Village Revitalization In Westhampton Beach Extolled As Pretty, Welcoming And Remarkable

As the East End awakened from the COVID-19 shutdown, the Village of Westhampton Beach roused to a revitalized downtown with new streets, new sidewalks, traffic circles, landscaping and native plantings, and even new energy-efficient bulbs for streetlights.

And it appears that the response has been wholeheartedly positive.

“It’s universally loved,” said Ben Vengroff, who opened his Red Jacket Books on Main Street in 2020. “It’s more inviting.”

With an abundance of visitors wandering along Main Street this summer, walk-in traffic has been “huge,” he said.

“It’s definitely very busy. There are more people downtown, and we’ve been very lucky with the weather on weekends,” the bookstore proprietor said.

Joanna Mazzella, who opened her Mint Clothing Boutique on Main Street about 15 years ago, agreed. “It’s been a great season so far, new customers and repeat business,” she said.

People have responded very well to the Main Street renovation.

“It looks like a town right out of a movie,” Mazzella raved — and, speaking of the shop’s location across the street from the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, added, “We have the best corner!”

“Every company, they’re doing well. And they’re happy,” Marlene Brill, the president of the board of the Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce said. “People saw the increase in population out here — full-time population, the increase in schools — and people realized business would just do better. There’s more people around.”

She noted that during an average week, local establishments are “booked all the time.”

“All of that has to do with the town being a good place to live, the school district being good and everybody working toward the same goal of having a nice, comfortable lifestyle,” Brill asserted. She noted that, the last three years, there’s been vibrancy even in the off-season: “There’s so much to do!”

Last week, Rachel Hersh and her husband, David, boated into to the village with their children, docked at the village marina, had dinner at their restaurant, and attended one of the outdoor concerts that draw people to the village on summer evenings.

“The town was so busy, with patrons walking the village. It’s gorgeous,” said Hersh who, with her husband, runs the Rooted Hospitality Group, owners of both Flora and Fauna in Westhampton Beach, plus Cowfish and Rumba in Hampton Bays, Rhum in Patchogue, and Avo Taco in New Hyde Park.

They opened Flora in 2020 and just this summer began Fauna at the old Starr Boggs location. “We weren’t sure if it was the right move, but the property came available and we had a vision,” she said.

Hersh attended high school in Westhampton Beach and had her first job at Lynne’s Cards & Gifts. She’s seen the positive changes to Main Street and is especially taken by native plantings, the flowers now in bloom. “They took so much pride in redeveloping Main Street,” the restaurateur opined.

She said she’s looking forward to the “shoulder season,” after Labor Day, and the array of events, like the fall festival, that will continue to draw people downtown.

“It has been fantastic to see the business thriving on Main Street and the surrounding area with property owners investing on improvements to their buildings,” said Deputy Mayor Ralph Urban, offering kudos to the village’s array of cultural institutions, including the library, the historical society and performing arts center. “The icing on the cake for me are all the cultural events and activities, especially on the Great Lawn and the green, making for a very enjoyable summer.”

And the village moved a historic windmill — in pieces — down Main Street, he pointed out.

The process of moving the Governor John Adams Dix Windmill from its former home on Sunswyck Lane to the Great Lawn at the western end of Main Street began this summer. The Historical Society and the Chamber are raising funds for its restoration.

A magnet for visitors, the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center has had a banner season.

“We were so thrilled to be able to bring live performance back to WHB,” executive director Julienne Penza said in an email. “Presenting marquee names all summer long, spanning a wide swath of ages and demographics, we were able not only to serve the local community but bring in cultural tourists from throughout New York and beyond.”

The center saw strong ticket sales all summer long, with several sell-outs, she wrote, adding, “It was apparent that people were very excited to get back into the theater.”

Bernie Buda has been visiting Westhampton Beach for decades and retired to live in Remsenburg about 10 years ago, with his wife, Alex. Every Thursday night, the couple “locks in” a date to attend concerts at the gazebo presented this year by Westhampton Free Library.

