West Hampton Dunes is an incorporated village in the Town of Southampton on Westhampton Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located off the South Shore of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, the village's population was 126 at the time of the 2020 census.

History

West Hampton Dunes is located on a

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

in the Town of Southampton. The barrier island was part of

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

until a

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low ...

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 the Town of 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 1991 Halloween Nor'easter ("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 aquatic 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, concrete ...

s at Shinnecock Inlet that have created major beach erosion "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, shells) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming w ...

. 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 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. 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 United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which is land and , or 20.45%, is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 126 people residing in the village. The population density was . There were 172 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 90.91%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and 9.09% Asian. 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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $57,150. None of the population and none of the families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

Government

As of June 2025, the Mayor of West Hampton Dunes is Irwin R. Krasnow, and the Village Trustees are Gary Trimarchi, John J. Eff, Jr, Howard B. Freedman, and Regina M. Mulhearn.

Education

West Hampton Dunes is within the Remsenburg-Speonk Union Free School District.

References

External links

Official website
*
"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 Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

br>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)