It's time to make up a bunch of awards and hand them out to the most deserving people, places and things in the real estate, architecture, and neighborhood universes in the Hamptons. Yep, it's time for the First Annual Curbed Awards! Today's topic: The biggest, best and in between.
Celebrity Most Likely To Cause Mixed Feelings: Alec Baldwin
It's hard to dislike a man who donated $750K to the East Hampton community in 2011, but the "good" Baldwin brother seemed intent in making sure that happened. It felt like every gift the 30 Rock actor bestowed upon the community was followed by news of the man behaving badly. This give and and take culminated in early December?roughly four weeks after Mr. Baldwin donated $250K to the library?when the one-time Jack Ryan was tossed from an airline after locking himself in the bathroom over his refusal to stop playing Words With Friends.
Best Application Of Common Sense: Bamboo Ban Bans
Hot on the heels of Southampton Village passing a law that requires homeowners to trim their hedges or face possible jail time , East Hampton and Sag Harbor considered a foliage law of their own. For a hot minute there, both villages entertained the idea of banning bamboo. Fortunately, the village boards realized that maybe it's best to "advise people not to plant invasive species" and let neighbors work out disagreements between themselves.
Biggest Sale of 2011: Tyndal Point
We had mistakenly named 5 Eel Cove the biggest sale of 2011 until we remembered that there was one bigger. "Eccentric" billionaire Jeff Greene purchased the 55-acre North Haven property known as Tyndal Point in June for a reported $36M. The sale set two records. One for biggest north-of-the-highway purchase. The other, for biggest pricechop?the owners were originally looking for $80M.
Most Inexplicably Popular Topic: Revenge
For a production that's supposed to take place in the Hamptons, we've given the ABC night-time soap a minuscule amount of coverage. That hasn't kept "revenge" from becoming one of the most searched-for words on Curbed Hamptons, though. Not only that, this post has remained one of the site's most popular six months after it was published. For a show that most Curbed readers seem to avoid, any mention of it sure brings the traffic. We don't get it either.
Biggest 80s Throwback: 28 St. Mary's Lane
While there were a few homes that harkened back to a simpler, more neon time, there was only one that inspired us break into song. This Amagansett three-bedroom has enough formica and indoor masonry to make Tony Montana sit up and say, "Hey now!"?and that's what we love about it.