"I want to remain completely anonymous, but as someone who lives where Taylor Swift just bought a summer home, it's already a circus. Apparently there has been a stalker scare so a section of the beach is roped off. We live here all year, pay taxes all year, to enjoy three months at the beach...and now that might be in jeopardy. I don't want to speak for everyone, but you're kinda not welcome."
The stalker the reader is referring to apparently got to Taylor's house by swimming there, so now the beach is roped off in front of Taylor's house and no one is allowed to use the beach in front of the house which violates almost every common law rule of beach usage ever.
She doesn't own the beach. God owns the beach.
ReplyDeleteEhhh. I live in Jersey where you have to pay to use the beach, so the roping off the beach doesn't really upset me. TS probably should have considered a more private beach home, blocked by trees, dunes, gates, etc.
ReplyDeleteHer new song will be about her neighbors hating her! At least it will be a departure from her usual junior high lyrics.
ReplyDelete"He wore swim trunks, got my neighbors in a funk..."
DeleteOn pins and needles excited, yo.
I'm sorry for the residents, but it's not like she wants a stalker either.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the problem is the stalker, not Taylor Swift. Don't blame the victim.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with the others. She is entitled to buy a home wherever she chooses to. It's a little much to blame her for the stalker situation..
ReplyDeleteWonder why she didn't buy a place in Malibu where stuff like that can be done? Of course, Malibu has a problem with the beach disappearing.
ReplyDeletewell that the problem with the famous...
ReplyDeleteHeck, she's rich enough to buy an island. She should look into that.
ReplyDeleteAnd then stay there. Forever.
DeleteAnd never, ever, ever come back
DeleteEver.
DeleteAgree with skor. Its not like she enjoys the crazies. Roping off beach in front or in back of her house isnt going to kill anyone. Im sure she has no problem with non stalkers!
ReplyDeleteI live in RI, and the law here is: beach us open to everyone, but property belongs to houseowner. Its an enigma; how do u get on beach without using the property? Not all hv boats.
1.) I understand the inconvenience of having the beach roped off, but how about a little empathy? What a selfish ass.
ReplyDelete2.) An A+ celeb buys a house anywhere, the whole neighborhood's property value is going to increase. Even if only slightly. Or would they prefer someone else, with a mortgage, who may or may not default. Who may or may not afford the upkeep. And she's probably not even there most of the time.
Now i feel like taking a ride to look at her house, lol
DeleteShouldn't she be buying in one of the celeb housing developments with gates, security and such? Like where Britney lives? Roping off the beach is incredibly lame, they should call their lawyers.
ReplyDeleteYeah because all celebs deserve to be locked away in cages. Genius
DeleteI don't know, but that is one gorgeous house right there.
ReplyDeleteMy exact thought!
Deleteif i were taylor i would say "i don't care if my new neighbors hate me, because i love my gorgeous new house!"
ReplyDeleteClosing down a section of public beach to accommodate a celeb's special security needs is ridiculous. She can either hire someone to monitor and guard that approach to her home or move.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that these property values are going up. The Westerly estate is what it is and there are plenty of old Yankee families with wealth and power in this area as well as Newport.
Generally speaking in New England, the public has access to the "shore" - that area between the low tide mark and the High tide mark. Private property only begins at the high tide mark. So far as I'm able to ascertain, Rhode Island adheres to this view.
You can walk on the shore - not on her beach.
ReplyDeleteMost private homes on a beach do own the property in front of their home up to the water mark. You can not keep people out of the water just the sand. I'm up in Massachusetts and although we don't have celebrities near me we have plenty of wealthy people that make that very clear. In rare occasions the land is beach is deeded as a public beach but I doubt that is the case here. Some states have laws that benefit the public but New England is pretty old school.
Around here in Frisco Texas, where several Dallas Cowboys etc live, there is a neighborhood with no street signs or house numbers. My friend jokes its because they assume the groupies/stalkers/wanna be baby mammas are not smart enough to be able to find a house if they cannot see the physical address on the property.
ReplyDeleteI think after the hoopla dies down the ropes will go down also. But she paid for it she can do what she wants with it. If the President or visiting Royalty was there. They would have to put up with ropes and more.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm missing something, but how does a rope stop a stalker? Is it a rope made of restraining orders? I've heard those are really effective.
ReplyDeleteYou're all missing the point. This is a private, close knit community of people. They don't want her there. I promise you she wont last long after she realizes it's not fun staying locked inside constantly. Move to England and blow some teenage boys, Taylor Swift, since you're apparently so good at it.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'm having trouble drumming up a lot of sympathy for someone who can afford to live in that neighborhood and is whining that they can't use the 50 feet of beach in front of Taylor's house. I'm betting there's still plenty of beach left there that they can walk to from their front door.
ReplyDeleteSo the stalker is Swift's fault? What's she supposed to do, find a place where the cops wouldn't have to rope anything off to keep her safe?
ReplyDelete@childeroland, the flip side of that coin is the community who were there before she came along. What are they supposed to do? Let one person change the character of their town because she's famous when she can well afford to pay for additional security in lieu of setting up a roadblock on what was previously a safe and peaceful beach?
ReplyDeletecosign Gayeld, ill keep my sympathy for better causes
ReplyDeleteI'm also from that town and the real issue is that she bought a house that looks over the most crowded part of the public beach, and technically she owns the wall that all of the surfers and teenagers in town have been hanging out at for years. She is completely entitled to her privacy, however she pretty much picked the least private house in town to live in - the path to the public beach goes along her property line. Also this "stalker" that was a mile away from her house? Her house overlooks two public beaches and just up the street from a busy area with shops and restaurants. She really can't have any reasonable expectation of privacy.
