Dune Road Is Falling Into the Sea—Unless the Billionaires Can Save It
The 13.9-mile-long sand barrier is the geographical beginning of the Hamptons, the playground of America’s financiers and celebrities on eastern Long Island, N.Y.
▲ The Place
Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has a home on Dune Road. Calvin Klein and Henry Kravis own property nearby, in a neighborhood called Billionaire’s Lane, as does the fictional hedge fund kingpin Bobby Axelrod on Showtime’s Billions . (That mansion’s real owner: venture capitalist Michael Loeb.)
Why It’s Hopeless
The sea level along the northeastern coast of the U.S. is expected to rise twice as much as the global average by 2080. Montauk, at the far end of the Hamptons, has seen 9.5" of sea level rise since the mid-20th century and could face an additional foot or two by the mid-21st.
How We Got Here
That Dune Road still exists at all is a testament to its powerful residents. In the early 1990s dozens of houses along the dunes were swept into the ocean, adding heat to a lawsuit filed by a group of homeowners alleging that local governments and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hadn’t protected them from the encroaching ocean. After decades of arguing, the parties reached a settlement: Not only would the Corps, state, and county spend $80m to rebuild the road, they also committed to renourishing the beach with fresh sand to make up for erosion for the next 30 years. That provision runs out in 2027.
The Stakes
In the fall of 2019 a series of storms washed away significant portions of the dunes, which had to be replenished with 600k cubic yards of sand. Waves also damaged a public beach that had recently completed a $3 million renovation and threatened an oceanfront condo that relied on the sand for structural support.
The Fix
In December the town of Southampton authorized the temporary installation of geocubes—essentially expensive sandbags—that can be used as a short-term storm barrier. In the long term, however, the cubes can accelerate erosion. In Nantucket, another wealthy summer enclave off the Massachusetts coast, similar measures have riven the community between those still fighting the sea and those who’d rather retreat.
Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has a home on Dune Road. Calvin Klein and Henry Kravis own property nearby, in a neighborhood called Billionaire’s Lane, as does the fictional hedge fund kingpin Bobby Axelrod on Showtime’s Billions . (That mansion’s real owner: venture capitalist Michael Loeb.)
Why It’s Hopeless
The sea level along the northeastern coast of the U.S. is expected to rise twice as much as the global average by 2080. Montauk, at the far end of the Hamptons, has seen 9.5" of sea level rise since the mid-20th century and could face an additional foot or two by the mid-21st.
How We Got Here
That Dune Road still exists at all is a testament to its powerful residents. In the early 1990s dozens of houses along the dunes were swept into the ocean, adding heat to a lawsuit filed by a group of homeowners alleging that local governments and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hadn’t protected them from the encroaching ocean. After decades of arguing, the parties reached a settlement: Not only would the Corps, state, and county spend $80m to rebuild the road, they also committed to renourishing the beach with fresh sand to make up for erosion for the next 30 years. That provision runs out in 2027.
The Stakes
In the fall of 2019 a series of storms washed away significant portions of the dunes, which had to be replenished with 600k cubic yards of sand. Waves also damaged a public beach that had recently completed a $3 million renovation and threatened an oceanfront condo that relied on the sand for structural support.
The Fix
In December the town of Southampton authorized the temporary installation of geocubes—essentially expensive sandbags—that can be used as a short-term storm barrier. In the long term, however, the cubes can accelerate erosion. In Nantucket, another wealthy summer enclave off the Massachusetts coast, similar measures have riven the community between those still fighting the sea and those who’d rather retreat.
Photograph: Getty Images
Photograph: Getty Images
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