Town Presents Access Plan For John Steinbeck Property

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — With a continuation of the public hearing on the proposed plan for access to the John Steinbeck property located at 2 Bluff Lane in Sag Harbor, the town board has provided the public with access to the plan.

The public hearing is slated for Tuesday, February 14 at 1:00 p.m., both in-person in the town boardroom of Southampton Town Hall, located at 116 Hampton Road in Southampton and via videoconferencing.

Having the Access Plan in advance of the public hearing will afford interested individuals the opportunity to review it and offer comments for the record, town officials said.

If participating via videoconferencing, the public can watch the live meeting online from either the Southampton Town website on the town clerk’s meeting portal, or through the Zoom app; comments can be called in during the meeting via Zoom. Comments can also be emailed up until one hour before the start of the meeting to the town clerk at townclerk@southamptontownny.gov.

The 1.8-acre parcel at the end of Bluff Point Lane was bought by John and Elaine Steinbeck in 1955, and nearly 50 years later it is still in the family, town officials said. In 1938 the area was developed as Beach Haven, also known as Nunna Koma Park, and promoted with the slogan “Get back to a simple life.”

West of Sag Harbor Village and at the end of a peninsula, the Steinbeck summer house at 2 Bluff Point Lane fronts Morris and Upper Sag Harbor Coves. The wooded property includes the pre World War II main house, a guest cottage, a two-car garage, a swimming pool, a 60-foot pier, and the crowning jewel, the circa 1958 writing studio, designed by the Nobel Prize winner himself to resemble a small lighthouse. He named it Joyous Garde, for Sir Lancelot’s castle, the town said.

The Steinbecks bought the property not long after their first summer visit in 1953. They immediately joined the Sag Harbor Yacht Club and subscribed to the local newspaper, the Sag Harbor Express. What developed was a storied relationship with the Village of Sag Harbor, as the couple fell in love with its seaside character and its people, who repaid him the best way they knew how, by leaving him alone, to live quietly and to write, town officials said.

Steinbeck became so entwined there that people used to joke that one of the village’s favorite pastimes was counting the number of times “Sag Harbor” was mentioned in his 1962 "Travels with Charley," officials added.

And then there were the attempts to identify the “local” neighbors in his "The Winter of Our Discontent," one way to help pass the winter months, officials said.

The goal and objective of the proposed public access agreement is to provide a balance between the public access and use as a writers’ residence, so both the public and the new stewards of the property have an understanding of the same, officials. said.

Holiday Open Houses are available to the public by reservation during the following weekends:

1. Memorial Day weekend (Saturday, Sunday, Monday)
2. Labor Day weekend (Saturday, Sunday, Monday)
3. Columbus Day weekend (Saturday, Sunday, Monday)

• Holiday weekends will allow visitors between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Holiday weekends will allow a maximum of 20 individuals per hour.
• Visitors are to be accompanied by a Steinbeck House representative.

During these open houses, the general public will have access to the property’s buildings, but not to the bedrooms in the house if there is a writer in residence, without appointment or limitations. There will be a straightforward online reservation system be made available to the general public.

By Appointment Property Visits:

Summer (June, July and August)

• Access to the property shall be open to the public from noon to 4 p.m.on two Saturdays per month during the summer season. (by appointment only)

Off Season (September to May)

1. Access will be available to the public every Saturday between the hours of noon and 4 p.m.. (by appointment only)

Thanksgiving and winter holiday restrictions

1. Access will be restricted during: November 15 to December 1 and December 15 to January 3 (due to limited volunteer staff)

All appointment groups will be limited to groups of 10, in addition to the groups of 10 arriving by boat.

Boat Access:

1. Boat access is limited to Holiday Open House weekends and the Saturdays in accordance with the above schedules.
2. Each boat group shall be limited to 10 passengers/guests.
3. One boat group per hour shall have access to the property, with a maximum of 4 boat groups per day.
4. Boat groups will have access to the writer’s gazebo, although there shall be no access to the interior of the main residence or other accessory structures during such appointments.

Parking is limited when visiting the property due to space constraints, although at least five parking spaces shall be made available to the public, including one defined parking area to be in compliance with ADA standards, Overflow parking areas are anticipated for busy weekends as well as shuttle service to provide adequate parking accommodations on the subject property. No vehicles with greater than a 15-seat capacity are permitted on the subject property. Access by shuttle is encouraged due to limited parking accommodations

Additional Public Interaction:

An annual one-day writing class sponsored will be sponsored by the Steinbeck on the subject property for high school students that are attending high schools for students who reside in the Town of Southampton. Each such high school, at its option, may provide a maximum of two high school students to attend the writing class. The class shall allow local students to work directly with writers in residence. This is intended to allow aspiring writers to be inspired and have interaction with the writers in residence.

Outreach Programs will be guided by the Michener Center, focusing on the specific writer in residence in any given season, depending on the writer in residency.

"The property must be managed in a respectful way, as to not negatively impact the surrounding
residential neighborhoods and shall be managed and operated in compliance with general property maintenance and noise regulations pursuant to all local, county, state and federal regulations," officials said.