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A History of the Hampton Jitney / BY DAN RATTINER
I
n the fall of 1973, an advertising man I knew named Jim Davidson came to see me in my office in Bridgehampton to tell me of an idea he had. He was in his early 30s at the time, as was I, and he had a summer house in Water Mill and thought the time had come to do something about using less gasoline to get around the Hamptons. He wanted to start a unique bus service the following spring whose goal would be to help people get around the Hamptons without buying much gasoline. It would be good for visitors and it would be good for the planet. Would Dan’s Papers help him? I asked him to tell me about it. I should note that in 1973 no one was con6 | June 20, 2014
cerned with global warming. There was not even a hint that humans were throwing up too much carbon into the atmosphere. Instead, the concern was that we might run out of gasoline. We had, in fact, almost run out of it, or so it seemed. The year before, suddenly, there was very little gas at any of the gas stations in America. People were driving on empty, getting to gas stations at the last minute, where they simply parked at lines that went around the block when gas was available somewhere—noted by a sign saying so out front. It was a terrible time. Fistfights broke out among motorists when someone tried to cut the line. People could barely get around.
The reason for this gas crisis was that America’s own oil supply had run low, and in oil-rich Arab lands, the governments had formed an oil cartel called OPEC. Now they were just doling gasoline out in drips and drabs to drive the price up, and our government could do nothing about it. President Nixon pleaded with people to use less gas. He instituted an odd-even gas rule. If your license plate ended in an odd number, you got gas Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If even, you got it Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. For some reason, Americans tended to believe we were about to run out of the earth’s supply of oil. What could you do? In the Hamptons, the Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
economy slowed. Visitors were not certain they could drive out to the Hamptons, find gas for their cars here and then drive home. Resorts and chambers of commerce here were advertising that this was not the case. If you didn’t drive much around here after you got here, you’d have enough to get back to the city. “The Hamptons on a tank of gas and back” was the slogan. And that was why Jim Davidson was sitting in my office. “I want to create a shuttle bus service to get people around the Hamptons after they get here,” he told me. “It would be like those jitneys they have in southeast Asia. We have this one main road. I will have eight-passenger vans driving up and down the Montauk Highway from Southampton to Montauk, back and forth and back and forth. You could hail it anywhere, get on and go from one town to the next.” “What would it cost?” “Fifty cents a trip, from wherever you got on to wherever you got off. We’d have a bike rack on a trailer out back of the vans. You’d put your bike there. Then you’d have your transportation for going north or south after you got off.” I thought this was a very unlikely idea. People DansPapers.com
were in love with their cars. But then I thought maybe it could work. There had been a lot of things that I thought would not work that did. And certainly it would bring a remarkable and unusual service to the community. So if he wanted to try this, I would gladly support it. I told him so. “We’ll need permits to do this. You just can’t start a bus service and charge money for it without permits,” Jim said. At this particular time, Dan’s Papers was the only independent publication in the Hamptons. All other publications were newspapers of record. They would be for or against the project, giving space to those opposed to the plan as well as in favor. This was why Jim approached me. Besides that he knew me, I had no such obligations. “I’ll write up a story about what you are going to do,” I told him. “And I’ll urge everyone to let the towns approve it. And I know a lot of officials who could help ease the way to get permits.” And so, this man Jim Davidson embarked on a business that he called the Hampton Jitney, doing something that had nothing to do with what the Jitney has become today, 40 years later—bringing people back and forth from the Hamptons, the North Fork, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Florida and
Boston in the lap of luxury. Over the following winter, Jim approached my art director, Thom Speckenbach, about designing a logo for the Hampton Jitney. Thom phoned me about it. We had a skeleton staff in the winter and were publishing once a month. I was vacationing in Hawaii. Got there in November, was returning in March. “Go ahead,” I told him. “Do your best.” Thom’s logo went on the sides of the two minivans that Jim bought. It’s the same logo that is there today. The service started off well. There were lots of people, especially those with environmental concerns, who thought this a good idea. You’d see the vans going up and down the Montauk Highway right outside my office window. But soon, the uniqueness of it ended and ridership dropped off. It continued on for the rest of the summer, and for the summer after that, but it was clearly not going to make it. The gas crisis was resolved. And people just weren’t going to give up their cars. What I didn’t know was that in the fall after the first year, people asked Jim if he’d take them in and out from the city aboard his vans. It was not exactly a business. Jim had a license to ferry June 20, 2014 | 7
