Ban Set,Then Lifted, On Village Beachgoers

It had all the potential for another American revolution.

With the big Fourth of July weekend approaching and sunblock walking off the shelves, the East Hampton Town Trustees announced that Georgica Beach would be closed as of yesterday to pedestrians, cars, and horses, all the way from the Georgica Pond gut east to Tides Turn Lane, just west of Main Beach.

The reason for the closing, which was to end at 10 a.m. on Sunday, was to protect endangered piping plov ers that nest along the two-mile stretch.

Before the news got around, however, and well before armies of sun-worshipers could mobilize, the Trustees thought better of the closure. The notice was amended Tuesday to allow pedestrians to use the beach at Georgica for 100 yards in each direction from the road-end.

On the rest of the stretch, however, no one will be allowed to walk, jog, ride a horse, or drive a car until Sunday morning.

Police Won't Enforce

The prospect of having such a popular beach closed for the entire three-day holiday did not fly well with village officials. "We certainly will not have Georgica Beach shut down for the Fourth of July," said Larry Cantwell, the Village Administrator, before the Trustees relented.

Nevertheless, except for its two 100-yard skirts - roughly the length of two football fields - Georgica will not be open tomorrow or Saturday.

Even with the open areas, Mr. Cantwell said the closure was "still overkill." He did credit the Trustees for "realizing" that the original closure was "ridiculous."

"It's not enforceable," Mr. Cantwell added, an opinion echoed by Village Police Chief Glen Stone metz. The restrictions on vehicles will be strictly enforced, Chief Stonemetz said, but the one affecting pedestrians will not be.

The chief said he didn't agree with the ban on pedestrians, and even if he did, there were not enough officers to enforce such an extensive closure.

"A Touch Too Far"

"It's taking it a touch too far," Mr. Cantwell complained. Closing such a broad length of the Atlantic for such a long time, including Saturday night's annual fireworks display off to the east of Main Beach, was "unnecessary," he said, and potentially "disastrous."

The Trustees, who from colonial days have controlled most of East Hampton's beaches and bottomlands, said they were trying to treat all potential threats to plover chicks - strollers, beach vehicles, and equestrians - equally. Diane Mamay, the Trustee Clerk, explained that the impact from pedestrians and vehicles "is equal in the minds of many Trustees."

"Pedestrians walking through the nesting area can be just as disturbing as vehicles," she said, adding that the Trustees are "trying to do our best at a balancing act."

Officials said a plover chick is located in a fenced-ff area between Georgica and Main Beaches and two eggs were expected to hatch by yesterday at another location, between the two Georgica jetties.

Nesting Plovers

Both village and town officials expressed concern that a large amount of beach traffic might shoo the plovers closer to the fireworks-staging site, which Federal guidelines require must be at least three-quarters of a mile away from the nearest nest. The Main Beach fireworks, staged by the East Hampton Fire Department, just meet that requirement.

Fireworks can frighten the tiny birds. Plovers are also threatened by any kind of human activity on the beach, wild and domesticated animals, and kite-flying.

The wording of this year's closure no tice was borrowed from one used last year, though that one affected only a 200-yard portion of the shore west of Georgica Beach, Ms. Mamay said. This year's closure, she conceded, constituted a "substantial in crease."

Crowds At Georgica?

Will there be enough accessible beach at Georgica this weekend to ac com modate sunbathers, swimmers, and surfers? "I guess that'll be enough," Chief Stonemetz said. "I don't know."

The chief and Ms. Mamay were among a number of village and town officials who attended an informal meeting June 24 to discuss a beach closure in light of the existence of plover nests and the fireworks display. The discussion left village officials with the impression that only vehicles would be restricted, but the Trustees made their decision at their own meeting that same night.

Vehicular access to the ocean beach will still be possible east of the temporary closure, from Wiborg's, Old Beach Lane, and Two Mile Hollow beaches. The Main Beach access behind Hook Pond will be open except for the night of the fireworks, when it is used solely by Fire Department and Bay Fireworks personnel.

Monitors On Hand

The Georgica Beach vehicle access has been fenced off for months, since last winter's storms eroded the beach there and created a dangerous dropoff. Chief Stonemetz said once the situation was corrected, the entrance could be reopened.

The sensitive plover areas have already been fenced off, but on Saturday, the night of the fireworks, both police and volunteer plover monitors will make sure people stay away.

The police have asked that those driving onto the beach for the fireworks show exit single-file at Two Mile Hollow, in order to keep traffic away from the crowded village center as well as to minimize impact to the beach.

Roads in direct vicinity of Main Beach are changed to one-way traffic for the night of the fireworks, again in an effort to manage the heavy traffic and ensure safety.