Thursday, October 1, 2026
After years of work, Oyster Bay resident Jamie Arty is celebrating the release of her first book "The Chancellor’s Mansion.”
Arty spoke about her book on July 11 to around 60 people at Theodore’s Books, a neighborhood bookstore on Audrey Avenue offering new titles and a selection of gifts and accessories. The book is part memoir and part history book, according to Arty; the book released to the public on July 15.
“It was amazing,” said Arty while reflecting on the event. “It was everything that I hoped for and more.”
When Jamie and her husband Frantz Arty began looking for homes in Oyster Bay, they stumbled upon an old mansion right in the hamlet. While the house and its nearby cottage were in a serious state of dilapidation, the couple knew there was something special about the place.
The mansion was built by William Townsend McCoun, a public servant and abolitionist in New York City. The once-grand house had been abandoned for years. Many would have torn the property down and built something new on the land. But the Arty's felt that the house had more to give.
The Arty family purchased the house in 2018, and it was immediately clear that a significant amount of work needed to be done to make the space even livable. The property required a complete overhaul and was lacking even bare essentials, such as running water and electricity. Their dream project was not without challenges, including: a tree growing through the living room floor, a roof on the verge of collapse, and a snapping turtle stuck in a stone-lined hole on the grounds.
“It’s more than just a book about a house,” Arty said. “It delves into the history of Long Island and the connections to the house, and why certain things happen the way that they did.”