people around. Could be that he could take families home to Manhattan for a fee if it were not a regular thing. He did it a few times. During the second summer, Jim told me that he wanted to expand his service to include driving back and forth to Manhattan on a regular schedule. He’d do both—go to the city and continue the Jitney back and forth on the highway. And now he needed permits in Manhattan and permission to stop at various places to pick up and drop off. This was going to be very difficult and he wanted to start his application process right away to get it done for the next season. At these hearings, which took place in Manhattan during the fall and winter of 1975 and 1976, we discovered to our surprise that the Long Island Rail Road considered the Hampton Jitney a competitor and wanted to keep their exclusive right to transport people in and out of Manhattan. We thought it pretty funny that a company with just two eight-passenger vans could be a competitor with the railroad. How little we knew. With our newspaper’s support, however, and with the support of many others, Jim got his permits. He could stop along Third Avenue, 8 | June 20, 2014
letting passengers off heading uptown from the Midtown Tunnel at 39th Street, then 42nd Street, 51st Street, 59th Street and so forth and so on to 86th Street. Schedules were printed up. And the stops, one in each town out here, were marked with signage on those street corners. A party atmosphere was present on these eightpassenger vans for the first two years. On those first trips, everybody was meeting everybody else. It was a festive occasion on wheels, but soon there came a need for the Jitney to purchase large motor coaches to handle the crowds. We were sorry to see it end when the big busses came. It was apparent at this point that Jim Davidson had a clear and effective vision for what his Hampton Jitney could be. The up-and-down-thehighway service was discontinued a year or two after he got permission to go to the city, and nobody seemed to notice. But the service with the big motor coaches thrived dramatically. These busses, as they are today, are quite luxurious. There are movies on board, restrooms, attendants to serve food and drink and sometimes a glass of wine. There’s peace and quiet and no cellphone use allowed,
except for emergencies. And, remarkably, Jim grew this business in such a way that his motor coaches were almost always on time. You could set your watch by them. Soon, some celebrities “adopted” the Hampton Jitney service. Artist Roy Lichtenstein contributed the famous white wave lines that came to adorn the sides of the coaches. Lauren Bacall did a radio commercial praising the Jitney in that sexy, sultry voice she had. At first, Jim ran the reservations line out of his home. But quickly that became more than he could handle. His second home was a giant former potato barn on Butter Lane, on the west side heading north just past the railroad tracks, where the reservations were taken over the phone in offices on the second floor and the busses were serviced by mechanics on the ground floor. Around 1982, Jim moved his offices to Southampton. It was almost a stroke of genius about how he arranged this. He needed a big space. On County Road 39, a man back in the 1960s had built a big catering hall called Gold Crest Manor. It had failed, and a second attempt to make a success of it, by turning it into a roller-skating rink called Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
Hampton Jitney founder Jim Davidson
“Skate Hampton,” had failed too. Now this vast space had become vacant. And Jim bought it. The back of the building became a huge service garage for his growing fleet of vehicles. In the front on the eastern side were his reservation offices. The center became a lobby for the customers, where, later, he installed a National Car Rental Service, a lunch counter now run by Janet O’Brien Caterers, a service counter for the Jitney, bathrooms and vending machines. The western side of the space became a health club. There were workout rooms, weight-lifting equipment and, at least early on, two small indoor swimming pools, one warm, one hot. Outside there was a parking lot, which he configured with a bus stop in front of the building and parking for customers and motor coaches and staff and health club patrons all around. What an operation that was, and is, springing from the mind of this one man all at once. The Jitney thrived. But Jim, at the age of about 44, took sick, and after a number of years with his doctors fighting whatever it was he had, died at 48. It was not spoken about what ailed him. But it DansPapers.com
