James Lane Post has partnered with Saunders & Associates to create the series “The Saunders Stewardship Impact,” which shines a light on the organizations that are close to the hearts of its agents.
Darius Narizzano landed in the Hamptons in 1982 with a duffle bag, fifty bucks, and not much else. He’s still here over forty years later with a perspective you won’t find in your average realtor. Before he ever closed a real estate deal, Narizzano spent nearly three decades running private estates for a single family. He ended up managing five homes, scattered across four countries.
That long apprenticeship taught him something most brokers miss: how these sprawling houses actually work day to day. Not just the marble countertops and grand lawns, but the little things: how you keep a home private, how you host a weekend, how you staff and secure the place so it works for the people actually living there.
Now he’s a Hamptons broker, and he brings all that practical know-how when he’s guiding buyers and sellers. He’s also deeply woven into the fabric of the East End. Narizzano has spent over a decade volunteering at the East Hampton Food Pantry, and he’s put in ten years with the East Hampton Lions Club. He’s seen just how sharply the region’s wealth contrasts with the financial pressures that can squeeze local families and workers.
For Narizzano, living on the East End isn’t just a business line. It’s about listening to people, serving the community, and looking out for the place that’s been home for over forty years.
You spent nearly three decades managing private estates before becoming a real estate broker. How did that experience shape the way you approach real estate today?
I spent almost three decades as a butler, estate administrator, and executive assistant, essentially a majordomo, for one family. What began in East Hampton eventually expanded to managing five homes in four countries. That experience taught me how a home actually needs to function for the people living in it. I understand flow, privacy, entertaining, staffing, and all the practical details that can make a beautiful house either work wonderfully or not work at all for a particular family. In real estate, I ask a lot of questions and, more importantly, I listen. My experience allows me to be candid with buyers about why a particular property will or will not meet their expectations, and to help sellers understand how buyers are likely to experience their home.
You’ve lived in the Hamptons since 1982. What has kept you here for more than four decades?
I came out on the train in 1982 with $50 in my pocket and a duffle bag over my shoulder. That first summer I lived in an unfinished basement in Southampton and was the head waiter for a comedy club startup. I hired and trained the waitstaff, worked nights, and spent my afternoons on the beach. I fell in love with the Hamptons. My first winter was horrible, and I vowed it would be my last. Obviously, that didn’t work out. I stayed, and by 27 I had built my first home in Sag Harbor. Over the years, I’ve lived in Southampton, Water Mill, Sag Harbor, North Haven, and now East Hampton. My former career allowed me to travel extensively, sometimes six months a year and all over the world, but the Hamptons was always where I came home.
This is where I built my life, where I raised my family, and after more than four decades, it is still where I want to come home to.
After all these years in the business, what do you think makes someone a truly good real estate agent?
Listening. Really listening. A good agent also needs to communicate honestly, market creatively, solve problems, and be willing to go well beyond what is expected. Buying or selling a home is a major financial transaction, but it is also deeply personal. You need to understand both sides of that equation.
Is there a particular property, client, or transaction that has stayed with you over the years, and why?
One of my smallest sales financially remains one of the most rewarding transactions of my career. A local special education teacher and her husband, also a teacher, came to me frustrated and discouraged. They felt they had been overlooked because of their limited budget and their background, and they were seriously considering leaving the area. I felt that losing two local teachers and members of our community would be a loss for all of us. Finding them a home was challenging and time-consuming, but we did it. They’re still here. To me, that’s what made the transaction important. Not the size of the sale, but the fact that two people who contribute to our community were able to remain part of it.
Your career has given you a front-row seat to how the East End has changed. What changes have surprised you most?
Traffic! Every year I think it simply cannot get worse — and somehow it does. More seriously, I continue to be surprised by the resilience of the real estate market. I’ve heard predictions of the Hamptons “bubble bursting” more times than I can count. There have certainly been corrections and slower markets, but over the long term, limited supply and continued demand have kept property values remarkably strong. That’s beneficial if you’re fortunate enough to own property, but it creates a very real problem for our children, our workforce, and the future of the local community. The people who teach our children, run our businesses, care for our properties, and make this community function increasingly struggle to afford to live here.
