Fire Island News

Why the Hamptons Can Keep Paris
By John Blesso
Saturday, June 23, 2007

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John Blesso                                    tel: (917) 887-4218   
JohnBlesso.com                                fax: (212) 857-0110

Why the Hamptons Can Keep Paris

More NYC Singles are Steering Clear of the Paris Hilton Generation in the Hamptons
to Find Sand, Sun and the Opposite Sex in Kismet, Fire Island

Despite the enduring misperception of Fire Island as a predominantly gay enclave, more and more straight singles are discovering the luxuriant beaches of Kismet, Fire Island’s western-most town. The 32-mile barrier island, which lies to the west of the Hamptons, is comprised of seventeen unique communities. (Of which only two cater to large gay crowds.)

“This pervasive notion that all of Fire Island is gay cost me a quarter of a million dollars,” says John Blesso, author of Sharehouse Confidential, a tell-all memoir about his experiences as the owner and manager of “Chance,” a seven-bedroom Kismet sharehouse where 14 artists and professional singles, ages 28 to 38 commingle under one roof each weekend. “I had wanted to buy back in 1998, but I couldn’t afford the Hamptons and unfortunately dismissed Fire Island as exclusively gay. I didn’t know that it was overwhelmingly straight.” Blesso first went to Kismet in 2003 and was captivated by its rag-tag beauty and relaxed pace. “In ‘98, my house probably would have cost half of what I paid in 2004.” 

Most of Fire Island consists of undeveloped wildlife preserves. Years ago, residents defeated Robert Moses’s attempt to line the pristine island with a multi-lane parkway. Cars are still banned and most people get around on foot or rusty bicycles, transporting groceries and beach gear in the island’s signature wagons. The town of Kismet epitomizes the island’s lack of pretension as well as its casual ethos. Huge block parties compete with house crawls (traveling bands of partiers roaming from house to house where hosts donning theme costumes serve high-octane cocktails). One Kismet staple is the “BLT party” where attendees must wear either black tie, lingerie, or a toga. This free-flow, carnival-esque environment imbues Kismet with the air of a perpetual parade and the town has become a new hot spot for New York City singles in search of an alternative to the high prices and uber-exclusivity of the Hamptons.

Blesso believes that people who want user-friendly access to the beach are more likely to appreciate Fire Island. “The Hamptons tends to attract people who want to transport their Manhattan existence out to the beach,” says Blesso. “Some people want to continually network or they just want to be able to say that they’re doing a house in the Hamptons. They spend an awful lot of time on cell phones and waiting on lines at clubs, or waiting to crowd into van taxis. I once guested at a house in Quogue where no one actually went to the beach. The whole house had two parking stickers to share and it was too far to walk. Most people just woke up late and sat around the pool, drinking Coors Light until it was time to dress up to go out. I was like, It’s just a pool. I could do this in Hackensack. Why would I spend so much money to come all the way out here to sit around a pool?”

Blesso especially likes that Kismet remains free from the Paris Hilton Generation of postgrads that are pervasive in the Hamptons, as well as its celebrity culture. “There are almost no celebrities on Fire Island, so it lacks that whole scene that many people in the Hamptons want, only most Fire Islanders are happy to let the Hamptons have Paris all to themselves.”

One of the many great things about Fire Island is that no matter where you are, you are never more than a few minutes’ walk from the beach.” Blesso, whose Web site describes his effort to “replicate the cool, epicurean lifestyle of Cannes, Monte Carlo and other beach towns on the French Riviera,” added, “The Hamptons is the right place for certain people. If you’re willing to trade easy beach access to waiting in line at exclusive clubs, you’re probably going to enjoy the Hamptons scene. Kismet is far more bohemian. We don’t have polo matches. I’ve met so many writers and artists and dancers and other kinds of less-conventional people. These are the same kinds of people who made Greenwich Village cool way back when. For me, it was always about the beach, and once I experienced Kismet, I never looked back at the Hamptons.

“Also,” Blesso wryly added, “there’s no cars, so you don’t have to worry about getting mowed down by bottled blondes drunkenly driving their daddy’s SUVs.”

Unlike Ocean Beach—Fire Island’s largest town that draws trendy post-grads still riding out the fraternity party—Kismet’s weathered, blue-collar charm is more likely to attract hipsters, artists and cognoscenti above the age of 25. While Ocean Beach’s extensive rules enforced by its over-officious police department earned the town the unofficial moniker of “The Land of No,” Kismet doesn’t have its own police force and is largely self-governed. Bass fishermen coexist on the same beach as bathers and responsible beer drinking on the beach is never ticketed. Kismet is the kind of environment where people voluntarily clean up after themselves.

The town is served by tennis courts, basketball courts, a general store, a liquor store, an ice cream parlor, a pizzeria, and two large bar/restaurants, The Inn and The Out. Both establishments offer outdoor dining. At night, the tavern-like Inn regularly hosts live jazz, blues, and rock bands, while The Out features a DJ and all-night dancing. The establishments are adjacent to one another, so if you don’t find your friends clustered around the bar at The Inn, no need to whip out the cell phone. Chances are they’ll be dancing next door at The Out. Neither bar ever charges a cover. Best of all—unlike the Hamptons—no one has to worry about driving home.

Kismet’s stripped-down user-friendliness and its anything-goes vibe is what convinced Blesso that he had finally found the ideal beach location. “Back when I was trying to find cool beach sharehouses to join, I kept seeing a lot of middlebrow stuff, yet I was meeting lots of people like me who were also looking to be a part of a house that is fun, yet urbane. So I decided to start my own.” At Chance, Blesso has placed a high emphasis on food. “We cook elaborate meals. Plates of ceviche followed by a rotisserie pork loin and grilled asparagus is just another Saturday night for us. We have a lot of cooks and wine people in the house.” The number of food-centric houses in Kismet has grown exponentially, creating a pool of foodies and epicures from the City (most of whom are single) that is now larger than it’s ever been.

People in Kismet dress casually at night. This may partly be due to the ferry ride over—as well as the close proximity to the ocean—which leaves everyone’s hair permanently windblown. “When I was in Southampton,” says Blesso, “I would see women in the early evening putting on their crushed velvet and going crazy with their makeup and hair. No one really does that on Fire Island. People just want to relax and unwind from the sensory overload of the City. As soon as I crash down in the sun and the breeze on the ferry deck, my weekend has already begun. Everything begins to slow down.”

By taking a train to Bayshore, and then a ferry, Kismet can be reached in less than two hours from Penn Station. For general information on Fire Island, including links for realtors, go to: http://fifinder.com. To read an excerpt from Sharehouse Confidential, go to JohnBlesso.com. For more information on the Chance beach house go to ChanceHouse.com.

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