was whispered that it was this new disease, AIDS. Turned out it was. The last occasion I met with Jim was when we went to lunch on Main Street in Southampton. He looked terribly sick but we pretended he was not. He talked about an upcoming trip he was going on, to Rome, Venice and the Amalfi Coast of Italy. It was to be his last trip. Before he died, Jim sold the Hampton Jitney, together with its building, to Brent Lynch, a man whose immediate family owned the Bridgeport– Port Jefferson Ferry and a tugboat company in the Port of New York. The family and I became friends. I attended a remarkable party at which a new tugboat bought by the tugboat firm was christened at the Shinnecock Inlet “Missy McAllister,” for Brent’s wife.The ship was blessed, Missy Lynch broke a champagne bottle on its bow, Brent praised his wife for all she does, food and drink were served on the dock, and a trip out to sea to inaugurate its entry into the family tugboat fleet. The Hampton Jitney service continued to expand. The Hampton Jitney today is run by Brent’s son
Geoff, who together with his brother Andrew has grown the service even further. Since 1988 when the family bought it, the Jitney has added a service to the West Side of Manhattan, to Brooklyn, to Boston (the Boston Jitney brings people across the Bridgeport–Port Jeff ferry between Long Island and Connecticut as part of the service), excursions to Broadway shows and sports events in Manhattan, trips to Florida in the winter, a service on the North Fork and a super luxurious motor coach service to Manhattan called the Ambassador. They also have the contract to provide the mini-bus service for the Suffolk County. Today, the full fleet of busses totals 58, with more on the way. Busses leave every hour or so, going one place or another, and the on-time service record continues with only the rarest of exceptions. I’ve been proud to have been part of this dream that Jim Davidson brought to life. He’s left it in good hands, and it is one of the iconic brands that makes the eastern end of Long Island what it is today. June 20, 2014 | 9
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10 | June 20, 2014
Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
Family Business: Geoff Lynch (left) and brother Andrew Lynch
Hampton Jitney CEO Geoff Lynch
Looking Back, Looking Ahead / by Dan Koontz
A
s we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Hampton Jitney, CEO Geoff Lynch discusses his company’s impact on the Hamptons, the evolution of a family business, riders finding romance on the roadways and what we can look forward to in the next 40 years.
Dan’s Papers: How did the Jitney figure out that coach service between NYC and the East End could be such a good business? Geoff Lynch: When Jim Davidson started the company, it was meant to be a shuttle service between the hamlets of the Hamptons. It wasn’t until the end of the 1974 season that he realized he’d lost his shirt and the loans were coming due, and then he had some folks DansPapers.com
ask him for help getting their stuff back into the city because they were closing up their houses for the season. He charged them some money, and that very quickly turned into the idea of running scheduled service from the city out to the Hamptons. So, the city routes actually came into being pretty quickly, in 1975. The Jitney has provided easy accessibility to the Hamptons for urbanites who might not have been willing or able to drive such a distance. What effect do you think you’ve had on the Hamptons over the years? I would like to think, and I can’t say if it’s true or not, that because we created accessibility to the Hamptons—where it wasn’t before with just the railroad—for people who don’t drive
or who don’t keep a car in the city, that we enabled to a certain degree the growth in the real estate market. The accessibility allowed a lot of people, not just part-timers but full-time East Enders who work in the city, to come out here more frequently and invest in houses and build properties out here. Whether we contributed to the growth and development of the East End or simply benefitted, it’s hard to say, but certainly a lot of people have relied upon us over the years to get back and forth. The Hampton Jitney is not like most other buses. How did the relative luxury of the “Jitney Experience” come about? That goes back to the very beginning, to the founder Jim Davidson. Prior to starting June 20, 2014 | 11
