We are fortunate to offer someone a truly captivating summer experience, located in Flanders, NY.

This lovingly maintained cottage offers a wonderful opportunity to leave bustle behind, embracing instead a lovely garden patio, with carefully located flowers and shade trees offering privacy, peace, and tranquility.

The bedroom offers sliding doors open to the garden, providing a light, bright retreat.

The bath has been completely updated with charming detail.

An eat in kitchen is open to a cozy living room.

To view this adorable cottage, please call Options Realty at 631-765-6221. This is a wonderful alternative to condo living- a low maintenance back yard, large garage with workspace, and in ground sprinklers offer benefits of convenience for those not yet ready to share walls, but seeking to simplify their space.

Priced at just $215,000., this 1 bedroom 1 bath single family retreat is beckoning.

The following is a New York Times article that goes back to 1890, and shares some prominent names/families, whose street signs have become a permanent fixture in Southold- some skinny behind the signs!

And for those of a “certain age”, how charming to refer to one young (at least by todays standards) womans age as one who is “20 summers” old- with summer on the North fork being such a lovely experience, not a bad way to express an age. Utterly charming.

The article can be found here.For those seeking historical homes, how interesting to get a glimpse into just who may have occupied the home of your dreams, so many years ago….

It makes sense, this lack of urgency- perhaps being a tiny bit late for a meeting in order to see just how many hummingbirds will hit the feeder is a good thing. And who can resist walking for just a little bit longer along the shorelines of the North fork?

With homes available that offer the pleasant sounds of bird songs, leaves rustling, and an occasional visiting deer as part of the package, hoping that overall health is an added bonus might well be the reality!

If you are looking for a home or bank owned foreclosure for sale on the North Fork / East End / Hamptons of Long Island, please fill out the form below.

To search available homes for sale on the North Fork / East End Long Island or condos on the North Fork of Long Island, click “north fork homes”, enter your area of interest and any parameters, and click “go”- properties for sale include Riverhead, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Peconic, Southold, Greenport, East Marion, Orient, Orient Point, Westhampton Beach, Hampton Bays, Flanders, Southampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton, Montauk, NY.

Marinas are not lacking on the North fork, but assuring a slip is important for those that aren’t quite comfortable with a short dinghy ride.

You can find resources for your boat here, courtesy of www.northfork.org.

Happy sailing!

To search available condos or homes for sale on the North Fork / East End Long Island or condos on the North Fork of Long Island, click “north fork homes”, enter your area of interest and any parameters, and click “go”- properties for sale include Riverhead, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Peconic, Southold, Greenport, East Marion, Orient, and Orient Point, NY.

To get more specific local North Fork or East End real estate information, fill out the form below with your questions/comments. We know how to find properties coming on the market, and available. If you’re looking for a foreclosure on any part of Long Island, we’ll help you find it.

Having made the (short) drive from Southold to East Marion a few years ago on a daily basis, it’s hard to imagine the presence of the planned Shizen structure at the end of Shipyard Lane.

As reported here, at Long Island Business News, homeowners on the North Fork of Long Island are horrified at the prospect of a mega sized spa- ironically designed to offer a  peaceful and relaxing experience.

“Shizen is more than 100,000 square feet of development in 28 buildings, including 114 guest rooms, plus tennis courts, a pool and a marina, all targeted for the 18.3-acre site of the former Long Island Oyster Farm on the bay in East Marion.” – Jeff Miller, LIBN

Visitors will need it, after finding themselves tied up in non-negotiable traffic in order to reach their destination. One way in…one way out.
What are they thinking??

My life, living in the area where mountain lion sitings were confirmed by local residents, has changed.

Mind you, the sitings are QUITE close to our own house.

There’s a sign on the back door that reads, ”No dogs unattended”, lest I forget that with a cat that can jump 15 feet, my privacy fence is not at all that. It is unnerving to have to think about a large predatory cat, claws irrespective. Our bulldog might look VERY appetizing, with the min-pin as an appetizer.

Walking through woods recently purchased by the town is unthinkable for me. Honing in on what appears to be, at least according to sitings, the mountain lions present territory of choice is just creepy.

Would it be better to live in ignorance, assuming that two separate sitings in close proximity were an ignorable (not a word) coincidence?  It would be unthinkable not to report it as a serious likelihood, the presence of this large, predatory visitor- escaped exotic pet that it surely is.

It’s also a large animal that instinctively takes advantage of those unaware.

