreneur had planned, last year, to “lead a more nomadic life”, “but not to leave Manhattan”. “The coronavirus sped up everything, for us and for many others, especially those who had homes here.”
Many, without a point of attachment, wanted to do as they did. “In March, the rental market exploded,” recalls real estate agent James McLauchlen. “People were offering $ 80,000 for vacation homes listed at 50,000.”
Several homes have left for more than $ 30 million at this end of Long Island, an unspoiled area with low density, he says, and there is a shortage of goods, despite prices rising 15%.
Two hours by car from New York, the Hamptons have long been a refuge for New York’s good society, which traditionally stays there only from June to the end of August.
But this last Wednesday in September, at lunchtime, the terraces of Southampton fill up, to the great satisfaction of restaurant owners.
“There are clearly more people than you usually see at the end of September,” confirms Don Sullivan, owner of Southampton Publick House, a pub he opened 24 years ago. “I hope it will continue.”
The British auction house Phillips has just opened a branch in Southampton, as has the Hauser & Wirth gallery, to seek the New York fortunes who fled New York.
|
© AFP People soak up the sun at Cooper Beach on September 30, 2020 in Southampton, Hamptons |
–
Retirees, young workers, families, all age categories are represented, as long as they have the means to live in this golden bubble where, every summer, celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Lopez and Calvin Klein pass.
From nursery to CM1, Ross School, a private school priced at more than $ 40,000 a year, welcomed 100 new students this start, compared to 16 last year, explains Andi O’Hearn, operational manager.
“We took as many students as we could,” said Sister Kathryn Schlueter, principal of Our Lady of The Hamptons Catholic School, which has 30 names on its waiting list and “still receives calls every days”.
 |
© AFP A street in Southampton, September 30, 2020 in the Hamptons |
–
“As long as nothing is resolved in New York, that the situation is not certain, I think people will stay here,” predicts Orson Miller, a 24-year-old French student, hosted by friends at the Hamptons while he finishes, in online, a master’s degree from New York University (NYU).
– “A lot of chance” –
Robert Moore is not the only one to have mourned New York.
A 32-year-old mother, Natalie Simpson has been living in her Hamptons home since the spring, and will be relocating to Connecticut rather than returning to New York.
 |
© AFP A street in Southampton, September 30, 2020 in the Hamptons |
–
She cites the coronavirus, “but it is above all the increase in delinquency that has worried us,” she said. Burglaries (+ 22%), murders (+ 47%) and car thefts (+ 68%) jumped in August in New York.
“It’s not really a place where we want to raise a child anymore, even though that was our original intention,” says Natalie.
Covid, insecurity, cultural life almost at a standstill, restaurants in slow motion, “if I have a choice – which I do – I’d rather not be there,” says Robert.
His eldest son, who recently graduated, chose to go to work in Manhattan.
“It hurts me for him, but also for the families who do not have the possibilities that we have” to leave the city, he says. “We are very lucky.”
 |
© AFP Houses on the beach on September 30, 2020 in Southampton, Hamptons |
–
Tennis, horseback riding, golf, beach sunsets, the people of the Hamptons have experienced a very different pandemic from those who remained in the “Big Apple”.
“It’s going to take years before we find some form of normalcy” in New York, says Robert. “It will never be the same again, and it’s a bit sad.”
“I miss the city and can’t wait to spend some more time there,” says Lori Reinsberg, 61-year-old art dealer, who has been living in the Hamptons since late May and is reportedly able to stay there. “I will not give up New York.”
–