You’ve devoted significant time to the East Hampton Food Pantry. What first drew you to the organization and its mission?
About 11 years ago, John Kowalenko, owner of Art of Eating and Hampton Event Management, called me. John and I had worked together on many events, and he was serving on the board of the East Hampton Food Pantry. He explained the Pantry’s mission and asked if I would be willing to help. I said yes and joined the board. It was really as simple as that: someone I respected saw a need and asked me to serve.
The Hamptons are often associated with extraordinary wealth. What do you wish people understood about food insecurity in this community?
Food insecurity here can be almost invisible. The cost of living in the Hamptons is extraordinarily high. Wages may sometimes be higher as well, but much of our employment is seasonal while rent, mortgages, utilities, insurance, food, and every other household expense continue twelve months a year. Someone can be working hard, doing everything right and still need help getting food on the table. Extraordinary wealth and genuine financial hardship exist side by side here every day. Today’s economy is putting tremendous pressure on the Pantry. Food costs have risen sharply, donations have declined, and the number of people turning to us for help continues to grow. We are presently serving approximately 1,000 people each week. If you’re able to help, please consider donating your time, food, or financial support to the East Hampton Food Pantry at easthamptonfoodpantry.org.
Can you share a moment through your work with the Food Pantry that changed your perspective or stayed with you?
One day I recognized several formerly successful local business owners waiting in line at the pantry, people I had known and looked up to when I was a bartender on North Main Street back in the 1980s. That hit me hard. It made me realize how vulnerable any of us can be. Circumstances change. Businesses struggle. People get sick. Families encounter things they never anticipated. Sometimes the person who once helped someone else is suddenly the person who needs a helping hand. I’ve never forgotten that.
What have the people you’ve met through the Food Pantry taught you about the East Hampton community?
That beneath everything else people may associate with the Hamptons, there is an extraordinarily generous and caring local community. People give their money, their time, their food, and their talents, often quietly and without expecting recognition. There is a real tradition of service here, and I’m proud to be part of it.
Your professional life is centered around homes, while your philanthropic work addresses one of life’s most basic needs: food. Has that connection changed the way you think about what “home” really means?
I don’t think it changed my understanding of home as much as reinforced it. Food and service have actually been part of most of my working life. I started in restaurants, cooking, serving, and managing, and later spent nearly three decades managing private homes and the service that took place within them. I’ve been very poor, and I’ve lived very well, and one thing I’ve learned is that the meaning of home doesn’t change with the price tag. Home is where we eat, where we love, where we feel safe, and where our lives happen. That matters every bit as much to a renter or a $1 million buyer as it does to a $50 million buyer.
What does being a good steward of the East End mean to you, both personally and professionally?
To me, stewardship means leaving the community stronger than you found it and recognizing that living here comes with some responsibility to give back. For nearly three decades, while working for Steven and Courtney Ross, I was entrusted with helping direct their anonymous generosity to people and organizations throughout our local community. Courtney, in particular, quietly helped an extraordinary number of people without wanting recognition for it. Being given the opportunity to help others through their generosity had a profound influence on my own philosophy of service. Today, that continues through my work with the East Hampton Food Pantry and, for the last ten years, as a member of the East Hampton Lions Club. I also believe stewardship extends beyond people to protecting the wildlife, habitat, and natural environment that make the East End what it is. Professionally or personally, I think stewardship comes down to the same thing: if you’re fortunate enough to be part of a community, you should also be willing to serve it.
When you think about your legacy here, what do you hope you’ve contributed to the community beyond the homes you’ve helped people buy and sell?
My two sons. If Rita, my wife, and I have added two kind, caring, good human beings to this community, that means more to me than any professional accomplishment. My greatest hope is that they will be able to remain here, in the place where they were born and raised, build their own lives and families here, and contribute to this community in their own ways. If that happens, I can’t imagine a legacy that would mean more to me.
To learn more about Narizzano, visit www.hamptonsrealestate.com.