Hampton Jitney, he was an advertising guy, a marketing guy. He, like so many people from New York City, didn’t typically ride buses, except for city buses on short trips, and he knew his clientele didn’t either. So, to cater to his customers and entice them, he devised the idea of having a host person onboard, which you don’t see in normal intercity bus transport. It was modeled after airline travel. That host person was put on board, number one, to collect fares, but also to serve our passengers those amenities we serve—the juice, the water, the popcorn, peanuts, pretzels. All of that was meant to add an upper-class service relative to normal bus travel. For a lot of people that come out here, this is their one and only bus experience. Are the coaches themselves different? Each of our coaches is essentially a custommade vehicle. There are only maybe 1,000 of these coaches made a year. They’re known in the industry as the best coaches, and we outfit them with special seats, special interiors that are different from standard intercity buses. There are additional climate-control compressors in the overheads that are not on standard vehicles, to give them a higher quality and a more comfortable feel than standard coaches. Newcomers to the area usually wonder about the word “Jitney.” It doesn’t really describe your service. Why did you choose to keep it? The word “bus” is a word we try not to use around here—we try to say “motor coach” or “coach.” “Hampton Bus” just didn’t sound that great. “Jitney” is an old English word and meant smaller vehicles and shorter trips, but it helps distinguish us and has served us very well. A couple of years ago, we needed to get a package to the city very quickly, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Hampton Jitney offers a courier service. Are there any other services you offer that people might not know about? Besides the package express that you’re talking about, we are also a transportation broker for car transport. We will transport your car to and from Florida, and the nice thing about our service as opposed to a regular car transport is our service is on a schedule. Where with a regular car transport you give them your car and they’ll say “Okay, we’ll call you in three weeks and let you know when to expect it,” with us we can tell you when to expect your car in West Palm Beach or Fort Myers or any of our other Florida stops. 12 | June 20, 2014
We also have our multi-day tours, and this year we’re going as far west as Mackinaw Island in Michigan. We go to Nova Scotia, Maine, Cape Cod—so there are a lot of tours where we’re taking East Enders off the island. What are you doing to celebrate the 40th? Your ads are referring to 1974 with some retro lettering—can we expect shag carpeting and 8-track players to be installed next? Well, we are making some references to the ’70s. If you think about a 1970s subway car and what it looked like during that time period with all of the graffiti, we happen to have an employee here—his name is Francis Quigley, and he grew up in Brooklyn—and he’s a very talented artist who started as a graffiti artist. So we took one of our older coaches and had Francis design a Hampton Jitney logo that would be along the graffiti-art lines and get as creative as he wanted to. He did one side of it here in the Southampton yard just to get a feel for it, and then over Memorial Day weekend we parked the coach at our stop on 40th Street and had him finish off the coach right there in front of everybody. We also had a contest that we threw out to everybody to see who could design a 40th anniversary vinyl wrap—that’s the word for the covering that allows coaches to be completely covered with those colorful ads. We got quite a few responses, and we’re going to be wrapping a couple of coaches this summer in honor of the 40th. Then what we’ll do is we’ll have some giveaways for people who get on these 40th anniversary buses. We’re going to do some beach towels, some luggage tags—things that people might need when they’re traveling to and from the East End. What about all of the stories we hear about people falling in love on the Jitney? We have a lot of stories of people who have met, wound up dating and ultimately getting married. We have some neighbors in Sag Harbor who invite me and my wife over each fall for a party, and they attribute their meeting, falling in love and winding up out here to the Jitney. A lot of it is the people who wind up on our coaches—it’s a pretty eclectic group. They all come together on the Jitney, and when I go out and drive it’s always kind of interesting to see how people interact with each other. Sometimes it can be a little bit difficult, a little bit crowded, but they settle down and realize they’re going to be with these people for a few hours at least. (See “Love on the Hampton Jitney” story on page 15)
So maybe that forced interaction leads to people making connections. You mention that sometimes you drive the buses as well, and that reminds us that the Jitney is a family business in which you and your siblings, as well as your parents before you, have served in a lot of positions. My parents purchased Hampton Jitney from Jim Davidson when I was just getting out of high school, so my three siblings and I all wound up spending our summers working here. We all started as host people on coaches—myself, my sister and two brothers. In college I got my CDL and spent a good amount of time after college working for my dad. I worked in the shop, I worked in the accounting department and I drove. My brother Peter is one of the mechanics, and my brother Andrew, who has a finance background, also works with us now. What do you see changing at the Jitney over the next 40 years? First of all, the coaches that we run will probably move to hybrid-style drivetrains, whether it’s diesel-electric or natural gas, that is coming in the more immediate