West Hampton Dunes is an incorporated village in the Town of Southampton on

Westhampton Island The Outer Barrier, also known as the Long Island and New York City barrier islands, refers to the string of barrier islands that divide the lagoons south of Long Island, New York from the Atlantic Ocean. These islands include Long Beach Barrier ...

, in Suffolk County, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States, off the South Shore of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. The population was 55 at the 2010 census.

History

West Hampton Dunes is located on a barrier island in the Town of Southampton. The barrier island was part of Fire Island until a nor'easter in 1931 split the island creating Moriches Inlet. The inlet created a geographic oddity whereby the town of Brookhaven actually has jurisdiction on land immediately west of West Hampton Dunes although Brookhaven land access to it involves a nearly drive through Southampton. The village incorporated in 1993 in attempt to have more control over its precarious state since it was obliterated in the

Great Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm ...

1991 Halloween Nor'easter The 1991 Perfect Storm, also known as The No-Name Storm (especially in the years immediately after it took place) and the Halloween Gale/Storm, was a nor'easter that absorbed Hurricane Grace, and ultimately evolved into a small unnamed hurrican ...

("The Perfect Storm") and again in a 1992 nor'easter. Specifically, the village wanted to have a say in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers handling of the barrier beach—particularly in response to a series of

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concre ...

s at Shinnecock Inlet that have created major

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

"downstream" in the

longshore drift Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle incoming wave direction ...

. Almost immediately after incorporation, Gary Vegliante, the village's first and to date only mayor, sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for $200 million. The Corps settled the suit and began replenishing the beach leading to a building boom on what had been a devastated empty section of beach. The

American Shore and Beach Preservation Association The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) is a private, nonprofit organization formed in 1926. It was founded to address coastal erosion and the loss of sand on America's beaches. Today, ASBPA is an association of beach and coa ...

named West Hampton Dunes one of America's top restored beaches. In 2007, resident Yale Nelson finished a documentary on the town history which premiered October 20, 2007, in Westhampton at the

Hamptons Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October a ...

. In 1996, West Hampton Dunes was the closest community to the crash of TWA Flight 800, which occurred in the ocean about due south of it, although news reports focused on the much larger communities across Moriches Bay that provided the water response.

Police

In 1996, the village, under the authority of a court order, formed a law enforcement agency to better serve the needs of the community. The West Hampton Dunes Police Constabulary consists of approximately 12 members, including a department commissioner and two sergeants. The members are certified as peace officers with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and are trained at either the Suffolk Police and/or Suffolk Sheriffs academy. The members of the department also receive the required DCJS courses for peace officers to perform traffic enforcement duties including Radar/LIDAR, Standard Field Sobriety, and Basic Crash Management.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and , or 20.45%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 11 people, 7 households, and 3 families residing in the village. The population density was 32.2 people per square mile (12.5/km²). There were 172 housing units at an average density of 503.6 per square mile (195.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 90.91% White and 9.09%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

. There were 7 households, out of which none had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, and 42.9% were non-families. 42.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 28.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.57 and the average family size was 2.00. In the village, the population was spread out, with 18.2% from 25 to 44, 36.4% from 45 to 64, and 45.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 266.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $67,083, and the median income for a family was $127,308. Males had a median income of $32,083 versus $0 for females. The per capita income for the village was $57,150. None of the population and none of the families were below the poverty line.

Government

As of August 2021, the Mayor of West Hampton Dunes is Gary Vegliante, and the Village Trustees are Michael Craig, John J. Eff, Jr, Harvey Gessin, and Gary Trimarchi.

Education

West Hampton Dunes is within the

Remsenburg-Speonk Union Free School District Remsenburg-Speonk is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Political subdivisions of New York State#Town, Town of Southampton, New York, Southampton, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. I ...

References

External links

Official website

The Barrier Beach Preservation Association of West Hampton Dunes

"Documenting a fight against the tide"
''Newsday'', October 14, 2007

''The NY Times'', August 10, 2003

A case study on West Hampton Dunes by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationbr>Coastal Services Center
{{authority control Southampton (town), New York Villages in New York (state) Villages in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)