Spotlight on Sea Cliff: A Square Mile of Perfection on Long Island’s North Shore

By Sarah Deming Sea Cliff natives affectionately refer to their village as “One Square Mile.” Part of the town of Oyster Bay, this picturesque gem is nestled along Hempstead Harbor on Nassau County’s North Shore. Because of its unique history as a former Methodist campground, it features intimate plot sizes. Its 1.1 square miles boast 1,500 homes, many of them ornate and colorful Victorians. A profusion of parks contributes to a culture of civic engagement. One of many Victorian homes in Sea Cliff. (Photo: Margarett Watt) “Sea Cliff attracts people who want to be part of a community,” says Ann DiPietro, president of the Sea Cliff Civic Association. “You can have impact here that you couldn’t in a larger town.” DiPietro is also director of the Sea Cliff Children’s Library. (Despite being a village of just 5,000 residents, Sea Cliff has two stand-alone libraries, one for children and one for adults.) This past December, she and her husband Dan led a troupe of actors, villagers, and dogs through town in a production of A Christmas Carol called the “Scrooge Stroll,” a popular local tradition. Plans are afoot for a “James Joyce Jaunt” on Bloomsday (June 16) and “Silly Shakespeare,” lighthearted adaptations of works by the Bard. Designer Leslie Guerci says she was drawn to Sea Cliff by its stunning architecture and topography. Her favorite houses are “the very vertical, ornate Victorians, but I also love that we have wonderful contemporary homes, American foursquares, even Sears and Roebuck kit houses,” says Guerci, who served as president of the Landmarks Commission and created a map of the public pathways winding through Sea Cliff ’s rocky cliffs and green spaces. She rejoices “every time someone rips off aluminum siding, discovers ornate shingling, and restores it.” ON THE AVENUE Frost Ceramics Sea Cliff Avenue is the village’s main strip, with welcoming pubs like Still Partners and charming boutiques like Frost Ceramics, which offers pottery classes in its back studio. Campground is an appealing new addition, featuring more than 200 craft beers, pinball machines, and a beer garden set to open this spring. Cofounder Emil Lanne says: “Our name is a nod to village heritage, but a campground is also a place you come to kick back and be with friends. We made a very conscious decision not to have TVs.” Campground communal tables are filled with locals of all ages—and none of them are looking at their phones. In fact, the convivial mindset is one of his favorite aspects of Sea Cliff. “I know more people here than I did when I lived in Brooklyn,” Lanne says. “You bump into people here, and a friend of a friend becomes a friend.”