ReplyDeleteGeez, who HASN'T had a neighbor they disliked? Get over it, Rhode Island.
ReplyDeleteRead the article and burbon's comments. Taylor has roped off the beach area in front of her house. The path to the public beach goes along her property line.
ReplyDeleteI bet this will be the dominant topic at the next town council meetings.
I agree with Bourban and other commenters. Public right of way has a very long history in RI. She would most likely need a zoning variance, which.she's not going to get. People in beach areas in New England count on the summer for income. If the mansion owners, whose property skirts Cliff Walk in Newport , can make accommodations, why should she get special treatment? She needs to suck it up or have her team complete better due diligence. Oh wait a minute, I think she's writing a song about Rhode.Islanders being so mean...
DeleteWhat Gayekd said, can't really sympathize with people wealthy enough to buy a house there and can't they find another path to the beach that doesn't go thru private property?
ReplyDeleteI live in Jersey where you have to pay to get onto God's beach. When I lived in Boston, I didn't have to pay a dime.
ReplyDeleteThat being said...I'm so glad I'm not a major celebrity. The money must be great, but the life must suck. You can't buy freedom.
All that brouhaha and she's probably there, what, two weeks a year?
ReplyDeleteThose neighbors need to calm the eff down. It's not like TS is going to be living there 24/7/365. She's usually on tour, recording songs, doing celeb stuff--AWAY from the house.
ReplyDeleteI could see their frustration if she was trashing the beach or trying to block the entire thing.
If I didn't know any better, I'd think half the people want TS to get stabbed by her stalker, Monica Seles style.
Just went on a boat cruise in the bay. Her house is beautiful, just like all the other houses. She should just pay security. She knew where she was buying and should understand the laws of tha area. She bought a home right in the most popular area of town, she needs to follow the rules. Understanding a stalker is a bad bad thing but security should be doing their job and not infringing on the publics rights!
ReplyDeleteI'm also from Westerly and can attest to he fact that MANY rich and famous people live in the same neighborhood as her. Conan O' Brien and (rumors but never confirmed) Oprah Winfrey among the bigger names. None of these people make a big fuss and neither do the locals. Perhaps because they are not as big of stars right now.
ReplyDeleteBut I will say this, it might not all be Taylor's fault. All over social media people from home post pictures and updates about where she has been seen. I even saw one person go to her house and post a picture of themselves in front.
1. Just because you have stalker issues does not give you the right to break public access laws. Deal with it within the bounds of the law, or leave. Simple enough.
ReplyDelete2. I live in a smallish town in Hawaii where multiple celebrities have homes and vacation pretty regularly. It's a bit of a pain in the ass, but we usually let them be unless they pull crap like this. S'funny when Obama comes for his Winter vacation here because it's one of the few Republican neighborhoods in the islands. I guess it's more fun when they shut down half the streets here for him when he wants to get shave ice.
Not everyone who lives in neighborhoods where rich people and celebrities hang out are rich. Away from the beach, there's often the poorer side of town where all those who work the service and governmental jobs in the area live. When you remove public beach access, you're screwing them out of one of the bennies of living in a such a town. The shared beauty. We all pay a premium for it. I rent a room in a house for $950 a month. I have to share a bathroom and kitchen with roommates. Believe me if some rich pop star illegally prevented me from walking or swimming along the beach on my days off, I'd hate her too.
i'm ultra rich and don't want any inconveniences in my life........go fuck yourselves...
ReplyDeleteThe part of the beach that her house is along is actually the public beach that the local, year-round community uses - not the owners of the summer homes in her immediate area. It is significant in this community because it is one of the few parts of the beach that is easily accessible to the locals and the tourists that also support the small businesses that comprise the nearby village. If people are denied access to that beach, it affects the not super-wealthy, not the summer residents.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say, a rope is really not such a barrier. I mean, just walk under it. Or around it.
DeleteI'm not familiar with state law where her house is, but state law here prohibits blocking off any part of the beach from public access. Period.
ReplyDeleteAll of you are saying "Fuck those snobs, Taylor has the right to live whereever!"
ReplyDeleteThe problem is, Taylor is the snob. She's saying to the townies "This is MY beach now, Get Lost." The rich people have their own beaches, Taylor just bought one of the public beaches and is kicking the public out.
Also, her security is a joke. Useless pylons who couldn't catch a cold.
Taylor Swift and Justine Bieber really ought to hook up, and then get swallowed by a sinkhole.
ReplyDeleteI don't live anywhere near there and I've hated her for years. Anybody want to invite me for the summer so we can love/hate? I'll bring some wine :-)
ReplyDeleteIf she was able to buy the beach, then how is it public? Public property usually isn't for sale.
ReplyDeleteSome of you won't be satisfied until the girl somehow winds up dead. Probably throw a parade for it. All because you don't like her music.
Maybe Taylor now understands how the Kennedys felt.
ReplyDeleteThe guy wasn't arrested for trespassing on her property, he was on a nearby private road though there is some conjecture if it really is.
http://www.thewesterlysun.com/news_now/fan-arrested-near-taylor-swift-s-watch-hill-house/article_9297f264-bd78-11e2-b8d2-001a4bcf887a.html
Interesting take on the home purchase. http://realestalker.blogspot.com/2013/04/taylor-swift-spends-big-in-rhode-island.html
These are the folks of Westerly. Taylor ain't blocking shit from these folks. http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/westerly-residents-stand-together-hands-along-the-sand
Taylor will learn that home ownership in a long-established community involves buying a home, being a neighbor, living in a community. She's only accomplished one of those so far. Time will tell if she can handle the other two.