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April 9, 2007
Brooklynhampton
Montauk begins to shake off its outer-borough status
NY Magazine
By Julia Chaplin
Being located on the outskirts, keeping it real and a real estate boom aren 't the only things Brooklyn and Montauk have in common:
Like Brooklyn, Montauk has long been defined by an anti-scene. On the surface, it’s a blue-collar holdout, with an abundance of inexpensive roadside motels, dive bars with sharks’ jaws on the walls, and an annual hot-dog-eating contest. Nightlife revolves around the boozy Friday-night karaoke competition at Liar’s Saloon, where the local fishermen always win.
Recently, perhaps inevitably, the town’s low-key charm has been attracting well-heeled folks who could afford to live pretty much anywhere and previously tended toward the Hamptons. In January, J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler paid a record $27 million for Andy Warhol’s old Moorlands estate, which had sat on the market for years. Now for sale nearby is an oceanfront five-bedroom—asking price, $24.95 million—not far from the cliffside spreads occupied by the likes of Nets owner Bruce Ratner and Montauk pioneer Paul Simon.
NoLandGrab: The only difference is that Ratner doesn't live in Brooklyn, he just prefers to own large portions of it.
Posted by lumi at April 9, 2007 7:52 AM