Sagaponack and Water Mill rated as second and third most expensive zip codes

Long Island Morning Edition

Two communities on Long Island’s south fork are the second and third most expensive ZIP codes in the nation, based on the median sale price of homes so far this year, according to an online real estate database. John Asbury reports in NEWSDAY that the report, by PropertyShark, ranked 11962 Sagaponack second and 11976 Water Mill third nationwide in the sale of high-priced homes, each with a median price at just under $6 million. The two communities trail only Atherton, California, in the Silicon Valley, where the median home price was $7.9 million, according to the report.

Considering the high demand, some Long Island Realtors said, the median sale price for homes in Sagaponack and Water Mill would likely be even higher if not weighted down by relatively few properties on the market, but has jumped in the third quarter regardless.

"The market is powerful and money talks," said Michael Daly, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman.

Sagaponack has remained near the top of the list for nearly a decade but even so, the median home price has fallen $2.13 million from last year, according to the report.

Daly attributed that price drop to fewer home sales.

From May 2023 to May 2024, Sagaponack logged 17 homes sold, with a price range between $3 million and $24 million, Daly said. There were eight additional homes sold in the unincorporated Sagaponack North.

For the third quarter of this year, the median price of homes in Sagaponack was $8.7 million and the average price in Water Mill was $6.7 million, said Robert Nelson, executive managing director of Brown Harris Stevens, a real estate firm that operates in the Hamptons.

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The Riverhead Central School District will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this coming Friday with an evening of art, games, music and presentations at Riverhead High School. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the event starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday and will be celebrated in the high school’s gymnasium and cafeteria. The theme of this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community and celebrate the rich heritage and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans,” Interim Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said in a phone call to district parents yesterday.

Hispanic Heritage month is observed from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the United States to celebrate the contributions and influence of Hispanic and Latino Americans. It begins in the middle of September and ends in the middle of October to capture the Independence Days of several Central American countries.

A majority of the Riverhead Central School District’s students, 63%, are either Hispanic or Latino, according to the latest enrollment statistics published by the New York State Department of Education.

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Walk…Run…Recover 5K to benefit Quannacut addiction and psychiatry programs at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital will be held this Saturday, Oct. 26 at Orient Beach State Park. Check-in is at 8:15 a.m. and the walk/run begins at 9 a.m.

All are invited to join the Eastern Long Island Hospital Foundation for their 2024 Annual 5K Family Walk/Run to support your community hospital’s Behavioral Health Services.

Each year, funds raised by the Annual 5K Family Walk/Run bring critically needed financial support to Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital’s Behavioral Health Center of Excellence. Behavioral Health Services, Quannacut Addiction & Psychiatry. Positioned within the framework of Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital’s broad-based treatment center, the funds raised help meet the complex challenges of each individual’s needs with a mission of providing hope and personal care to each patient in the Quannacut addiction and psychiatry programs.

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Freshman Rep. Anthony D’Esposito faces a big deficit in his reelection bid while fellow freshman Rep. Nick LaLota holds a slight lead in his contest, according to two new Newsday/Siena College polls.

D’Esposito (R-Island Park) trails Democrat Laura Gillen by 12 percentage points — 53% to 41% — in a survey of likely voters in the 4th Congressional District in Nassau County.

LaLota (R-Amityville) has a three-point lead — 47% to 44% — over Democrat John Avlon in the 1st Congressional District, which covers eastern and most of Suffolk County.

Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that the two Long Island races are viewed as keys to which party wins control of Congress in November. Republicans currently hold a narrow, 8-seat advantage, and many swing seats are in play across the nation. With the coattails of the presidential race playing a factor in many races, Democrat Kamala Harris has a 10-point lead (51%-41%) over Republican Donald Trump in the 4th District, while the two are tied in the 1st, which was an area Trump carried in 2020.

Don Levy, director of the Siena College Research Institute, said the polls indicate Democratic passion seems on the upswing after a dip in 2022 when Republicans won several key congressional contests in New York.

"What we’re finding is there is a Democratic enthusiasm" this fall compared with two years ago, Levy said.

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According to a Newsday/Siena College poll, in the 1st Congressional District…which includes the entire east end…freshman Rep. Nick LaLota…a Republican from Amityville…has a 3-point lead over Democratic Party candidate John Avlon…who has a home in Sag Harbor.

Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that in the presidential race Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are tied in the 1st C.D., which was an area Trump carried in 2020.

Don Levy, director of the Siena College Research Institute, said presidential coattails — support for one party down the ballot — could play a significant factor.

In the 1st Congressional District, LaLota has a narrow lead over Avlon, but it is within the margin of error, meaning the race could be a dead heat.

"It really looks like a very close race," Levy said.

14% of independents say they are undecided in the race, which makes them "more of a wild card in this race," he said. The 1st Congressional District poll of 526 likely voters was taken Oct. 13-17 and has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points…and this recent survey indicates Congressman LaLota leads Avlon by 3 points…5 points less than the numbers posted 3 weeks ago by an internal GOP campaign poll.

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Early voting in New York State will be held this year from Saturday, Oct. 26 through Sunday, Nov. 3.

Voters registered in Suffolk County can vote at any one of the 28 early voting sites in the county.

A full list of early voting sites, details about voting via absentee ballot, and voter registration information is available at www.suffolkvotes.com

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 26.

Hours of early voting are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 26 through Oct. 28, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 29 & 30, Noon to 8 p.m. Oct. 31 & Nov. 1 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.

Polling places on the East End include St. Marks Episcopal Church at 40 Main Street in Westhampton Beach, Riverhead Town Hall at 4 West Second Street, The Gym at Stony Brook Southampton College at 70 Tuckahoe Road in Southampton, the Southold Town Recreation Center at 970 Peconic Lane in Peconic, the Shelter Island Youth Recreation Center at 1 Bateman Road on Shelter Island and Windmill Village at 219 Accabonac Road in East Hampton.

If you vote on Election Day, Tuesday; Nov. 5 (when the polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.), you can only vote at your designated polling place (you can find your regular polling place at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov)

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The East Hampton Town Board voted to remove a triangular patch of land, between the southern terminus of Three Mile Harbor Road and Springs-Fireplace Road in East Hampton, from the town’s nature preserve holdings at its meeting last Thursday. Christopher Walsh reports on 27east.com that the purpose is to allow space for the potential construction of a roundabout at the awkward intersection of those roads with North Main Street and Indian Hill Road. Construction of a roundabout could be incorporated into upgrades to County Road 40, as Three Mile Harbor Road and the portion of North Main Street north of Collins Avenue are officially known, which are scheduled to commence in the spring of 2027. A roundabout would require use of at least a portion of the parkland. A roundabout would represent an effort to address traffic delays and public safety, as southbound vehicles on Springs-Fireplace Road must navigate through a busy intersection with both northbound traffic from North Main Street and southbound traffic from Three Mile Harbor Road, all with no traffic lights and challenging sightlines. Voters’ approval to swap the parcel with another, at 16 Swamp Road, is among three referendums on the upcoming November 5 ballot and is required for the proposal to proceed. The local law passed last week is “simply removing the property from the nature preserve,” Rob Connelly, the East Hampton Town attorney, said after the vote. While the town code stipulates that a town-owned property dedicated to nature preserve shall not be conveyed, leased, changed or otherwise disposed of without additional procedures, “we’re just removing the property from the nature preserve. It’s not being conveyed ... until after the mandatory referendum.”

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Long Island Morning Edition is part of Your Election 2024, a special collection of programs, series, and resources from The WNET Group to illuminate election issues on-air, online, and on YouTube leading into the November 5th elections. Find more at wliw.org/yourelection2024.