Invasion Of The Sleep Snatchers

Their patience growing thin, neighbors of Boom Bistro, Chili Peppers, and the Harbor House returned to the Sag Harbor Village Board on Tuesday demanding it do something to curtail the noise, rowdy behavior, and parking problems caused by the popular night spots.

"You're all guilty of doing nothing," said George DeVictoria. He is one of a half dozen residents, most living on Garden Street in the shadow of the clubs, who chastised the board for dragging its feet since complaints were first aired a month ago. "Nothing has been proposed. Nothing has been done."

"Why are they allowed to stay open?" asked Shirley Plattner, citing possible fire-code and noise-ordinance violations. "Why aren't they shut down?"

"It just got worse," said Eva Stern. Over the Labor Day weekend, "people were lying drunk in the street," she said. "Every corner had a girl laid out."

Sleep Snatchers

Mia Grosjean, representing the Coalition of Neighborhoods for the Preservation of Sag Harbor, urged board members to "really pull up your sleeves and start working" on the problem caused by the arrival of the night clubs.

She called for a stricter noise ordinance that would require businesses to contain music and crowd noise inside and set higher fines for violations. A first offense now carries a fine of $250, which Ms. Grosjean suggested be raised to $1,000.

In a letter read by his daughter, Stacy Pennebaker, D.A. Pennebaker complained that the neighborhood had been "invaded by sleep snatchers" and questioned how "local officials, most of whom are neighbors, could so easily stand by" while the neighborhood was turned into "a drive-in, after-hours night club."

In, Not Out

Mr. Pennebaker complained that the clubs were open all night and that their patrons disturbed the peace as they returned to their cars in the early morning hours. A village ban on parking along Long Island Avenue had merely forced them to park their cars on quiet side streets, exacerbating the problem, he wrote.

Residents, expecting some response from the board, were clearly frustrated.

"I'm new here. Don't you answer?" asked Priscilla Dunhill after the board listened to the complaints.

"This is a 15-minute public input," Mayor Pierce Hance responded tersely.

"Then there's no output. I'm so glad I came," said Ms. Dunhill.

Must Show A Pattern

But after the meeting, Mayor Hance said the village was taking the complaints seriously. "I can't sit here and tell those people everything we've tried to do and everything we're going to do," he said.

The village had "rounded up the usual suspects" by asking police to cite them for noise and parking infractions and the fire marshal's office to look into possible fire-code violations, he said. But he added the village had to show a "pattern of continued violations" before it could take legal action.

"We have to follow the law," he said, "and there is a presumption under the law that when people are made aware they are in violation they will comply."

Smythe Added

He added that a committee formed last month to review the village zoning code "would make many recommendations on how to put an end to this."

The committee, which already includes Mayor Hance, Ed Deyermond, a board member, Bradley Hansen, the chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, and Anthony Tohill, the village attorney, has gained a new member. Mr. Hance said Jim Smythe, the owner of the Corner Bar, had volunteered to serve as well.

Separately, the board's decision to pay Dunn Engineering Associates of Westhampton Beach up to $8,500 for a plan to improve traffic "safety and efficiency" at the intersection of Main Street, Jermain Avenue, and Brick Kiln Road drew a rebuke from Ms. Grosjean.

The Wrong Firm?

"I'm absolutely furious. I can't believe you're doing this," she said. "You said several times, 'We have to go to bid.'" In the past, CONPOSH had asked the board to undertake a villagewide "traffic calming" study.

But Mr. Hance said the village was acting legally to hire the firm to study a single intersection and only would have been required to put the job out to bid if it undertook a broader study. "You're not comparing apples to apples," he told Ms. Grosjean.

Complaining that the company had not done a good job when it redesigned the traffic circle at the corner of Main Street and Route 114 several years ago, Ms. Grosjean said, "I still think you picked the wrong engineering firm."

Reduced Speed Limit

Part of the firm's work will be to see if it is possible to move the entrance to Mashashimuet Park to relieve congestion at the corner. To do so would require the approval of the park's board of trustees.

As expected, the board also adopted a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit on village streets, except Route 114, within the historic district. The board has considered the proposal for several years, but it has so far been unsuccessful in obtaining a "home rule message" from the state, allowing it to reduce the 30 mile-per-hour limit on Route 114, a state road.

To get around the restriction, the village was required to list each street included in the new law, a task it assigned to Police Chief Joseph Ialacci earlier this summer.

Other Action

In other action, the board:

Rejected the $67,437 bid of Carter-Melance Inc., the only one it received, to replace the roof of the firehouse on Brick Kiln Road. James Ramunno, a board member, said the bid was more than the village expected to pay. The board approved Mr. Ramunno's request that it allow him to discuss with village engineers ways to scale back the project and put it out for bid again.

Approved a final payment of $13,132 plus interest to Carter-Melance for the renovation of the Main Street firehouse. The payment had been withheld until the source of a leak in the new building could be found.

Mr. Ramunno said the problem appeared to be caused by the improper installation of flashing on an atrium roof at the American Hotel, which abuts the Municipal Building. Mr. Ramunno said he would talk to the hotel about correcting the problem.

Approved the request of a group of Sag Harbor veterans led by Paul Sauer to erect a flagpole and a plaque listing the 19 veterans of the American Revolution who are buried in the cemetery next to the Old Whalers Church. Mr. Sauer said the plaque would be put up only during the annual Sag Harbor HistoricFest weekend, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July. The flagpole would be used to occasionally fly the American flag and regimental flags, he told the board.

Appointed Joe Markowski as the new village historian. He replaces George Finckenor, who resigned earlier this year.