future. Also, the idea that a coach could do a route essentially without a driver is a definite possibility. I think what will happen in the future is rather than having a commercial driver on that coach, you’ll have a programmer or someone who is simply monitoring that vehicle as it’s going down the road. That’s coming. Will the hosts be replaced by host-bots? (Laughing) Well, maybe so. At the Hampton Jitney we’ve always had this additional host person who is there to cater to the passengers, and I don’t see that going away any time soon. After 40 years of motor coach service to the East End and beyond, what are you most proud of? We are proud that we have become an established part of this community, that people who live out here or travel out here rely upon us. We are proud that we are one of the larger employers on the East End and we provide jobs for 200 people—and for many of those 200 people it has been their livelihood for 30-plus years. When I go out of this community, whether it’s because our buses have been in Sex and the City or another movie, people know about the Hampton Jitney, and there are not many bus companies that can say that. For a regional company to have a wide reputation for quality coach service is probably what I’m most proud of. Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
HONORING YOUR
DEDICATION Capital One Bank is pleased to have this opportunity to recognize The Hampton Jitney for it’s 40 years of service to the East End of Long Island. It is a wonderful milestone and we are proud to join in celebrating this achievement. capitalonecommercial.com
Š2014 Capital One. Capital One is federally registered service mark. All rights reserved.
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June 20, 2014 | 13
Happy 40tH Hampton Jitney
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14 | June 20, 2014
Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
Love on the Hampton Jitney
© Photo Illustration Oliver Peterson
/ BY BRENDAN J. O’REILLY
I
n July 2012, Billy Davis had a ring and a plan. He wanted to propose to his girlfriend in a spectacular way—a very Hamptons-y way. After all, he and Dawn Aversano had met three years prior on a Hampton Jitney, and the Hamptons was a second home to both of them. Their first encounter was during the summer of 2009. He was taking the Jitney home from Bridgehampton, where his family has had a place for years, and there were only a few seats left on the bus. “I see this pretty girl sitting all by herself with all of her bags on the seat,” Davis recalls. He was determined to meet her. “I was going to sit next to this pretty girl and have her talk to me.” She obliged and moved her bags so he could sit down. They spent the whole ride talking and people-watching. “That was basically our first date,” Davis says. They both got off at 39th Street, and he asked her to a movie. He texted her that same night. “I couldn’t even wait,” he says. When Davis began planning the proposal, he wrote to Hampton Jitney CEO Geoff Lynch DansPapers.com
to ask if the company would be willing to get involved. He admits he thought he had no shot, but Lynch responded the very next day, happy to assist. Hampton Jitney charter manager Susan Williams helped Davis put the plan together. Davis asked his then-girlfriend to dinner at the Blue Parrot in East Hampton. At the time she expected Davis to pick her up from her family’s East Hampton home, a Hampton Jitney pulled into the driveway instead. “Dawn, you’ve been requested,” the Jitney captain told her. When she boarded, there were no other passengers. She took a seat, not knowing what to expect. The Jitney took her to one of the couple’s favorite places in the Hamptons: Sagaponack’s Wölffer Estate Vineyard, where Davis greeted her and she asked what exactly was going on. Before he answered, he brought her to the grapevines, where he got down on one knee and popped the question. She said yes, and next thing that popped was a cork. After they enjoyed wine and cheese among the vines, they both got on the Jitney. But the
surprises weren’t over for the bride-to-be. An engagement party with their friends and family, who had all been keeping the proposal a secret, was waiting for them in East Hampton. When their engagement story came out in Dan’s Papers, Davis says, he heard from friends he hadn’t been in contact with for years. “They thought it was just a great story—that you can meet people in some of the most interesting places.” They were married less than a year later, and, not surprisingly, the East End played a major role throughout the festivities. “We had a very Hamptons weekend,” Davis says. The rehearsal dinner was at 1770 House in East Hampton, the wedding was at East Hampton Point, and the following day brunch was at The Palm. They celebrated their first anniversary this month. Billy and Dawn Davis live on the Upper East Side and are still frequent Hampton Jitney riders—not just during the summer, but yearround, either hopping on at the 86th Street stop by their apartment or at the 40th Street stop right when they get out of work. To this day, they still get comments on their proposal story. June 20, 2014 | 15
That’s a Wrap!
