What does a wildlife refuge do for a season without its nature center? At the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, it moves its staff and animals into temporary office space and keeps its programs running. That building will eventually become the Refuge's Education Cottage.
Much of Quogue is in a similar position this October. A historic house on Jessup Avenue was spared from demolition in August, but its future is still undecided. The county bridge that links Quiogue to Westhampton Beach's Main Street is scheduled to close to cars for most of the next year and a half. Meanwhile, the village calendar for the next six weeks is full. Most of it takes place in buildings and on routes that are in the middle of changing.
The Refuge Is Working Out of Its Own Future
The Charles Banks Belt Nature Center renovation and expansion broke ground on July 1. By the Refuge's August 2026 project update, the 1978 addition had been taken down to make room for a new two-story addition. The original 1970 Nature Center is still standing and being prepared for renovation. The temporary office where staff and the Nature Center animals now work is the building planned to become the Education Cottage. It will be the permanent home for camps, workshops and hands-on programs once the Nature Center reopens. So the stopgap is also part of the finished project.
The building is closed for now. The trails, the outdoor wildlife complex and the outdoor restrooms are open from sunrise to sunset. As of August 25, 2026, the Refuge reported $2,100,000 in grant funding awarded and $2,875,000 in community pledges toward the project.
The October program list fits a season spent mostly outdoors:
- A bats-at-dusk hike
- Nature journaling
- Fall-foliage paddles
- A Pine Barrens hike
- The safari-themed Enchanted Forest Trail, October 24 and 25, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The Refuge's evening events this fall, Sip & Bloom with Ocean Fog Farm of Eastport on the equinox and Hoots and Hops with live owls on October 3, both required advance registration. For anything else on the fall schedule, check the Refuge's website before heading over.
107 Jessup Avenue Is Still Standing and Still Undecided
The Refuge's construction has a timeline. The house at 107 Jessup Avenue doesn't.
Abram Enos bought the property in 1899. He was a U.S. Navy Civil War veteran and the grandson of a free, formerly enslaved man, and he built a two-story home there known as Jessup Manor. After Enos died in 1920, his daughter Tillie added a third floor and ran the building as the Shinnecock Arms, a boarding house and hotel that mainly housed the domestic staff of summer visitors. In 1938, the Shinnecock Arms appeared in "The Negro Motorist Green Book." It was one of only three Long Island locations listed in the guide at the time.
Nick Messina of Summerhouse Builders, who is in contract with the current owners, applied to demolish the house and build a new one. On August 18 he withdrew the application for new construction. His attorney, Allan Hyman, then argued in a letter that the Design Review Board had no jurisdiction over the demolition. The board disagreed, and at the August 21 hearing it voted unanimously to deny the demolition. Everyone who spoke at the hearing opposed demolition. Quogue Historical Society Co-Chair Pi Gardiner read from a letter the society had received from the African American Cultural Heritage Fund:
"Jessup represents a crossroads of American history of Long Island as well as the African American experience from the 19th to 20th century."
The vote didn't settle the house's future. Hyman told Newsday the plan is to appeal to the Village Board of Trustees. "Reasonable people can disagree, and we understand the decision taken by the residents," he said, adding that the owner also has a private property right. No Jessup item appeared on the Trustees' September 18 agenda. The next Trustees meeting is Tuesday, October 20, at 3:00 p.m.
A town purchase is also possible, but only on certain conditions. At the hearing, Gardiner said, according to 27east, Southampton Town's Community Preservation Fund "has expressed and continues to express keen interest in acquiring the property." The Historical Society would like it to become a museum. Before the vote, Supervisor Maria Moore said the Town could get appraisals and make an offer if the owner was willing to sell. The house is already a contributing property in the Quogue Historic District and is listed on the National Register.