“We love Westhampton because of the homeyness of it,” he said, then joked, “Keep it a secret!”

Buda said has heard nothing but positive things about the downtown revitalization.

The concerts are a special treat. He reported that the next morning, after last Thursday night’s offering, a half dozen friends at his tennis club Friday morning rhapsodized about the music: “So many people came up to say, ‘Wasn’t that great?’”

The library’s executive director, Danielle Waskiewicz, said the concerts can draw between 400 and 700 people on a Thursday night. She spoke of the COVID closure and how exciting it was to welcome families, along with many new faces, back. In fact, she said since the last census, the population of the districts the library serves has increased 48 percent.

With close to 30 events offered in the village — at the gazebo, on the Great Lawn, for adults and children alike — “we’re seeing new tourists and families that are coming back. They’re excited to be here, they feel that energy. Revitalized, that’s definitely the word,” said Waskiewicz, who’s been at the library for 11 years. “It’s definitely been a big transition.”

As far as the concerts, Waskiewicz pointed to Judith Bacher, the fundraiser for the Friends of the Library, as a driving force behind their success. “It’s been an amazing summer,” Bacher said. “Everyone is commenting about how wonderful the renovation has been. There’s something magical about the town, the village right now,” she said, describing Westhampton Beach as very family oriented and having more of a small town feel than other East End villages.

Bacher attended one of the movies on the Great Lawn and Kids on the Green programs this summer and said there were some 300 children in attendance at both events.

Of her project, she said, “The gazebo concerts really skyrocketed.” People have praised the diversity of acts presented — from a Beach Boys cover band to opera, and Beatles cover band to a swingtime big band.

Of the downtown revitalization, Bacher said: “It’s been remarkable, tremendously more people. The way they changed the parking, the landscaping — it all looks so much more harmonious.”

The sewer district project currently underway is making a big difference, she added.

“I blame the mayor and the trustees,” joked Brill, praising Mayor Maria Moore and the Village Board. “They understood what was necessary to revitalize the village.”

The renovation of Main Street broke ground in 2019 and, along with that project, work began on creating a sewer district. The village’s vibrancy, said Brill, “really has to do with the mayor and trustees and how serious they are about working to make the town good.” She extolled their work to improve the environment.

Said Moore this week: “The Main Street reconstruction project was a significant undertaking for our community and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. It was quite remarkable for our board to have spent five years working through the planning stages and then see it come to life in just eight months.”

She lauded a dedicated combination of contractors and consultants — talented architects and engineers, vigilant project coordination and oversight and the skilled professionalism of the contractor, offering praise to H2M Architects + Engineers, Sandpebble Project Management and Bove Industries.

“It was a collaborative process involving input and patience from our Main Street property owners, shop owners and village residents, with very positive results.

“Programs on the Village Green and the Great Lawn have flourished this summer, new shops and restaurants have opened, and the downtown feels more lively than ever,” the mayor continued. “The investment in the project has resulted in a Main Street that will be a vibrant destination for our residents and visitors alike for many years to come.”

“It was a great experience watching the rebuilding of the Main Street area,” Village Board member Stephen Frano said. He grew up “in the Mill Road parking lot,” he said, pointing out his childhood home was torn down to make room for the lot. Frano has seen a large transformation from residential homes to businesses and emphasized, “We have lessened the pollutants entering our fragile waterways, which will continue with the sewer system.”

The Town of Southampton is among the entities that provided “a very significant grant” for the sewer system, Supervisor Jay Schneiderman noted. Calling Westhampton Beach’s revitalization “the perfect model,” he said, “It’s exactly what needs to happen for all our villages.”

Westhampton Beach has successfully created a vibrant downtown ambiance, according to the lawmaker. “The streetscape is so pretty — it’s pedestrian friendly. It’s an experience, a sense of place. It feels so great when you step out of your car.”