And while the complimentary bag of Goldfish crackers and water that the Jitney provides can come in handy in a pinch, the pricier Streamliner tickets come with premium amenities, like soft blankets hung from the back of each motion-sickness seat and gourmet sweet and salty popcorn. Another amenity is by dria The amenity kits provided to passengers as they board the plane are filled with quirky items such as Kiehl’s Sunscreen, Saie Glossybounce Lip Gloss, Symbiome Serumand Superieur Hangover Cure Electrolyte Powder, all packed in one Paravel toiletry bag. The set also includes a three-pack of condoms—intentionally or unintentionally making the Streamliner the new place to find love (even temporary love) this summer.
As they did has been dubbedHENRYs—high-income earners who aren’t rich yet—are the passengers waiting on the Blade helicopter. Weller says Blade CEO, Rob Wiesenthal, call the bus “Children’s Blade”.
Because Google and HSBC’s headquarters are both near the Hudson Yards pickup point, Weller says they see a lot of repeat customers from those demographics—young women and men working in tech and finance. One of those young men got so drunk last week that he missed his bus. Weller offered to upgrade him to the helicopter for $500, and he accepted.
Friedman, who works in finance on 42nd Street, laughed when he mentioned TikTok this summer. Anthem“It’s great to be in finance again now,” he said, adding that the proximity to stops, guaranteed seating, and reasonable prices motivated him to give Streamliner a try. He hopes to fly Blade someday, but until then, given the bus’s younger demographic, he said he’d reconsider taking the bus.
To be clear: The Streamliner is still a bus, after all, and as far as luxury service goes, it has some things to work out. Like the Jitney, it can get stuck in Hamptons weekend traffic. But, as far as buses being better than dating apps, Weller says it naturally cultivates prospects—like-minded people who love the beach, the Hamptons, and enough money to skip the LIRR in favor of “free” espresso martinis, Sweetgreen salads, and warm cookies.
Young people in the Hamptons often meet their future spouses and have one-night stands directly at co-ops — rental properties that split quarters, halves and full rents, often allowing dozens of people to share a home. Susan Spungen, Susanality Newsletter and cookbook author, had a popular restaurant in Sagaponack that she coordinated for seven years in the 90s.
“It was an affordable luxury at the time,” she said, since Amagansett was full of old, un-renovated “affordable rentals.” She said young people, many of whom can’t afford these types of co-living situations today, could take the train, bike, and walk everywhere without a car. “There was a lot of connectivity. It was easier to get out and be part of that scene when you were younger. It was less expensive.”
Kristin Guattery, who bought a weekend at a share house in the ’90s, also remembers the scene as being about sex, although she recalls a few people paying for a share house one summer specifically to find a partner. “I thought it was a viable option at the time,” she says. “The irony is that my future ex-husband was staying at the same house another weekend, and we met at work at the photocopier.”