Four Addresses, One Short Stretch
The Jessup Manor question matters partly because of where the house sits. It is on the same short stretch where Quogue does most of its fall gathering.
| Address | What's there | This fall |
|---|---|---|
| 48 Quogue Street, at Jessup Avenue | Hampton Coffee Company, in the former Beth's Cafe | Open daily, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| 107 Jessup Avenue | Jessup Manor / Shinnecock Arms | Demolition denied August 21; appeal expected |
| 114 Jessup Avenue | Pond House Museum, Quogue Historical Society | "HOUSE PROUD! Quogue's Iconic Summer Cottages: 1880–1910," Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon |
| South end of Jessup Avenue at Quogue Street | Quogue Fire Department Ghost Parade | Friday, October 30 |
Hampton Coffee Company opened in June. Co-owners Jason and Theresa Belkin describe it, as reported by Patch, as an espresso bar and full-service breakfast-and-lunch restaurant, which gives the corner at Quogue Street a daily anchor again. The Pond House exhibition focuses on summer cottages built between 1880 and 1910, so it sits seven house numbers from the building the village has spent the fall debating. The Ghost Parade starts at the Quogue Street end of the avenue.
The Route East Is on Its Own Clock
Getting out of the village is changing too. Suffolk County's earlier notices put the start of Turkey Bridge work at September 8. Mayor Robert Treuhold's September 22 letter, the most recent schedule available, says the county Department of Public Works moved the start to Monday, September 28. The project is expected to take about 18 months. During construction the bridge will be closed to vehicles, except between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2027, when the contractor must keep it open to all traffic. The county says pedestrians and cyclists will be accommodated "when possible." Westhampton Beach's own notice describes the bridge as closed to both pedestrians and vehicles during the work. None of the published notices gives a detour route.
Dune Road is moving the other way. The mayor's letter says repaving of the eastern half will finish within about a month. Once it's done, the full length of Dune Road from the East Quogue border to the Westhampton Beach border will have been repaved.
People riding bikes on either route face new rules. After a public hearing in September, the Trustees adopted a code amendment that:
- Requires helmets for all bicycle riders under 18
- Requires helmets for riders of every age on electric-assist bikes and scooters
- Requires lights and reflectors on bikes ridden after dark
The same letter named Carl Cardo the Village's 2026 Person of the Year. He was born in Quogue 97 years ago, served thirty years as a Village Trustee, and has volunteered with the Fire Department for more than five decades.
October Into November, in Order
The calendar runs across all of these places. Here are the dates in sequence:
- Wednesday, October 7, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. "Hot and Hearty: Beat the Winter Blues Cozy Soups" at the Quogue Library. Registration required.
- Sunday, October 11, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. A do-it-yourself pizza class at the Library with Gaetano Giordano, owner of Pizza by Tano.
- October 15 through November 1. Hampton Theatre Company opens its 2026–27 season with Elaine Liner's Finishing School, part of the Jane Stanton "Celebrating Women in Theatre Project."
- Saturday, October 17, 5:00 p.m. The Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions series continues with "Ukraine and the Future of European Society."
- Tuesday, October 20, 3:00 p.m. Village Board of Trustees meeting.
- October 24 and 25, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Enchanted Forest Trail at the Refuge.
- Friday, October 30. The Quogue Fire Department Ghost Parade, starting at the south end of Jessup Avenue at Quogue Street.
- Saturday, November 7, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. The Library's annual Dessert Bake Off, with separate registration for bakers and judges.
- Through November 12. Leslie Bridgeman Cimei's "Where Light Lands from Wetlands to Water's Edge" at the Library Gallery.
The Library is also taking donations through The Great Give Back for Maureen's Haven Homeless Outreach, the St. Rosalie's Social Ministry Food Pantry, and a school supply drive.
The one date on this list that could change the shape of Jessup Avenue is October 20. If an appeal on 107 Jessup is filed, the Trustees would be the body to hear it, and the Historical Society is open the following Saturday morning at 114 Jessup Avenue.
If you own one of Quogue's historic cottages or are thinking about what the Jessup Avenue decision could mean for the homes nearby, David Tenenbaum is glad to talk it through over coffee at Quogue Street.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
