The stage was set as the East Hampton Village Board prepared to hold a public hearing about proposed legislation to restrict business hours in the historic district, legislation that seemed aimed at discouraging Zero Bond, a private membership club, from leasing or purchasing the Hedges Inn and turning it into a night spot for the ultra-rich.
The legislation would limit “eating and drinking establishments” in historic districts from remaining open after 11 p.m. and from serving food or drinks after 10, and would impose a fine of $1,500 per day for violations.
The large room at LTV was reserved and people arrived early to get a seat ahead of the hearing.
Mayor Jerry Larsen started by addressing the room. “We have a few things on the agenda before we get to the reason everyone is here today,” he said, and told people to place their name on a sign-up sheet if they wished to speak. He warned that a three-minute speaking limit would be strictly enforced. Then, well, it was pretty quiet: lawyers talking to lawyers.
Christopher Kelley, who represents John Cumming, the owner of the Hedges Inn, and Martha Reichert, who represents the Huntting Inn and the Maidstone Hotel, dominated much of the discussion, offering their reasons for opposing the law.
While few residents stood up to speak (the room was full of roughly 50 neighbors of the village inns), many more wrote letters to the board applauding its efforts to proactively combat noise in the historic district, which abuts residential districts.
For example, Avery Jaffe, a high school student, wrote, “I wanted to know if there is anything I could do along with my friends and family to stop the progress of Zero Bond. If there is anything that comes to mind I could do, as a 17-year-old, I would love to join in.”
On the other end of the age spectrum was Stephanie Flinn, who emailed to explain that her husband, Lawrence Flinn Jr., had summered in East Hampton for 85 years and was alarmed at the prospect of Zero Bond disrupting the historic district. “We are totally against extending dining hours past 10 p.m.,” she wrote. “It will attract a high-profile crowd and the noise and traffic will be horrendous.”
In just three days, over 20 letters reached the board. In fact, all the pre-meeting activity could have caused the anticlimactic vibe at Friday’s meeting. An indication of early efforts by Zero Bond to sway the mayor were also apparent. In a phone call, Mayor Larsen explained that Adam Miller, who represents the private dining club, asked if he could share the mayor's cellphone number with Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City. Mr. Adams is often spotted at the Zero Bond location in the city, and he wanted to personally vouch for Scott Sartiano, the owner.
“I said, ‘Adam, this is not about Mr. Sartiano,’” said Mayor Larsen. “This is about protecting neighbors from late night noise. I texted him back, ‘I don’t think it’s necessary to waste the mayor's time. It’s not going to change anything.’”
He never heard from Mayor Adams. Mr. Miller, though he was present at the hearing, chose not to speak. A spokesperson for Zero Bond had no comment.
“It appears that this is a proposal that is a solution in search of a problem,” said Mr. Kelley, the first speaker to address the board. He said there was no record of noise in the historic districts, an assertion Mayor Larsen later characterized in the phone call as “an absolutely ridiculous comment.”
“You can’t mix late-night and residential,” he said. The Maidstone Inn once tried to have burlesque shows and the village shut them down. “It was a mess.”
Mr. Kelley said the basic legal objection was that “the village doesn’t have the police powers to enact this legislation and it’s thus unconstitutional.” He said state law, specifically the alcohol beverage control act, pre-empts the regulation of the operating hours of any establishment that sells alcohol. “The attorney general has gone as far as to say that a convenience store, or a pizza parlor’s hours, can't be regulated by a municipality.” Later, he stood up again and said, “St. Luke's rectors can be jailed for serving communion at Christmas Eve midnight Mass.”
Ms. Reichert said the village had to look at the practicality of the law. “The way this law is crafted, it prohibits room service after a certain time. It also prohibits a mini bar.” She said there could be unintended consequences, for example, a proliferation of late-night deliveries to the inns.
“I happen to be about 30 yards behind the Hedges Inn on Hook Pond Lane,” said Kenneth Lipper. “I heard what the esteemed attorney said; however, he’s wrong. As a former deputy mayor of New York, it's the duty, not only the right, for public officials to protect the health and safety of their community. That is embedded as the main purpose for local government. The entire length of Hook Pond, instead of being inhabited by swans, will be inhabited by groups of these people who will make a permanent encampment. That will offend the rights of every person in the village and these people don't arrive by taking the Jitney, they come in with their private jets. And the way the airport is currently unregulated, these jets can come and go at will.”
Marty Cohen, a village resident, and chairman of the board at Guild Hall, explained that often Guild Hall has evening events and small gatherings that butt up against 10 p.m. “Why 10 o’clock? Eleven o’clock has been working fabulously. To change the rules for an entire neighborhood because of one inn that might be doing something objectionable, everyone is going to suffer from that, I think unnecessarily.”
“We can talk legalese and all of that, but really what we’re talking about is community,” said Courtney Garneau. “That is something that we all need to preserve, especially as we continue to watch our local community grow with gigantic houses and our natural resources being impeded. It just doesn’t work, and we're all here to preserve that.” The room filled with applause.
“This law doesn’t even affect the Hedges Inn,” said Mayor Larsen. “They’re bound by a 1981 Z.B.A. determination that already says they can only be open until 10 p.m. The lawyers for Mr. Cumming have to overcome that before they even begin to worry about our law.” The 1981 determination was issued after past owners of the inn requested to make changes to the kitchen. However, in the same determination it stressed that the service bar should not be expanded, and it since has been. So, it’s not clear if a court will show respect for the determination.
“The neighbors of Hedges are really the ones who can stop all of this,” said Mayor Larsen. “They should call or write John Cumming and express their concerns.”
The hearing will continue at the May 17 board meeting. Written comments can be sent by mail or email.
