Turns out as far as enforcement goes, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
The East Hampton Village Board was criticized at its meeting last week for not doing enough to communicate two new laws that have been ensnaring landscapers and contractors since the middle of May.
First-time tickets run the accused at least $250 but repeat offenders may find themselves on the line for up to $5,000.
The new laws, passed in January and February, work together. One requires service workers to register annually with the village at a cost of $250. They must show proof of insurance and fill out a registration form that states they agree to comply with the village’s noise law, among other requirements.
The updated noise law shortens hours for certain activities. Between May 15 and Sept. 15, landscaping and construction noise is only permitted between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. On Saturdays the window tightens to between noon and 4 p.m. All work is prohibited on Sundays and federal holidays.
“You have people going around giving $250 tickets and half of them don’t even know why they’re getting it,” said David Ganz, a village resident who often questions the board. When he suggested it place a public notice in the paper or send a piece of direct mail, Carrie Doyle, a village trustee, said, “We do have plans to send out to the public information about this, and plus, it’s been posted on our Instagram and social media.”
“How many people are reading the Instagram?” asked Mr. Ganz.
“Well, actually, quite a lot. We had a lot of likes,” said Ms. Doyle.
On June 13, the village posted about the noise law only, not the registry law. It received 732 likes and 88 comments, well above average for the village’s Instagram page. (The only post with more was about Tom Brady’s new collectible store.) However, based on the comments, it seemed many of the likes could be tied to the tighter restrictions, not necessarily from contractors who were planning their work schedules.
According to the village police, 151 warnings were issued about the registry from April 1 to May 15. After that, they started ticketing. From May 19 through June 20, 18 summonses had been issued to contractors who hadn’t registered with the village. Between May 16 and June 19, 24 summonses were issued to unregistered landscapers.
At the board meeting on June 18, Mayor Jerry Larsen said the village had sent a letter to 1,800 service providers who were active in East Hampton Town in 2024. “Some of them just don’t want to register,” he said.
“They’ve been contacted several times in English and in Spanish,” said Marcos Baladron, the village administrator. “Very few of them have come back until, of course, they get tickets.”
Susan Menu, an attorney and resident of Springs, also spoke out. She had no problem with the law; like Mr. Ganz, she had a problem with what she saw as a lack of notification.
“I’m ashamed to admit that I love Instagram,” she told the board. “I’m on Instagram morning and night, but I never saw an announcement regarding this.”
One local received a ticket for $300, and he told her he didn’t want to fight it.
“He was afraid if he had fought it, he would be targeted,” she told the board. “Where have we heard that before? We hear that every day now in this town. People are frightened to death about police approaching them for any reason.” She said a $300 ticket was onerous and suggested fines should be refunded.
On Monday, Ms. Menu took her complaints to the East Hampton Town Justice Court where she spoke on behalf of six clients who were angered over the tickets.
“My position is that insufficient notice has been given,” she said in a phone call. “It’s ludicrous to assume that the people who wash the windows and mow the lawns are notified by an obscure notice in The East Hampton Star or from Instagram.” Her six clients had their cases adjourned until July 7, so that Brian Lester, the village prosecutor, could confer with the village.
“We sent out a big mailer, in English and Spanish,” Mr. Baladron said in a phone call. “To ensure a smooth transition, we contacted all 1,800 contractors licensed in the town as early as February, followed up with a second mailing in April, and have since emailed and called hundreds more to make sure they were aware of the new law and our May 1 start date. Any contractor claiming they were not contacted must not be a licensed contractor with the township.”
Of the 1,800 mailers the village sent, it has only registered 700 contractors. “Maybe some people are just planning to wait until they get caught,” he suggested. “At some point, what do you do? Keep issuing warnings or start writing tickets?”
“We’re getting a lot of compliance now,” said Mayor Larsen at the board meeting. “All we’re asking for is a registration of their business with us so that we can give them the noise rules. That’s to try to make the quality of life of the residents better. The more people that know the rules, the less violations.”
