Adam D. Smith

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Brooklynites are shaking their heads at the latest evidence that their borough is the new Upper West Side: news that the Hampton Jitney is coming to Brooklyn.

Starting next month, the Hamptons-bound bus will pick up passengers in Downtown Brooklyn and Fourth Avenue in Park Slope every Friday night and take them to the beach.

This is the first time in its 33-year history that the Jitney will deign to pick up passengers outside of the Upper East Side.

Is this a big deal? Depends on who you are. To New York’s beach-bound upper crust, the Jitney is a basic mode of transportation — like what the Fung Wah bus is for poor college kids.

For a “mere” $51, passengers from Manhattan get a round-trip ticket, free coffee, muffins, juice, an on-board attendant, newspapers, and the exclusive company of a like-minded set.

(The competition, the Long Island Rail Road, charges about $20, depending on where you get off, but runs less frequently.)

But do we need the Jitney? Borough President Markowitz — who is most commmonly seen celebrating all the reasons to stay in Brooklyn — lauded the Jitney’s arrival as “yet another example of how businesses are recognizing that to make it big-time, you’ve gotta make it in Brooklyn.”

Some Brooklynites aren’t so sure.

“I stand to benefit nothing from that — I’m not a Hamptons-type of girl,” said Missy Quinn, a Park Slope resident who associates the Hamptons with people who are “rich” and “snotty.”

Other Slopers were more open-minded, even if, like Miriam Molner, they weren’t big fans of the Hamptons and didn’t seem to know anyone who frequented the East End.

“If I were going out in the summer, I would definitely use it,” said Molner, adding that the people she knows “go to Fire Island and Provincetown.”

Others were quizzical.

“Do people from Brooklyn even go to the Hamptons?” asked Ben Foster, of Williamsburg. Indeed, few people interviewed for this story would admit to going to the Hamptons. The one man who does go there regularly wouldn’t let us put his name in the paper.

But real estate honcho Chris Chapin, of Prudential Douglas Elliman in the Hamptons, said the Jitney should have come to Brooklyn long ago.

“There’s long been an interplay between Brooklyn Heights and the Hamptons,” said Chapin. “It’s funny that the Jitney hadn’t thought of stopping in Brooklyn before.

“I’d like to give you a sound bite about how more Brooklynites are coming out here, but the real truth is that there have been Brooklynites out here forever,” added Chapin. “It’s nothing new.”

Vox Pop

We’re not convinced that the Brooklyn version of the Hampton Jitney will be so crowded, so we hit the street to ask locals, “Where do you like to go in the summer?”

“I like to go to Korea to hang out with my family and friends. By the way, I miss kimchi.”

Chan Wok Park

“I go to Syria. I like to relax on the beach, and the food is amazing. I always gain 10 pounds!”

Huda Abouchaer

“I don’t usually go places. I don’t go out all that much.”

D. Mittelman

“I like to go to Orlando. Swim, dance, eat, party. Have a good vacation and enjoy myself!”

James Jackson

“Basically, I fly to Ponce in Puerto Rico. I get to see my family and go to clubs.”

Chris Santos

— Josh Saul

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper