First, property values in the Hamptons started sinking – now it’s the properties themselves.
Beachfront homes in the Hamptons hamlet of Wainscott – including the one belonging to cosmetics heir and former mayoral candidate Ronald Lauder – are slipping into the ocean, thanks to severe erosion brought on by high winds.
“These houses are sitting ducks,” said Larry Penny, the director of the town’s Natural Resources Department.
“The erosion is relentless. We don’t see any relief in sight.”
As the situation stands now, ocean waters have wiped away so much land that many of the houses sit just feet from a sheer drop where the dunes end and the beach begins.
Lauder’s bungalow, on Beach Lane, is in such dire straits that the foundation is actually exposed.
“He took a big beating,” said Penny. “Everybody is in danger, but, yes, he’s in the biggest danger.”
Faring little better is the nearby mansion of Marci Klein, the daughter of fashion legend Calvin Klein and a producer for “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock.”
A stairway meant to lead from the dunes in her backyard down to the beach is now submerged at high tide.
Land Planning Services, a consultant group hired by Klein, Lauder and their neighbors, got emergency permits from the town’s trustees last week to re-sand the dunes in hopes of staving off the destructive advance of the tides.
Penny estimated that the Klein and Lauder homes had lost about 20 feet of dune since November, thanks mostly to two big snowstorms in December and higher-than-usual tides.
Some of that was sand that had been specially added earlier in the fall in an effort to stem the erosion.
He said the homeowners foot the bill for the dune-enlargement project – to the tune of $100,000 for 11,000 cubic yards of sand.
And the situation could get worse, with nor’easter season not ending until May and the East End long overdue for a major hurricane.
The last big one to strike Eastern Long Island was Hurricane Bob in 1991.
Top-end mansions on the East End beaches may fetch top dollar, but buyers often get headaches along with the luxurious digs.
Late “Jaws” star Roy Scheider was forced to stack sandbags outside his $16.75 million home to protect against beach erosion in 2006. He later sold the house to Billy Joel.
Last summer, a federal judge decided against a Sagaponack resident and the Town of Southampton, which had alleged that jetties constructed by Suffolk County were responsible for the high levels of beach erosion.