/ BY EMMETT HAQ
T
he side of a Hampton Jitney is not merely an iconic part of the East End landscape but is interwoven in the artistic history of the are, whether we’re talking about the iconic logo, and the wave that was created by Roy Lichtenstein (we’ll get to more on him shortly) or one of the custom-designed wraps that have covered the motor coaches and kept heads turning over the years. In honor of their 40th anniversary, Hampton Jitney held a “Design a Jitney” contest this past spring, asking artists from all over to create works that celebrate this landmark. From the submissions, the company stated it would “choose the most creative entry that helps to celebrate 40 years of transportation to and from NYC & the East End”—and we’d all have a new Jitney wrap to look for on our highways and byways. We spoke with the four finalists to see what inspired their unique visions, and what the Jitney means to them as a local institution. 16 | June 20, 2014
Francis Quigley came up with a graffitistyle custom paint job for his submission. An employee of Hampton Jitney for many years, Quigley aimed for a ’70s street-art vibe, and filmed himself painting a Jitney on 40th Street for his submission. He says, “It was a fun thing to do and create—especially on the 40th, with so many people there.” Stephanie Baloghy submitted a distinctive Roy Lichtenstein–inspired wrap. Lichtenstein originally designed the Jitney’s signature green-wave logo, and Baloghy calls her piece “a sort of homage to his work.” Baloghy has been a graphic designer for more than 40 years, and worked for the Jitney part-time, so this is “an opportunity to bring these parts of [my] life together.” Lynn Mara went with iconic Long Island– style imagery for her piece, painting a montage of people, landscapes and other cultural high
points of the island. This Southampton-born artist credits her inspiration to the people of the Hamptons—she says, “They have literally shaped who I’ve become”—and reveals that for her, the Jitney represents her home. Mara adds, “I remember feeling homesick when I’d see the Jitney in Manhattan. It was like seeing a familiar face in a foreign land. ‘Take me home,’ I thought to myself.” Eddie Duque chose to portray the Long Island Expressway, stretching from New York all the way to the ocean. Guatemalan-born Duque says, “Growing up in Hampton Bays, the Jitney was a huge part of my life—going to see my family in the city and then heading back to the East End.” He feels the Jitney’s route from the beachfront to the city makes it an integral part of “the Hamptons family.” Have a great Hampton Jitney photo? Share it at DansPapers.com. Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
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Thank you Brian, Geoff, Bobby and the entire team at Hampton Jitney for 40 great years of serving the transportation needs of the East End community. From Bob, Rob and the entire staff at East End Backflow and R. Essay Plumbing R. Essay Plumbing is an established local company that takes pride in providing long-term value-based plumbing solutions for our loyal clientele on the East End. East End Backflow is a division of R. Essay Plumbing that provides full service backflow testing, repairs and new installations for Long Island. We are always working to keep your water and ours safe from hazardous direct connections commonly found in water distribution such as fire sprinkler lines, lawn irrigation systems, boiler heating water, and pool water.
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Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
Hampton Jitney Cover Artist:
nostalgia, this section’s special cover depicts a very modern scene—people getting off the Hampton Jitney.
/ BY STEPHANIE DE TROY
The cover of this commemorative section shows a group of glamorous Hamptonites disembarking the Hampton Jitney, with a distinguished older gentleman bearing a striking resemblance to Dan Rattiner reading a copy of “Dan’s Papers.” What was the inspiration behind this cover? To me, Dan and the Jitney say the Hamptons. The first thing many people do when they get off the Jitney is read Dan’s Papers. Even Dan picks up his copy.
Joe Chierchio
H
aving done 18 covers, artist Joe Chierchio, is no stranger to Dan’s Papers. He’s also no stranger to the East End, as he and his fiancée, who is a sculptor, work from their home and studios in Water Mill. Now specializing in Fine Art after 40 years in advertising, Chierchio enjoys the challenge of coming up with covers that capture the local color of the Hamptons. While much of his artwork conveys a sense of
DansPapers.com
What makes you the ideal East End artist to create this cover image? I was very happy to create this image, as I have been riding the Jitney for many years. It always impressed me that people from all walks of life seem to relax and start their vacation once they board the Jitney. How do you feel the Jitney is a part of East End culture? Of course the Jitney is part of the culture— the Jitney is part of a routine that connects the NYC to the Hamptons.
