The New York State Liquor Authority voted unanimously on Tuesday to deny a liquor license application from the Marram Montauk resort, a victory for the Town of East Hampton and neighbors of the former Atlantic Terrace motel, located in a residential area of the easternmost hamlet.
During their discussion and vote, the three-member panel and the S.L.A.'s general counsel appeared annoyed by what they described as a misleading application. They noted the town's successful effort last summer, when a State Supreme Court justice temporarily halted the serving of food or alcoholic beverages to patrons of the resort's restaurant, Il Buco at Mostrador Marram.
The S.L.A.'s unanimous vote also ends the resort's temporary liquor licenses, which had been in effect before the Aug. 27 restraining order.
In the application of Montauk Atlantic Terrace Hotel Operating Group, L.L.C., Bridgeton Hotel Management, L.L.C., and Il Buco Corp, Vincent Bradley, the S.L.A. chairman, Lily Fan and Greeley Ford, commissioners, and Gary Meyerhoff, the general counsel, noted the town and residents' contention that the resort's restaurant "does not comply with town code to allow even a restaurant there," let alone the service of alcoholic beverages. The resort is "currently restrained from doing one of the things that their application suggests this operation would be doing," Mr. Meyerhoff said.
East Hampton's push for an injunction cited "ongoing multiple violations" at the resort, from continuing to use unapproved bar areas and a snack bar that the town said had been converted to a full-service restaurant without its approval. The bar areas and the restaurant, which has an expanded outdoor cooking area, were operating in violation of town code, according to an August statement from the town. "They've actually brought that to litigation . . . and in the midst of all that, the applicant asks the S.L.A. to come to its own conclusion on whether the town is right," Mr. Meyerhoff said.
"They want us to make that decision based on completely contradictory information," Mr. Bradley said. "They gave one set of facts to the court and they gave us a completely separate set of facts." He voted to deny the application, "and not just for the legal issue but . . . in my view this application is misleading, factually."
Eric Bregman, an attorney who has represented the resort, had no comment yesterday.
