Sayville Rolls Out Welcome Mat for Gays
Volume 49, Issue 4
By Mike Lavers

The Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove, with miles of powdery sand beaches, happening nightlife and exclusive homes, have ranked among the top international gay travel destinations for decades. But perhaps unbeknownst to many, the village of Sayville, just across the Great South Bay, is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to the Pines and the Grove for gays and lesbians.

Sayville, an hour and a half from New York, serves as the terminus of the Sayville Ferry Service, the company that shuttles tens of thousands of people to the Pines and the Grove each season. And while the village remains the undisputed gateway to the two communities, Sayvillians are quick (and proud) to point out that Sayville itself has increasingly become a main attraction as well.

Pam Raymond, co-owner of the Sayville Inn, has lived in the village for more than 20 years. She said that Sayville is a community that accepts gays and lesbians, the eclectic and everyone else for that matter. Raymond further noted that the village’s relaxed, laissez-faire attitude – like that of many Fire Island communities – is another draw for those seeking to live and do business in Sayville.

" Sayville loves people who are different," she said. "It has a social life that is not based on how much you have in the bank. It is based on charm and wit."

Nearly 20 businesses in the village, such as the Sweet Gourmet on Main Street, are gay owned and operated. Others, such as the Bunkhouse nightclub on Montauk Highway, which has been a Sayville fixture for nearly 30 years, remain de facto gathering places for gay and lesbian Sayvillians and others from across Long Island.

Owner David Scé, who also owned David’s Grill and Martini Bar, Cherry’s and Sunsets in Cherry Grove and 13 Little Devils on Manhattan’s ultra-chic Lower East Side, bought the club earlier this year after it had fallen into disrepair. He noted that business at the Bunkhouse is booming and added that it made good business sense to come to Sayville.

"I started here and saw the Bunkhouse was for sale," Scé said on a recent Sunday night in the Grove. "I could not see how I could go wrong with the Bunkhouse. It has been there for 30 years."

Good business aside, Sayville has been part of New York’s gay vernacular for more than a century. Gay Irish playwright Oscar Wilde was a houseguest of Robert Roosevelt, the uncle of President Theodore Roosevelt, at his mansion off of Middle Road in 1882. A number of veterans of the Stonewall Riot in 1969 had spent time in Sayville and in more recent years Harvey Fierstein of "Hairspray" and "La Cage aux Folles" fame and the cast of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" have been spotted in the village.

The Island Hills Golf & Country Club has also played host to the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY) annual prom for gay and lesbian students from across Long Island in 2001, 2002 and this year. Additionally, popularity of other events, such as the Out in Sayville festival, is perhaps the best indication of how the village continues to welcome gays and lesbians.

Out in Sayville co-founder Tom Hroncich, who also edits the gay and lesbian magazine Outlook Long Island, noted that there has been a strong gay presence in Sayville for decades. He admitted, however, that there was a time when some Sayvillians did not welcome gays and lesbians into their village. Hroncich, who now lives in nearby Bay Shore, told The News that teenagers threw rocks at his van on three separate occasions when he drove Fire Island visitors from the train station to the ferry for Colonial Transportation during the early and mid 1990s. Nevertheless, he noted the 56 rainbow flags that flew outside of Sayville businesses during Out in Sayville as proof that the village has changed.

"It was way more than we ever would have expected," Hroncich said. "They excitedly put up the flags. It has really been a great experience."

Frank Pezzuto, owner of both Sayville Pizza and Cherry Grove Pizza, shared Hroncich’s sentiments and was quick to point out that the majority of Sayville residents welcome gays and lesbians with open arms.

" Sayville has always been used to them," he said. "Even the kids today could care less because they are so used to them. They are seeing people go through all the time."

Perhaps this acceptance is best summed up by Bunkhouse Manager Paul Parenti, a Long Island native who moved to Sayville earlier this year from Brooklyn. He described the village as one of the most gay-friendly communities on Long Island and noted that he would have had a much harder time if he had chosen to move elsewhere.

"Moving from the city is a big adjustment, but moving to Sayville made it much easier," Parenti said.