Marc Miller said he’s not so much concerned about the East Hampton Town Board revisiting the town’s special permit guidelines, he just wanted to get his 2 cents in before the next big clambake.
Mr. Miller, the founder and owner of the popular beach-party catering outfit Hampton Clambake, briefly addressed the board at its Feb. 16 meeting to ask that it provide some flexibility when considering new special event rules that may formally limit catered beach gatherings to 50 people.
“I brought the issue up because I’ve been doing a party for about 12 years with about 100 people who come from Brooklyn and stay at the Hermitage,” Mr. Miller said by phone this week. “I understand that the town doesn’t want to have big parties at the beaches, but I’m asking for an exception for places such as the beach right across from the Hermitage.”
The Hermitage resort is on Napeague, west of Hither Hills and east of Napeague State Park.
In their deliberations to date over proposed new special permitting rules, town board members had emphasized the recent uptick in outsize parties taking place at town beaches and how to rein them in while not spoiling the sun-soaked fun for would-be revelers. Mr. Miller said he understands the town’s imperative to deal with large parties on its public beaches, but argued that a party of up to 100 people at the Hermitage’s somewhat isolated beachfront would have no negative public impacts.
The town at present requires special event permits across five scenarios: private parties at residences, which require a permit if there are more than 50 people in attendance; assemblies on commercial property that are inconsistent with the facility’s zoning or site-use provisions; private events on public property; parades and walking or running events, and art sales at an artist’s home.
Looking back at recent history, the town issued 78 such permits in all of 2020 as the Covid pandemic raged. By 2022 it was eclipsing pre-Covid numbers as it issued 582 of them across all categories.
According to a November presentation at Town Hall that highlighted expanding interest in catered beach parties — and especially weddings — the board reported that 70 of 72 beach permits issued in 2022 were for events which fewer than 50 people attended. And most of those were special permits for catered events at town beaches — Atlantic Avenue and Indian Wells in Amagansett and Town Line Beach in Wainscott.
The town is considering formally capping the catered beach event number at 50, but Mr. Miller would like an exception for those Brooklyn families and kids who arrive for their annual Hermitage hootenanny.
“In terms of, does this affect others,” Mr. Miller said, “well, there are a lot of people who want to have bigger parties and that’s just something I can’t do now in the Town of East Hampton. Am I okay with that? I’m as okay with it as I am with any other restriction.”
