East Hampton Town Taking Steps to Solve Montauk Problems

The East Hampton Town Board is working on proposing laws that will help solve the problems in Montauk that were expressed by angry local residents earlier this month.

One of the proposed law would require the manager or person in charge of any bar, tavern or restaurant with a maximum occupancy of over 100 persons to have some sort of mechanical system in place in order to count the number of patrons, according to Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell.

The method of counting patrons is ”up to the owner,” which can be as sophisticated as a multiple camera system, but must be available upon inspections, Cantwell said.

The suggestion was made by local safety inspector David Betts in order to solve the issue of overcrowding which is one of the major concerns of local citizens.

Overcrowding adds to the overall problems in Montauk, creating safety concerns for local citizens, including going over the maximum occupancy, which is a fire hazard.

There will be a hearing open to the public on the subject on August 20 at Town Hall starting at 6:30 p.m.

Cantwell says this is just one of the number of steps the town is taking to help address citizens’ concerns.

The Town will also be holding a hearing on August 6 at Town Hall starting at 6:30 p.m., to discuss creating a ‘No Parking’ zone by The Surf Lodge on Edgemere Street.

“There have been many complaints about that,” Cantwell said. “There are hundreds of cars parked on the narrow street causing people to walk down the lane of travel.”

Cantwell also said the ”No Parking” zone will be put in place due to the proximity of the lodge to the fire department, on Flamingo Avenue, which makes in difficult for ambulances to get through.

These issues and more were expressed by about 300 residents who packed a Town Hall meeting at the Montauk Fire Department on July 14.

The citizens became fed up after the Fourth of July weekend, stating that Montauk has gained a reputation as a “party town,” and created problems in the small hamlet including public urination, noise, parking problems, and overcrowding of rental homes and bars.

While Cantwell said that the problem has been building up for the past five to six years, but the “pot boiled over” on the Fourth of July.

He said that over the years, more of the businesses in the area have begun to catering to the nightlife-style, attracting more people, which the 19.8 square mile hamlet can’t handle, according to Cantwell.

“Downtown Montauk was not designed for the volume of people there,” he said. “At 2 a.m., you see thousands of people in the streets and the area is just not designed for that. That’s not a problem we can solve overnight, but it’s a problem that needs to be addressed.”

He says that Montauk does not have enough lighting, traffic lights, crosswalks, etc., to hold that amount of people.

Last month, the Town attempted to ”severely restrict” the establishment of new nightclubs by enacting zoning restrictions, according to Cantwell.

Earlier this month, the Town Board agreed to authorize overtime funding for police, fire and code enforcement personnel for the summer, which Cantwell said has already been “showing results.”

Since the Fourth of July, almost 400 summons, tickets and violations have been handed out as well as several arrests have been made.

However, he says that there are a multitude of issues and traffic concerns that require further studies.

Photo: sailingmontauk.com