A Village with Privileges: Living in Belport, New York's Bohemian Refuge

For many years, Melissa Feldman has pursued one of the worst professions imaginable during a pandemic: she organized social events for artists. The pandemic has given 57-year-old Feldman a new life. She sold her Chelsea apartment and moved into her home in Bellport, New York. The town on the south coast of Long Island is home to about 2100 people, but it can easily be considered a rival to the famous Hamptons - a haven for the rich and famous. The publication told about how life is in this town. New York Times.

For decades, the village on Great South Bay, 60 miles east of Manhattan, has been a haven for writers, editors, publishers, artists, gallery owners, photographers, broadcasters, architects, and other bohemians.

Feldman, who was once described by New York Magazine as "the princess of the art parties," described the community as "very educated, yet quite low-key, without the attitude you find in the Hamptons."

A large part of Bellport is inhabited by people who work part-time. Many of them moved here during the pandemic, and some, like Feldman, plan to stay permanently.

“I came here angry and tense,” said Elettra Wiedemann, 37, who settled in Bellport on a full-time basis three years ago.

“I was born and raised in Manhattan, but after three months here, I felt so nice and easy, and the community is so kind. When I want to go to the city, I take a train and in 90 minutes I am in New York. In the city at the same time you can stay in some tunnel or traffic jam, ”the woman said.

What's special about Belport

Bellport Village is located in Brookhaven in Suffolk County. Although other parts of the city with the zip code 11713 are called Bellport (or North Bellport), the village is a separate settlement. There is a mayor, a deputy mayor, and three trustees, as well as a road administration and a sanitation department. The appearance of the village - a pleasant blend of a coastal village and a well-kept mid-century suburb - is overseen by the Architectural Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Planning Board and Zoning Appeals Commission.

Owning a property in Bellport Village offers exceptional privileges. In summer, residents and their guests can ride the Whalehouse Point Ferry to the exclusive Ho Hum Beach on Fire Island. They get subsidized memberships to the Bellport Country Club, which has a golf course and five tennis courts. They are allowed to park at the marina. The village also has a freshwater bay called Peat Hole, which is accessed by a path through the forest. In winter, skaters use it.

Activities include bowling at the Bell Street Community Center and the library, which hosts many activities.

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Residents have access to Mothers' Beach (non-residents cannot park there); the Gateway Playhouse Theater (now Suffolk County Performing Arts Center); and the boutiques, galleries and restaurants of the village's compact commercial district.

“I've always told my wife that our daughter lives in a fairytale world,” said Ray Fell, Mayor of Bellport Village since 2013. "Golf lessons twice a week, tennis lessons once a week, and in the summer she went to the ocean every day."

Fell's daughter is now a pediatric surgeon in Los Angeles, but that hasn't stopped her from buying a second home next door to her parents in Bellport.

How much does it cost to live in Belport

Bellport has many historic homes dating back to the XNUMXth or early XNUMXth century.

Until 2020, the minimum price for old houses in the village ranged from $ 1 to $ 1,2 million. It is now approaching $ 1,5 million due to rising demand.

Before the pandemic, houses in the mid-twentieth century cost about $ 350; they now sell for at least $ 000. The vendors tend to be longtime villagers retiring to other regions.

The median home sales price in Belport as of January was $ 462, up 000% from last year, according to Redfin.

Schools

Bellport is part of the South Country Central School District. The district includes a Brookhaven Children's Center; primary schools in various communities; one high school in North Bellport; Bellport Village High School; and Bellport High School in Brookhaven Hamlet.

How to get to New York

The Long Island Railroad provides rail links from Belport Station to Brooklyn and Manhattan. The direct train, which departs Bellport at 6:44 am on weekdays, arrives at Pennsylvania Station at 8:23 am and costs $ 17. (Peak price $ 23,50.)

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Travel time to downtown Manhattan on the Long Island Expressway is approximately 90 minutes with moderate traffic.

History

In 1815, Thomas Bell, a deep-sea captain working for the American Coastal Racking Company collecting junk from ships that had run aground on Fire Island, sailed through a gap in a long sandy stretch and came across what would later become Bellport. Together with his brother John Bell, he developed the area as a seaport and shipyard. Eventually, the gap closed, cutting off the path from the town to the open ocean, and Bellport became a popular XNUMXth century summer resort.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy reopened what is now known as Bellport Bay, re-opening the ocean.