Letters

I was fine with Sag Harbor and Montauk calling themselves a Hampton. I even cheered Sagaponack succeeding where Dunehampton failed. And Remsenburg is still Remsenburg, though recently I’ve seen more Polo shirts in Speonk.

But I am not happy about Quogue North.

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed an increased use of the name “Quogue North” in real estate advertisements and cocktail conversations.

There is no such place.

Nor is there a “Quogue South,” south of the Montauk Highway. Thankfully, there’s no “Quogue West,” either — though there is Quiogue, a separate community, happily not named “East Westhampton.”

Quogue North is a marketing strategy for some people trying create some extra cachet outside the village’s borders. This is not like changing North Tarrytown to Sleepy Hollow for literary and historic reasons.

Misleading advertising? Fraudulent labeling (like Long Island duck, from Maine)? Trademark infringement?

Do pseudonyms dilute the venerable brand of Quogue, which is easier to pronounce than its original Native American name, Quaquanantuck? Did you know Shelter Island was originally named Manhansack-aha-quash-awamock? Clearly, that’s too long to fit on a T-shirt, and, besides, it’s not a Hampton.

Should Quogue Field Club and Quogue Garden Club members march to protest Quogue North? Is annexation a solution? Will the Associated Press use the name? Is the Shinnecock Canal the next Panama Canal?

More important, will future housing and businesses use Quogue North on letterheads instead of East Quogue or Flanders?

The U.S. Post Office may care.

Jerry Schwartz

Quogue