Available 24/7 Online: www.southamptontownny.gov/beachpermitsBeach Permit Sales
In-person beach permit sales will be available at the following locations and times.Parks and Recreation Administrative Office Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM starting April 1.
Southampton Town’s plan for a revitalized Hampton West Park has reached a critical funding milestone as local officials announced today the arrival of hundreds of thousands in long-awaited state funds.
Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore reported that the Town has been awarded $675,000—the maximum amount possible—from New York’s Office of Parks, Recreation, & Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and its Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).
“This funding represents an important milestone in our plan to upgrade Hampton West Park,” said Supervisor Moore. “The grant can cover up to 50 percent of eligible project costs on a reimbursement basis. With approximately $1.87 million budgeted for improvements in this year’s capital plan, the Town is prepared to advance the project with all required funds in place.”
Located at 700 Stewart Avenue in Westhampton, across from Suffolk County’s Gabreski Airport, Hampton West Park has been a favorite facility for communities on the South Fork. The 15-acre site currently features a playground, two basketball courts, two asphalt tennis courts, a turf baseball/softball field, four pickleball courts, a multipurpose grass field, and a small parking lot. Moore, who previously served as Mayor of nearby Westhampton Beach Village, noted that the park is home to several local Little League and youth soccer clubs.
The existing park was deeded to Southampton Town in 1983, with the original courts being constructed sometime in 1978. The facility’s limited changes since then have included several resurfacings, and a restriping of two original tennis courts to create basketball courts. In 2022 and 2023, at the request of community members, the Town did so with two other tennis courts to convert them to pickleball use, one of the fastest-growing athletic pursuits in the country.
Over the course of 2026, the Southampton Town Parks and Recreation Department aims to replace the existing basketball, tennis, and pickleball courts. Upgrades will include new surfacing, fencing, equipment, and the latest in “accessible design” elements. The project will address safety, accessibility, and recreational needs for local residents—including disadvantaged communities—and ensure that “this essential resource will remain available for all members of the public.”
“This grant will go a long way to help rebuild the aged sports courts and provide enhanced accessibility at this well-utilized community park,” said Parks Director Kristen Doulos. “We expect to complete the work by the end of 2026.”
Overall, New York State’s OPRHP is dedicating up to $26 million to parks, historic preservation, and heritage areas through the EPF program. Its matching grants can be used for the acquisition, development, and improvement of parkland and historic properties listed on the National or State Registers of Historic Places, and heritage areas identified in plans for statutorily designated Heritage Areas. Funds are available to municipalities and not-for-profits with an ownership interest.
For more information about the funding process, please visit, https://parks.ny.gov/sites/default/files/EPFCFAGuidanceDocument2025.pdf and https://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2025-12/2025-CFA-Award-Booklet.pdf
A comprehensive listing of Southampton Town parks and recreation facilities, including more details on Hampton Park West, can be found at www.southamptontownny.gov/parksrec
The Southampton Town Parks and Recreation Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program, the Noyac Civic Council, and members of the Pierson High School Environmental Club partnered this past Saturday, December 6, to plant beach grass at Foster Memorial Long Beach.
“This is the fourth planting event we’ve had here since 2022,” said Kristen Doulos, Town Parks Director. “The areas we first planted towards the south end of the facility have established well and are providing a robust vegetative buffer between the parking lot and beach.”
The plants are catching and building up sand on the beach and are preventing it from blowing into the parking lot areas where it may become contaminated with things like glass and car fluids. In addition to planting, volunteers distributed “SEAd bombs,” a mix of clay, soil, and native seeds, into upland areas where they will bloom into a mix of annual and perennial pollinators and establish strong root systems to help prevent erosion.
PHOTO GALLERY
Volunteers planted beach grass at Long Beach, Dec. 6, 2025
Noyac Civic Council volunteers at Long Beach, Dec. 6, 2025
Councilmember Michael Iasilli helps plant beach grass at Long Beach, Dec. 6, 2025
Parker the Parks & Rec Elf helping out at Long Beach, Dec. 6, 2025
Pierson High School volunteers at Long Beach, Dec. 6, 2025
Planting beach grass at Long Beach, Dec. 6, 2025
CCE volunteers at Long Beach, Dec. 6, 2025
Shinnecock Canal Maritime Park now has a new attraction for the local community, according to Southampton Town Parks and Recreation officials.
After several months of planning, a ribbon cutting for the opening of a new fitness path and exercise equipment circuit will be held on Tuesday, November 25 at 3:00pm.
Funding for this project was provided through a combination of Community Development Block Grant funding and Town Board appropriations. Parks Department and Housing & Community Development personnel have “worked diligently to bring funding to qualifying projects like this, and many others,” they reported.
In the Town’s pursuit to offer more inclusive and ADA compliant facilities, the new exercise equipment that flanks the fitness path is designed to include people with special needs and disabilities. The path and equipment will be open for public use at no charge. While the walking path is open to all ages, users must be at least 14 years old, or have adult supervision to use the equipment. “This will be a wonderful asset for our community,” stated Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara stated. “It provides accessible, outdoor space for community members of all ages and abilities to stay active, regardless of whether they can afford a gym membership. This initiative truly supports the health and well-being of our residents, and I’m really excited to see this come to fruition.”
The fitness path itself is one-sixth of a mile long with seven stations offering the following exercise units:
Each station provides soft cushion surfacing and an amazing view of the Shinnecock Canal. The Maritime Park is open from dawn to dusk and located adjacent to the Parks and Recreation administration offices at 6 Newtown Road in Hampton Bays.
“The project is a perfect next step to the improvements made at the facility a couple of years ago when we installed a paved parking lot, ADA sidewalks, and a covered pavilion,” said Town Parks Director Kristen Doulos. “We wanted to provide a healthy space that encourages people to get outside and get moving, while still fully maintaining open vistas to the park and canal.”
The Parks Department also plans to provide instructional exercise and training programs to residents for a small fee. Those programs will be featured on the Town’s website soon. Please check the Recreation Programs Registration online for more details at www.southamptontownny.gov/parks.
As a courtesy, the Parks Department will also hold a free 45-minute introduction on December 2 at 12pm. Participants must register online prior to event.
Annual ‘Battle of Southampton’ Will Test Speed, Endurance, & Teamwork
Southampton Town Parks and Recreation officials announced today that the annual Mike Diveris Memorial Interbeach Lifeguard Competition will take place next Tuesday, July 8, at Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays.
Town lifeguards will battle each other in teams over the course of seven events such as: a distance swim, distance run, four-man long board paddle relay, land line rescue, 4x100-meter relay, run-swim-run, and the “ultra-competitive” beach flags events.
Since 2019, the popular inter-beach contest has been named for local lifeguarding legend Mike Diveris, who passed away on June 17 of that year. A town lifeguard for more than three decades, he was among the first to pass the “grueling” Suffolk County ocean certification test in 1970. In addition to serving on the sand, Diveris taught first and fourth-grade at Hampton Bays Elementary School from 1971 to 2001, and then in the high school’s social studies department. As a football coach, he led the Hampton Bays varsity team to a league championship in 1987, and also coached for the Westhampton Beach School District. Lifeguarding colleagues donated a bench and plaque in his honor which adorns Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays.
The namesake contest has typically been a precursor to the East Hampton Main Beach competition held each July and the USLA National Lifeguard Championship in August. In the latter event, Southampton, East Hampton, and Montauk guards typically join forces to compete as the Hampton Lifesaving Association.
