It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Rita Cantina, the embattled Mexican restaurant near Maidstone Park in Springs.
First, on June 2, the restaurant sought a stay of enforcement and a temporary restraining order in Suffolk County Supreme Court against East Hampton Town after the town’s special-events committee denied a permit for a party it had hoped to cater for a hedge fund manager, at Kirk Park Beach in Montauk. Then last week, Rita Cantina was before the town planning board for a public hearing, and once again its neighbors were not happy.
The recent troubles began on May 16, when Hampton Clambake, one of the catering companies that operates out of Rita Cantina, submitted an application for the Kirk Park Beach event, a clambake for 25 people. On June 1, David McMaster, an assistant town attorney, emailed Marc Miller, one of the owners of Rita Cantina, letting him know the special-events committee had denied his application.
“Hampton Clambake continues to disregard the directive of the principal building inspector by operating its catering business at Rita Cantina. Please note that the committee will be unable to approve any permits until you are in compliance,” Mr. McMaster wrote.
In November, the zoning board of appeals agreed with Ann Glennon, then the principal building inspector, that catering was not allowed at Rita Cantina, which could, however, continue to operate the restaurant and to use a residence that pre-exists the zoning laws. The catering was seen as an extra use of the business.
In response to the denial of their permit, Rita Cantina’s attorney, James Vlahadamis, sued, and asked the Supreme Court to prevent the town from enforcing Ms. Glennon’s directive, and the Z.B.A. ruling upholding it, on the grounds that the restaurant had filed an Article 78 petition challenging her determination. Further, court papers show that he asked the court to order that Hampton Clambake “shall be permitted to use food from 28 Maidstone Park Road for catered events in the Town of East Hampton.”
On June 8, the court announced that the case would be heard again today, but in the meantime, the town was not to enforce the Z.B.A. ruling nor to deny special-event permits. It was at least a temporary victory: Until the court ultimately rules on the Article 78, Rita Cantina can continue its catering operations from its business, which is surrounded by residences.
Which is precisely the problem for the neighbors, who gave the restaurant an earful at the planning board hearing on its site plan application.
“They don’t care about anybody,” said Stephen Walsh, who owns a few houses directly across the street from the restaurant. He maintained that stairs and a fence owned by Rita Cantina violated its property line, and described a trash nightmare. “When you look out the front door, it looks like a back alley of New York. They have garbage from all over the place.” He also questioned whether the restaurant complies with its maximum seating capacity. “With the amount of cars that park, there are more than 75 people inside,” Mr. Walsh said.
“If the owner wants to sell, buy it — if the community fund can’t buy it, buy it for affordable housing,” he suggested.
“I remember when it was just a general store,” said Clorinda Wolfe, who lives on Flaggy Hole Road. “Everybody’s been able to run a business there, and the community accepted it. Seems like now all they want to do is ask for forgiveness instead of permission. We don’t mind having a restaurant, but we want someone who is going to be part of the community and not overstep their boundaries.”
The town did grant Rita Cantina a permit for outdoor seating, but David Buda, a Springs resident, argued that “they’re off to a bad start,” and in noncompliance. “Six picnic tables are allowed, and already there are eight there, and I believe there’s also bench seating,” Mr. Buda said.
Alluding to the court proceedings, he said that the Z.B.A. had ordered that catering not continue, yet it continues. With that record, he wondered if the restaurant would comply with its site plan. “To approve a site plan and have it sit on the shelf to linger and be ignored for possibly years is really not the purpose of having site plan review,” he said.
Mr. Vlahadamis asked board members to approve the plan, saying that it conforms with everything the Planning Department had recommended, minus some fencing. He said he didn’t believe any structures exceeded the property lines, but if they did, it would be addressed. Importantly, he noted that the Suffolk County Department of Health had approved the restaurant’s septic plan and would not require it to request a variance.
Finally, Mr. Miller addressed the public and the board. “It’s not my intention to hurt the community,” he said. “To say we don’t care is just not right. The parking — I can’t apologize for us being a successful business. I just can’t,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can.”
The public hearing was then closed.
