Hamptons Subway Newsletter: Week of May 23–30, 2014
Week of May 23–30, 2014
Riders this past week: 14,812
Rider miles this past week: 135,621
DOWN IN THE TUBE
A man who reportedly is buying a house for $163.4 million on Meadow Lane in Southampton without a broker was on the subway headed from Southampton to Shinnecock last Thursday. He refused to give his name. But it will break the record spent for a house without a broker by more than $15 million if true.
NEW STOP
Construction on a new subway stop between Napeague and Montauk will begin this weekend on the Old Montauk Highway in front of Gurney’s Montauk (formerly Gurney’s Inn.) As Gurney’s is atop a hill, there will be high-speed escalators to take people the long distance up to and down from the street to the platform. There will also be stairs for the not-so-faint of heart. The new owners of Gurney’s Montauk will be showing off some of the stunning renovation of the old seaside inn and spa this weekend.
MEMORIAL DAY
As we do every year, we took out the monuments to Memorial Day and placed them in the center of all the platforms over the weekend. The monuments, all sculptures, are the works of the local Hamptons high school kids from each of the towns and change from year to year. Some sculptures are of soldiers or military hardware. This year in particular, when rushing to catch the train in Water Mill, be careful not to brush up against the bayonet that sticks out from the memorial on that platform.
BEACH SPURS NOW OPEN
The shuttle subways to the beach open between Main Street and Main Beach in East Hampton and Main Street and Coopers Beach in Southampton this weekend. The entrance in East Hampton is at the corner of Newtown and Main and in Southampton at Main and Jobs Lane. This year, thanks to the generosity of the mayors of these Villages, the “Beach Spurs,” as they are called, will operate free of charge from the two locations. Bikinis are okay on the East Hampton Spur, but not on the Southampton one, where the regular cover-up village dress codes are in effect. Although the stairs down to the platform for the Beach Spurs is free, upon return, to continue on to other stops, you will have to swipe your subway card at the back of the platform to reach the rest of the subway system. Bathing suits are okay everywhere on the rest of the subway. But if they are wet, please sit with a towel between you and the seat.
MUSIC
New this year on the “Beach Spurs” are a series of white lifeguard life-preservers mounted on the walls for the whole one-mile length on both sides. They are not much use there in the spur itself, but if they run out of them down at the lifeguard stand they can always get more here. Loud music will be pumped out all day on the Spurs on a stereo system, provided by, of course, the Beach Boys.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Happy Birthday to Amos Malikovalov, the Chief of Train Scheduling on Hamptons Subway who came to America without proper papers, which we are sure he will have fixed soon. He turns 35 this Thursday. The party will of course be at Subway Headquarters in Hampton Bays.
COMMISSIONER ASPINALL’S MESSAGE
Well, we’re ready for the crowds and, as every year, I am excited to see what we do right and what we do wrong. You can never tell from year to year what will happen.