Bellport

Bellport on the south shore in Brookhaven is not a typical blue- or white-collar Long Island neighborhood. Take a stroll down quaint South Country Road, lined with galleries, a theater and cozy coffee shops, and you'll have a good hunch who your neighbors are—artists, writers, performers and musicians. "Bellport is a tiny town and an artistic community," says Deborah Pirro, real estate salesperson at Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty. "Neighbors enjoy getting around on bike or foot, and everyone knows each other." While the village is masterful in harnessing a cozy and humble vibe, residents have access to tons of incredible perks.

Bellport has not one, but two private beaches. The first is a beautiful bayfront plot on the harbor. "Mother's Beach at the end of South Howell's Point Road is a great place for a picnic lunch or dinner, and you don't need to take the ferry to get there," says Pirro. Why is that important? Because the village's second beach, Ho Hum, is on Fire Island—a narrow barrier reef about 2.5-miles off the coast of Long Island. You have to take a ferry or boat to get there.

Bellport has its own ferry called Whalehouse Point. While tons of ferries shuttle sunbathers between the south shore and Fire Island, this one is exclusive to village residents and guests. It leaves from the Bellport Village Marina, which happens to have a residents-only parking lot. Ho Hum Beach has showers, a snack pavilion and a private marina. There's also a fee for a slip, for residents who have a boat. Finally, locals can get a discounted membership to the Bellport Country Club on the mainland, which has a golf course and several tennis courts.

A few years ago, Bellport was a pretty incognito community in the town of Brookhaven. It always attracted creative types, and many residents live in the village part time. "There's a secondary market in Bellport for people who don't want to live there full time. They have weekend houses or summer homes," says Pirro. During the pandemic, some locals left their New York City apartments behind to reside in their roomy, beachside Bellport homes full-time. These days, inventory for residential real estate in Bellport is not exactly booming, which can drive prices even higher.

Prices range from about $600,000 for a house close to the village's northern border while bay-view estates can creep up to several million dollars. Even houses in the middle of the neighborhood go on the market starting around $1.3 million for a modern farmhouse built in 2023 to almost $1.9 million for a four-bedroom Cape Cod-style ranch house from the early 1960s.

If you can't swing the cost of a house overlooking the bay, consider checking out the early to mid-20th-century homes near South Country Road. These blocks are within walking distance of Bellport's historic district, which has come alive in recent years with new galleries, boutiques, farm stands, theaters, barber shops and eateries joining veteran businesses, including an auto parts store, optometrist’s office and glasses store, and hair and nail salons. Brewport Coffee House looks like a cozy countryside café, seats more than a dozen customers and has free Wi-Fi. Carla Marlas Ice Cream Parlor & Candy Shoppe on Bellport Lane is a pastel-hued emporium for sugary treats. They also serve old-fashioned egg creams. Porters on the Lane is an upscale American gastropub. Word has it they have an excellent array of whiskeys.

Public school students in Bellport go to schools part of the South Country Central School District, which is comprised of three elementary schools, an intermediate and junior high school that flow into a single high school. Kreamer Street Elementary goes up to third grade. It earns a B-plus from Niche. Teachers at Frank P. Long Intermediate, for grades four and five, get a B-plus. Sixth through eighth graders go to Bellport Middle School, which gets a B for teacher performance. And Niche gives Bellport Senior High School a B.

After a day at the beach or on the golf course, if you still have time on your hands, the town organizes classes and events like group yoga for seniors, a summer concert series and beach parties.

Written By

Riki Markowitz

Photography Contributed By

Jeff Siegel

Video By

Kyle Garrity