Having just returned from a visit with my granddaughter, and awareness of very small, and small children on my street, thank you for reporting the facts as they were obtained, Denise.

According to local residents who saw the same animal type.

That’s good enough for me until the town exhausts all measures to locate a potentially dangerous animal.

Whose cat is this, anyway?

If you’re going to make a “mountain lion sighting” checklist, it might be good to start off by letting someone know that there is a mountain lion hanging around in your back yard, or sunning in a driveway. A neighbor, relative, police…someone.

Evidently, this cat has been around for more than three months. It would seem odd enough with the first sighting, wouldn’t one think, that alerting people with small children, pets, selves, etc. would be AN ACTION TO TAKE (but evidently wasn’t)???

I guess that a trap that won’t fit the lion, even with “smelly catfood” in it, can be eliminated- it’s been tried.
Our waitress at lunch today was amazed that a side of beef was passed over as bait in favor of a can of nine lives!

If anyone feels the need to let someone know that they’ve seen the mountain lion in MY NEIGHBORHOOD, a few streets away- we couldn’t find the trap but wanted a photo of it- feel free to leave a comment, or photo of the mountain lion. I’ll forward it to someone sometime before it KILLS my small child, relative, pet…?????????????

yikes.

Situated oddly, Sean’s father explained that he had in fact dined at this opulent eatery located in the residential area of Bayview- it was a destination spot often navigated on foot, as those in the area were able to combine a nice walk with a fine meal.

The building was abandoned when we viewed it, but still intact- clearly devastated by a fire of some sort, it was destined to deteriorate without immediate intervention.

Below are photos of this once-grand establishment, along with a recent town meeting addressing the uncertain future of this once glorious structure.

http://southoldtown.iqm2.com/citizens/Detail_PublicHearing.aspx?Frame=&MeetingID=1106&MediaPosition=&ID=1150&CssClass=

It has increasingly become an eyesore, due to the lack of maintenance and preservation that the owner was unable to provide for it.

I’d love to see it purchased and restored, but as the years go by, all elements worthy of restoration seemingly grow legs- where a sign once proclaimed it’s identity, there is now simply an empty and rotting post.

I read with interest the following article, published by The New York Times on June 18, 1989.

The author was Barbara Klaus. Link to the article below.

The Talk of the North Fork; Past Riverhead, Suburbia Looms Ever Closer

“At the Hargrave Vineyard here, Abigail Bakker is packaging newly bottled wine. As on other weekdays on Long Island’s North Fork, it’s quiet. The grapes are swelling on the vines and the roads are all but empty. Now in her 20’s, she remembers how it was when she moved here as a child.”

While there has certainly been growth in the years between 1989 and 2008, the North Fork of Long Island retains much of the charm that was present when the “locals” expressed a bit of dismay over the changing landscape.

“On Saturdays between Memorial Day and Labor Day long lines of luxury cars pull in and out at the Briermere Farms stand in Riverhead. Customers are drawn by the 18 varieties of fruit pies and fresh produce.”

Thanks to the 2% Peconic Tax, (Community Preservation Fund) many of the open farms that so many consider intrinsic to the area remain “open”. There was a recent Southold purchase that involved woods near Cedar Beach in Southold- the land will remain Evergreen woods. The Peconic Land Trust has this quote published on it’s web site -

“The 2% real estate transfer fee paid by buyers goes directly to the Town in which the property purchased is located.”

It takes living here to comprehend the importance of retaining the value in an area such as the North Fork- while the Hamptons offer their own recipe for summer living, North Fork residents have their own interpretation of “quality of life”.

“Yard sales are something that draws both local residents and the people with second homes. They rush from sale to sale, pouring over the contents of attics and basements from Riverhead to Greenport. People scoop up such treasures as wigs, circa 1962, rusted potato mashers, mosaic ashtrays and plastic Mr. Peanuts.”

For many, and I’ve come to agree, there’s nothing wrong with disliking change in the landscape of this little piece of island, and much to be said for preventing it.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home on the North Fork of Long Island, pricing has come down, and inventory is as plentiful as the sweet corn found fresh at the farmstands!

Photos: Copyright 2008 Options Realty

While we live close by (Southold, Long Island, New York), the summer season is upon us, and there is no place quite like Greenport for those loving both water, and sailing (not to mention shopping, but that’s another blog ).

Below, some highlights of our lazy afternoon.

For those seeking a restful vacation retreat (or lifestyle), call us to view properties for sale in Greenport, New York. Options Realty: 631-727-2227