Another Setback for Cyril’s

The owners of Cyril’s Fish House on Napeague were handed another setback in their fight to open the popular roadside eatery for the 2014 summer season, when the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals upheld a stop-work order issued last winter by Tom Preiato, the town’s chief building inspector.

The board, led by John Whelan, its newly appointed chairman, voted 4-0 to uphold the order, which was issued on Jan. 28 after two gasoline tanks dating from the late 1960s, when the site was a gas station, were dug up and removed.

Mr. Preiato expressed concern during an April 22 hearing on the appeal about the area under a brick patio and bar that face the highway, saying a proper inspection needed to be done. He said that the ground where the 2,000-gallon tanks were removed appeared to be sagging, and said he worried about the structural integrity of the bar itself.

In addition, the town has obtained a temporary restraining order from New York State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Farneti that prevents Cyril’s from opening in any other form than that which existed in the 1980s: 40 seats in a 300-square-foot structure with a 120-square-foot deck. According to the town’s Planning Department, the restaurant in its current form covers about 1,000 square feet when all structures on the site are included.

Michael Dioguardi, one of the owners, was scheduled to have a preliminary site plan meeting with the East Hampton Town Planning Board last night. Mr. Dioguardi’s attorney is Dianne Le Verrier. A site plan approval from the board is required before a building permit can be issued and the stop-work order lifted.