The owner of a high-end East Hampton gallery went from hosting a famed photographer’s opening to being dragged from it kicking and screaming during a surprise crackdown on liquor-laced art shows on the East End.
“The police out here have nothing to do, so they come bother our galleries,” Ruth Kalb, 67, fumed yesterday, a day after cops busted her soiree and dragged her out in front of 300 stunned guests, saying she didn’t have permits to serve alcohol or hold a gathering.
“They came in here with all their muscles. They needed someone to fight,” said the eccentric art purveyor, known by her gallery’s name, Vered.
Kalb said she told the cops: “I’ve been serving liquor at my openings before you were born. So don’t tell me to stop now.”
Kalb was slapped with the summons at around 9 p.m. Saturday after chasing away the first two cops on the scene.
Another gallery owner and a clothing-boutique owner were also given citations for serving alcohol to guests at their shops that night. A second boutique owner said he was harassed but avoided a summons because he was not serving booze.
Kalb said she was holding a reception to open an exhibit of work by Steven Klein – who has photographed the likes of Madonna, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – when the cops came by and demanded she get rid of the alcohol.
She said she told them: “I want you to leave right now. If you want me to talk to someone, bring the top officer.”
A short time later, the cops returned with six comrades and a slew of squad cars and handcuffed Kalb in front of her stunned guests.
“Everyone was screaming at them to leave me alone,” said Kalb, who swears she has been serving booze at openings for 30 years without any trouble.
She was released with a desk-appearance ticket after being fingerprinted and having her mug shot snapped.
East Hampton cops executed a similar crackdown at nearby Walk Tall gallery, where owner Wendy Wachtel was hosting 60 guests to honor a local artist.
“They were very aggressive,” she said.
Kalb and Wachtel were cited for serving alcohol and hosting gatherings without permits.
The owner of John Varvatos, a high-end men’s clothing store in the village, was also ticketed for a party Saturday night but declined to comment.
Cops also crashed a party at clothier Blue and Cream but did not write any tickets because there was no alcohol.
Wachtel said she would comply with the law but wondered why no warning was given.
“It’s odd they don’t issue any information before they go to that kind of extreme,” she said.
Kalb was more defiant, vowing to sue.
The East Hampton Village Police Department did not return calls for comment. A police source said the enforcement will continue all summer.
Terry Wallace, who owns the Wallace Gallery, said the crackdown stems from spot checks last summer by the State Liquor Authority, which found that the receptions violated state liquor laws, which require hosts to get one-day permits.
“We should just work within the framework of the law,” he said. “But this is all brand-new to me. I think it’s just bureaucratic nonsense, really.”
Additional reporting by Doug Kuntz