Robert Lipper

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday June 19, 2006

THE NEW YORK DETOUR ARRIVES ON LONG ISLAND

Contact:  Kristen Matejka       
Director of Marketing and Communications
LICVB&SC
631 951-3900 xt.317 or
Scott Flaherty
Empire State Development    
Cell Phone – 518/928-7954


THE NEW YORK DETOUR ARRIVES ON LONG ISLAND
23-Day, 2,000-Mile Journey Re-Discovering the “Real” New York State Swings through the Long Island Region June 28 and 29

Hauppauge, NY –(June 19, 2006)- It’s full-speed ahead as the New York Detour rolls into the Long Island Region this June 28 and 29 as part of the 2,000-mile statewide odyssey from Niagara Falls to Montauk that is reinventing freestyle travel and celebrating the Empire State like never before.

From June 7 to 29, the New York Detour, and host/travel writer Bruce Northam, will utilize all modes of transportation, including kayak, horseback, car, canal barge, train, trolley, antique speedboat, limousine, pogo stick, horse-drawn carriage, subway, parachute, glider, motorcycle and foot, through scenic countrysides, backroad villages, busy downtowns and on waterways as he discovers offbeat landmarks and unearths unsung heroes of all ages.  Accommodations will include camping, shacking with locals and five-star luxury.

Northam, a native New Yorker and author of three books including “Globetrotter Dogma,” has visited more than 100 countries.  During the “Detour,” he’ll traverse the state, rediscovering his own “backyard” while visiting the state’s unsung heroes and partaking in the activities that make those heroes unique. 
 
In all, the New York Detour will voyage through all of the Empire State’s 11 vacation regions as it celebrates attractions and residents while highlighting the many dynamic ways to traverse the State in I LOVE NEW YORK style.
 
Residents and members of the media are encouraged to wander and wonder with Northam as he focuses on the Long Island region at the following locales:

Wednesday, June 28
• Mid-Morning – On-air interview on Long Island’s backbeat with David Widmer, General Manager, Long Island Radio Group 
• Noon - Ride in ISLAND 94.3 radio station’s (WMJC) ISLAND RV with David Widmer from Farmingdale to Oyster Bay -
• 2:00 pm - Bruce meets Jackie “the Joke Man” Martling (212/315-4155) at the famous "Chick's" (Chinks) hot dog stand in Oyster Bay for a few hot dogs -
• 3:30 pm - Visit Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, interview local historian (did Walt yard-hop?), Walt Whitman Birthplace Association 246 Old Walt Whitman Road, West Hills, NY 11746-4148
• 5:00 pm – Climb Jayne’s Hill (highest point on Long Island, loaded with history) with (Long Island celebrity or News 12 crew)

Thursday, June 29
• 9:00 am - Board Long Island Railroad near Patchogue station hobo hitch style (with pending approval from LIRR) to Speonk station.
• 10:00 am - Ride in an antique car from Speonk to Westhampton with Tim McCarthy, local novelist
• 11:00 am - Boat from Westhampton to Southampton with Tred Barta, Improper magazine outdoor columnist and Outdoor Life Network TV personality.
• 1:00 pm - Interview Jeff Muhs, local painter
• 2:30 pm - Southampton to Easthampton in a stunt plane with Improper Magazine editor, Keith Girard 
• 4:00 pm - Easthampton-Montauk on a Harley with Lenny Gropper, Publisher of The Improper Magazine
• 5:00 pm - “Crossing the finish line” party in Montauk where I’ll interview my parents on their 50th wedding anniversary (June 29).  Johanna Northam, environmental activist and Long Island ground water expert and Basil Northam, Long Island historian specializing in local Indians, artists and general history – both parents are proud, native Long Islanders… then Lenny Gropper re-marries Bruce’s parents.
• Evening - Final scene with parents by Montauk bar sign: “The End”

A complete hour-by-hour itinerary of the voyage, in addition to a “Daily Journal” where Northam will report on each day’s happenings, is on www.iloveny.com.

For more information on the New York Detour, visit www.iloveny.com or call toll-free 1/800 CALL NYS.  For more information on Bruce Northam, visit www.americandetour.com.

The Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission (LICVB&SC) was established in 1979 as the official tourism promotion agency for the destination’s travel and tourism industry. Based on Long Island in Hauppauge, NY, the LICVB&SC contributes to the economic development and quality of life on Long Island by promoting the region as a world-class destination for tourism, meetings and conventions, trade shows, sporting events, and related activities. For more information about Long Island, please contact the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission by calling 1-877-FUN-ON-LI or visit www.discoverlongisland.com.

 

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