By: Serach Nissim
Local officials and restaurateurs in the Hamptons are engaged in a long-term clash over outdoor dining regulations. Inspectors have increasingly insisted on enforcing a return to pre-pandemic restrictions, rising ire from restaurants in the area.
As reported by the NY Post, restaurants from Southampton to Montauk complain that they have been inundated by “over-the-top” inspections and fines for exceeding capacity. The restaurateurs gripe that they are just trying to catch their breath after the pandemic, and this fresh wave of enforcement during the busy summer months will put a serious damper on their livelihoods.
“They took off the brakes and they say they are making up for lost time,” one restaurateur told Side Dish, referring to the crackdown by local officials. “They want to take back the outdoor spaces or restrict them, but who do you think pays our tax revenue base?” The business owner, like many, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. He said in one instance, the police wanted to seize his sound system equipment. “What do you think this is, the Soviet f—- Union?” the restaurateur said. “You can’t come take my s—. The law doesn’t work like that. It’s so messed up. We need a hospitality alliance.”
Southampton restaurateur Zach Erdem, owner of the restaurant and nightclub 75 Main, also called out the law enforcement crackdown. “We just want to survive. We pay rent year-round and just have this three-month window to make money in this little village,” said Erdem, who noted that he hasn’t personally had any problems with the law. “People need to do something, to go out for dinner, to listen to music, to dance or this becomes a ghost town.”
In Montauk, a group of restaurant owners are teaming up, after claiming they were unfairly targeted. Sel Rrose, Shagwong Tavern, 668 The Gig Shack and TT’s Montauk are included in the group, as per Side Dish. “We are retaining counsel and I know others are too,” said Tony Pytleski, owner of TT’s Montauk. “Our lease is up next year and we are considering leaving Montauk for a more business friendly town.”
Local officials denied targeting any of the businesses, saying they only want to remove the illegal extra tables. “Understandably, they are trying to make as much money as possible in a short season, and that’s where the friction is occurring,” said Jay Schneiderman, supervisor of the town of Southampton. “Restaurants are unwilling to return to pre-pandemic seating arrangements. But they have to work with pre-existing seat numbers.”
Ryan Murphy, Southampton town code compliance and emergency management administrator, defended the enforcement. He explained that during the height of the pandemic, the town allowed restaurants to put tents and expand outdoor seating to help businesses stay afloat. Extra space was allotted on streets and sidewalks to proving foradditional seating at dining destinations. The restaurants, however, were supposed to apply to make their expanded outdoor dining seating permanent. Many of the raids stemmed from the fact that the venues had applied late, or not at all, to extend the outdoor seating, Murphy said. The town must approve all site plan changes, and does so based on the restaurants’ ability to host more people while complying with health and safety codes, Murphy noted. “We are aware of restaurants that expanded their footprint beyond what it should be and received summonses and violations, and the fines can escalate if they aren’t paid,” Murphy said.
