Keep Montauk Litter Free or Else!

Montauk is on the map and is a happening place. Thousands of new visitors are heading to the very end of Long Island to partake in the celebration of one of the most beautiful hamlets on Long Island. The sleepy fishing village is now a place that the young from all over the country and world must visit, just like Cannes in France and Monte Carlo in Monaco. Motels and hotels are booked solid and at newer high prices. Restaurants are packed, the town is hopping.

As someone who lived there all year round I know there is no quiet like the off-season Montauk quiet. The sounds of seagulls, commercial fishing boats and surfers are all you really ever hear after the season ends labor day. No doubt the new crescendo of summer season craziness has to be upsetting to the all year round locals. The hoping hipster Surf Lodge gets a lot of the blame, but truly is is now a Montauk problem. The insult now however seems to be the trash situation, all over town but especially at the in-town beaches, such as “Nick’s Beack.”

Let’s be clear the number one responsibility for trash belongs to those who bring it to the beach. However the truth is the Town of East Hampton must take responsibility to increase the amount of trash cans at all beaches with the perhaps 3 fold increase of visitors. Yes it has a cost, but yes that is no excuse to turn Montauk into a pig stye with rats and other creatures in plain site.

Having young kids in uniforms standing at the trash area at the end of the beach day may help beach goers be more astute at following the litter laws, perhaps with a capacity to write up $100 tickets. But the truth is the visitors must be the ones to do their part in keeping Montauk pristine and beautiful. Too many reports of public urination or worse are being reported and not reported. Montauk should not become the next, “Animal House,” type of place. If it does, the whole town may end up on ”double-triple secret probation!” It is up to EH Town leaders and the Montauk Chamber of Commerce to come up with a very public and effective KEEP MONTAUK LITTER FREE campaign to educate the new visitors that they must do their share or PAY!