Hamptons again warmed by Wall Street's glow
In New York City's posh summer playground, overt displays of luxury and the real estate market are back, in step with the bonuses of financial professionals.
By Nathaniel Popper, Los Angeles Times
May 22, 2010
Reporting from New York
The latest platinum earnings report from Goldman Sachs is one way to see the strength of Wall Street's rebound from the financial crisis. For another, just visit the Hamptons on Long Island's South Shore.
On a recent sunny Saturday, a Bentley and a Ferrari were parked outside the East Hampton boutique of fashion designer and New York socialite Tory Burch. Inside, store manager Megan Ruddy was hustling between well-heeled customers examining $600 handbags and gold-buckled shoes.
"It's going to be a good summer," she said. "Everyone is sick and tired of holding on to their money."
No place's fate is more tied to the fortunes of Wall Street than the Hamptons, a string of beach towns frequented by bankers and hedge fund managers fleeing Manhattan's muggy summers. The spring house-hunting season is telling, coming as it does after the banks hand out their annual bonuses, which account for the vast majority of Wall Street pay.
A year ago, with the economy depressed, the stock market in the dumps, banks still licking their wounds from mortgage-related losses and bonuses nearly cut in half, the housing market here dropped dead and a gloom permeated the beach clubs.
All that has changed.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hamptons-bonuses-20100522,0,1217672.storyI suppose it is great someone is feeling good about their personal finances again.....