Duryea’s in Montauk, recognized for its $100 Lobster Cobb salad, faces doable closure this summer season attributable to a septic system dispute with the City of East Hampton.
The restaurant, owned by Apollo CEO Marc Rowan, says the city is forcing it to make upgrades to its water system however then denying them the permits they should make the adjustments, based on authorized filings. Duryea’s (which is underneath the company Dawn Tuthill owned by Rowan) claims the city is “interfering” in a public submitting asking for a choose to intervene within the scenario.
It’s simply the newest snafu in a authorized battle over allowing that started in 2018, a number of years after Rowan purchased the restaurant. It is usually the newest transfer in a string of punitive actions the city has taken in opposition to eating places and residents, sources advised NYNext.
Within the final yr alone, the city handed a legislation that caps development of recent properties at 10,000 sq. toes and stifled Zero Bond founder Scott Sartiano’s efforts to launch a restaurant at The Hedges Inn.
It’s slapping Sartiano with fines for every part from synthetic flowers it claimed had been flammable to a loud car parking zone.
In recent times the city has additionally gone after the East Hampton Airport to restrict helicopter flights, which it claims are too noisy, in addition to widespread membership Surf Lodge — forcing them to restrict outside stay music to 2 hours and conclude by 8 p.m., even on weekends.
“It makes the town in ‘Footloose’ look like Vegas,” one resident quipped.
“This is a town whose tax base is driven by second home owners and part time visitors,” one other offended resident advised me. “And they’re continuing to bite the hand that feeds them.”
Residents complain that native politicians, who’ve seen the price of residing out East surge over the previous few a long time as wealthy New Yorkers jack up the costs, have an axe to grind with rich inhabitants. And the actual fact Duryea’s is each widespread with the Instagram crowd and owned by a billionaire makes it a first-rate goal.
Irrespective of the result in Montauk, lobster salad fans will be capable to get their Duryea’s repair. They only might need to take a fast boat experience to the restaurant’s location on Orient Level, the place sources say the city is way friendlier to enterprise.
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