Our Hamptons

Esperanza and Irwin, spoke of Ben Heller during episode 81, Saving Barcelona Neck and the Grace Estate, East Hampton. Mr. Heller was part of the ownership of those properties, now in the public domain. But it's Ben Heller the Art Collector, that we speak of today. When he began seriously collecting Abstract Expressionism during the ’50s, museums like MoMA largely ignored the movement. Heller rushed in headlong. “He wasn’t someone to say, ‘Let me take a gamble on this small picture so that I don’t really commit myself.’ He committed himself a thousand percent, which is what he believed the artists were doing,” Ann Temkin, chief curator of painting and sculpture at MoMA, said in an interview. His goal was a simple one that, during his day, was radical: to collect the best art of his time. “He was unerringly spot on all the time,” said Andrew Fabricant, chief operating officer of Gagosian gallery. “The guy was the last of his kind. There’s nobody else in that league.” Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome author Mark Torres, author of Long Island Migrant Camps: Dust for Blood. Mark's background as a labor lawyer helps us dig deep into a shameful, and not well known recent history. There were numerous labor camps on eastern Long Island to house workers for the numerous farms of eastern Long Island, on both the North and South Forks. The 29 camps in 1951 grew to 134 by 1958. Riverhead to Greenport was nicknamed"Migrant Alley". Living conditions were dismal, mistreatment rampant, with clear racial undertones. Mark shares these unsettling stories from his research. We'll bring it into the present day, and how the service workers of today are often living in overcrowded conditions, or in the woods.

Esperanza and Irwin delve into the Prohibition Era, 1920 to 1933. There apparently were lots of hands in the till, making money from Prohibition on Long Island, or Liquor Island, as one prominent minister was quoted as saying. Carl Fisher, who's Island Club on Montauk's Star Island was the most glamorous speakeasy of its time, with patrons like Ernest Hemingway and NYC Mayor Jimmy Walker. Arthur Benson, where $250,000 worth of alcohol, a staggering amount in 1925, was confiscated from his 4000 acre estate. But it was the fishermen and baymen involved as well, eluding not just the authorities like the Coast Guard, but pirates and mobsters, like Al Capone, while transporting alcohol throughout Long Island and into NYC. With further involvement from Temperance Societies in the early 19th century, to the KKK's support of prohibition in an effort to appear patriotic, we were amazed at all the story lines that converge in this podcast. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Mary Foster Morgan. The Sherrills and Parsons are two of the East End’s oldest families, here for generations. Mary shares her Grandmother Sherrill’s stories of the two Sherrill houses. One, opposite the Dominy workshop on North Main, the second on Main Street, East Hampton Village. Mary grew fascinated by who lived in these historic homes, and tells us of old East Hampton values that resonate to this day.

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the trajectory of the Hampton Classic over the years. It's origins started as the annual Horse Show in Southampton in the early 1900's, overlooking Lake Agawam. It flourished to the point of some horse enthusiasts forming the Southampton Riding and Hunt Club in 1922. The depression created a long hiatus for the show until the early 1950's, and its rebirth as a fundraiser for the Parrish Museum. In the 1970's it moved to Dune Alpin Farm in East Hampton for a bit, and has been at its current Bridgehampton location since 1982. Its expansion into one of the premier events of its kind in the world, mirroring the ever rising profile of eastern Long Island.

Esperanza and Irwin didn't intend for this podcast to go 59 minutes, our longest episode to date. Jerry Torre's fascinating story, as a teenager in his friend Billy's Lazy Point fishing cottage, to his work on the Geddes estate on Lily Pond Lane is riveting. But his years living and working for the Beales at Grey Gardens, his involvement in the Maysles documentary and his personal recollections is at the the heart of this special podcast.

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the preservation of Barcelona Neck and The Grace Estate in East Hampton's Northwest Woods. The land was bought for $6.3 million from collector Ben Heller in 1985 after a referendum, the largest and most expensive public land purchase ever undertaken here at the time. The Nature Conservancy contributed $500,000 to the cost. Randall Parsons, who, in his former post as an East Hampton Town councilman, was instrumental in negotiating the purchase described at the time a Town at the crossroads. "There were subdivision applications in on Barcelona Neck [across Northwest Harbor], the Grace Estate, and Hither Hills in Montauk. It was the first time that people really rose up and said this is not what we want" The purchase was made after a prolonged public debate. Opponents argued against borrowing so much money, saying that if the Grace Estate were developed, town zoning laws would sufficiently limit development at far less expense. But fast forward 40 years, and imagine this much acreage with houses, condominiums and...

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Hannah Lasurdo. Hannah is a Miller, one of the oldest East End families, going back generations. Hannah shares her formative years honestly, including her personal struggles. But what Hannah truly explores is the intangible that we never seem to adequately explain. What is it about this place, that continues to draw us, despite the drastic changes evident to all.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Hannah Lasurdo. Hannah is a Miller, one of the oldest East End families, going back generations. Hannah shares her formative years honestly, including her personal struggles. But what Hannah truly explores is the intangible that we never seem to adequately explain. What is it about this place, that continues to draw us, despite the drastic changes evident to all.

Esperanza and Irwin reflect on the Lost Montauk, from a terrific article written by Henry Osmers for the Montauk Historical Society. Curiously, Montauk often doesn't get the historical respect, for lack of a better term, than other East End villages or hamlets do. We'll visit First House, the Montauk Island Club, Sandpiper Hill and the Wyandanee Inn and more in this homage to Montauk's rich history.