The Hamptons are becoming a no-fun zone.
Seemingly innocent and simple requests to hang balloons outside a storefront and another to give out free snow cones were shot down by East Hampton officials, leading to whispers of martial law on the picturesque downtown.
“There are some people here who want to go back to the way it was,” said East Hampton Chamber of Commerce President Marina Van, speaking of a return to the village’s small-town origins. “Well, the way it is is not the way it was.”
The apparent crackdown began over the Memorial Day weekend when several gallery owners were cited for serving alcohol without permits. One of them, Ruth Vered, was hauled away in handcuffs.
Another gallery owner cited, Wendy Wachtel, of Walk Tall Gallery, said cops and police cruisers are still a constant presence.
“They’re constantly circling,” she said. “They just hunt and hunt and hunt.”
But village administrator Larry Cantwell said the area is just trying to avoid a shift from civilized to circus-like.
With even tiny stores demanding more than $10,000 a month in rent, competition – and the need to stand out – has created a spike in gimmickry, he said.
“I don’t see it as an issue of turning back the clock,” Cantwell said. “We have a core business area that is very desirable. We guard that beauty very jealously. If we lose that, these merchants will lose their desire to be here.”
Cantwell said his office receives a flood of requests for special events that would make the village’s commercial area more Bourbon Street than Main Street, including applications for in-store band performances. Others lobby to give away promotional items at area beaches.
Kristina Klug, manager of Tiffany’s in East Hampton, had her request for an a cappella performance on the shop’s balcony silenced earlier this month.
“The village definitely has a way they want the area to be,” she said. “It can just be disappointing.”
One Newtown Lane storeowner said he appreciates the village’s efforts.
“I think the potential is there for things to get out of hand,” he said. “With all the strollers and everything here on a weekend, it can get overwhelming.”
The Chamber of Commerce – which has received weekly complaints from frustrated merchants – will meet with village officials after the summer to address the issue.
“They would like to see the village have a five-and-dime, a little newspaper stand and a couple of small shops,” Van said of the stodgy village board of trustees.
“Most of them were born and raised here,” she said. “I just don’t think they want change.”