How long have you been riding the Hampton Jitney? Can you share any memories of a particularly notable experience? I have been riding the Jitney for about 20 years. It is a luxury that most of us take for granted. But one of my strongest memories was a rainy Memorial Day weekend. I was glad to be riding in comfort rather than fighting the eastbound traffic on the LIE. If the Hampton Jitney offered air travel, would you visit Spain more often? Sure, I would take the Jitney to Spain. What would you like to paint on a Hampton Jitney coach? I have already sent in an image of the seaside, peace and joy that Hamptons has come to mean. Have you ever worked on your art while riding the Hampton Jitney? I certainly do. With my head back and eyes closed I am conjuring images for new works. Which can’t be done behind the wheel of a station wagon. See more Joe Chierchio art at DansPapers.com.
June 20, 2014 | 21
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22 | June 20, 2014
Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
© Bigstock.com
Critics’ Choice:
The Best Way to Arrive Out East Is… / BY KELLY LAFFEY
N
o one goes to the Hamptons more often than the Hampton Jitney. The most popular way to arrive Out East, the Jitney has long been synonymous with pop culture and is often prominently featured—in various media—as a defining aspect of the summer enclave. From magazines to movies, everyone has a Jitney story. Even fictional characters. Television and entertainment often feature the Jitney when key players head to the Hamptons for weekend jaunts. Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, played by East Ender Sarah Jessica Parker (above) and the alter ego of many a Manhattan woman, rides the Jitney in an episode that premiered in 1999. She describes the motor coach as being “like the bus to summer camp, only instead of singing songs, everyone speaks on their cell phones and ignores each other.” Manhattanites. Of course, cell phone calls on the Jitney have long since been banned. Without a cell phone, Carrie would have instead been more inclined DansPapers.com
to speak to her seatmate, perhaps finding love sooner than the six seasons it took her to realize Mr. Big was “the one.” In Something Borrowed, a New York Times bestselling novel by Emily Giffin, protagonist Rachel White cuts her Hamptons weekend short, depressed that her love interest will never choose her over his fiancée. (The fiancée, in typical dramatic East End fashion, also happens to be Rachel’s best friend.) The Jitney is cited as the best way to escape the awkward situation at a whim, and she takes advantage. In print advertising, Apple opted to use the Jitney in an ad for the iPhone 5c (above). Four of the colored iPhones are showcased, each named for an iconic part of New York City culture. The blue phone with yellow cover is labeled “MetroCard;” the green phone with green cover is Central Park’s “Sheep Meadow;” the pink phone with white cover is “Chinese Take-Out;” And, the green phone with black cover is “The Jitney,” a term so engrained in New York colloquialisms that the word “Hampton”
was not deemed necessary for the ad. Though the ad, which ran on the back cover of The New Yorker’s March 10, 2014 issue, is very New York– centric, it works nationally. The Jitney services JFK, LaGuardia and Islip airports, opening up the East End to travelers from cross-country or international destinations. The green bus has become so synonymous with Hamptons culture that The New Yorker also featured an artistic interpretation of an amphibious Hampton Jitney on its July 22, 2013 cover. The painting, by former East Ender Bruce McCall, depicts a car ferry in Jitney green unloading vehicles onto a beautiful white sandy beach. Prominently displayed on the ferry’s left side is a rendering of the Hampton Jitney logo. Clearly, The New Yorker recognizes that the Jitney is the best way to get from Midtown to Montauk; Brooklyn to the Beach; Horace Harding Expressway to the Hamptons. And after the fleet’s 40 years of service, locals and visitors recognize that, too. Here’s to many more years of memorable journeys. June 20, 2014 | 23
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Dan’s Hampton Jitney 40th Celebration
Congratulations to the Jitney on 40 years of Service!
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Melissa Guiseppone