David Nyce has made his living as a set designer, singer-songwriter, and cabinet maker. He, along with his wife, Jennifer Benton, moved to Greenport from Manhattan’s East Village in 2001 and enthusiastically joined the seaside community, savoring its landscape, its peacefulness, and especially its people.
Indeed, if you run into him in Greenport Village you will notice that he greets practically everyone who passes by. He and Benton ran the Benton-Nyce Gallery for several years and Nyce served two terms as mayor of Greenport, from 2007 to 2015. He currently volunteers for the Greenport Fire Department and builds furniture and cabinetry in a shop behind his house that he converted from an old scallop shed.
Maybe you’ve seen him playing at the traditional Irish music sessions at Whiskey Wind or have gotten to know him through a carpentry project — he’s built (and rebuilt) the bar at Aldo’s eponymous coffee shop three times, and more mornings than not, you can find him contemplating his next cuppa from one side of it.
Here are Nyce’s local favorites:
Favorite local attraction Clark’s Beach. It’s across from the campground on Route 48; you can access it through the Audubon Society property (65275 Route 48, Greenport, 631-477-6456), which is just east of the beach. The village owns that portion of the property — it’s unknown and is absolutely beautiful. It’s the same view as 67 Steps Beach and it’s a nice, quiet spot.
Favorite coffee spot Aldo’s (103-105 Front St., Greenport, 631-213-9353). When we moved here it had been an Italian restaurant and a sushi restaurant. Aldo [Maoirana, the former owner] had me build and redo three bars here — he’s a character. The coffee is really good, so that’s where we gravitated. [It’s] the hub of commerce in the village.
Initially, Aldo served coffee the way he thought you should have it. He would throw people out for adding sugar. Every so often he’d add a little shot of something to my cup and I’d say, ‘Aldo, I have to go back to my shop to work.’ He’d tell me that maybe it was time for me to stop work for the day.
Favorite old-school North Fork business Hommel Plumbing (401 Main St., Greenport, 631-477-1600). It’s one of the oldest businesses in the village; it’s been here for 85 years. I think the current owner is only the fifth owner. It’s practically the only source for plumbing supplies out here on the North Fork.
And Preston’s Marine Supply (102 Main St., Greenport, 631-477-1990); the Rowsoms have owned that for as long as we’ve been here. Marine supply is another critical type of business out here.
Favorite local bands The Second Hands, Geoff Schroeder and Laura Hoch. They live locally — their songs are really cool and mostly original. They are sort of folk-pop. Their harmonies are beautiful, and their songs are personal and well-thought out. We love Rob Europe, as well. He plays acoustic blues guitar and he is just spectacular. He started playing around town as a teen and he’s become well-known. He’s put out two or three albums. And the ubiquitous Gene Casey! We’ve been friends with Gene and Heather [Lanza, Casey’s wife] for almost as long as we’ve been here.
Favorite local gallery The North Fork Art Collective at the Fiedler Gallery (207 Main St., Greenport, 631-506-9490). Kara Hoblin is doing a great job of keeping the art scene moving forward.
Favorite local food ingredient We go to Deep Roots (57685 Main Road, Southold, 631-745-7928) for pork. Jen made a fantastic split-pea soup with one of their smoked ham hocks, and their pork chops are excellent. They have some unusual vegetables, like sunchokes, artichokes and Asian sweet potatoes. They try different things from year to year.
We like Blue Duck (130 Front St., Greenport, 631-333-2060) for bread, Wesnofske’s (36450 Route 48, Peconic) for basics like cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes and string beans, and Center Cuts (11155 Main Road, Mattituck, 631-298-2200) for beef. Their chopped meat is spectacular.
