Cavett sells Montauk property for open space

Dick Cavett, the former TV talk show host, has reached an $18 million deal for his 77-acres of oceanfront property in Montauk that will preserve it as open space. Suffolk County, the Town of East Hampton and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will share the costs of the deal, which was negotiated by the Nature Conservancy. The property consists of scenic bluffs and freshwater wetlands. The deal is subject to governmental approvals, which will likely happen in the next few months. Cavett now blogs for the New York Times.