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I grew up in a village on the north shore of Long Island called Eaton’s Neck, which is connected to the mainland (or so we call the rest of Long Island) by a narrow strip of land known as Asharoken. Asharoken Avenue is the only way into Eaton’s Neck as well as the only way out; we call this 3-mile, 2-lane stretch of road with a lot on either side of it “the strip”. The zealous police force tickets anyone going over 31 mph. It takes 15 minutes to get to civilization/commercial activity by car and 20 by boat. It’s not for everyone…
)http://www.longislandsummerrental.com/Location.php)
My house looks across Duck Island Harbor to parts of the strip. I see these houses every day as I drive at a pulse-racing 31 miles per house down Asharoken. Ever since I can remember, houses have been being taken down and replaced with brand new ones. Some fit the neighborhood. Altering the character of the neighborhood is a sneaky process. When Robert Moses cleared blocks and blocks of Manhattan, it was easy to know when to protest. How do you address the changing face of a neighborhood when it happens one-by-one?
The strip, as well as the larger neighborhood, is changing. Less of the business is local and almost everyone commutes into the city. What I find lamentable is the northern end of the strip. It was always my favorite part of the drive. The strip narrows, so there’s not room for a lot- 10 feet of beach to the east and enough for a dirt parking space to the west. The owners of these lots built wooden staircases (usually decorated with buoys or old lobster traps) that served as their entry to the LI sound beach across the road. Developers have bought up the lots and are constructing cookie-cutter homes that fill up every square yard of the narrow lots.
The strip, as well as the larger neighborhood, is changing. Less of the business is local and almost everyone commutes into the city. What I find lamentable is the northern end of the strip. It was always my favorite part of the drive. The strip narrows, so there’s not room for a lot- 10 feet of beach to the east and enough for a dirt parking space to the west. The owners of these lots built wooden staircases (usually decorated with buoys or old lobster traps) that served as their entry to the LI sound beach across the road. Developers have bought up the lots and are constructing cookie-cutter homes that fill up every square yard of the narrow lots.
To compound matters, changing tides and several severe nor'easter storms--
in the past year have wiped away the beaches to the east. It seems as if nature and commercialism are pushing my village to modernity. Change surely isn't all bad- I deeply care about my community and look froward to watching it grow over the years- but I hope it doesn't permeate to the spirit of my community of fishermen, lobster eaters, boaters, and good old fashioned beach bums.
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