The East Hampton Village Board voted unanimously on Friday to approve a stipulation of settlement between the village and David Ganz, a resident who successfully sued the village for revoking his permit to park in one of the lots at Main Beach and ordering him to empty his locker at the Main Beach pavilion following a June 2024 incident there.
The village had alleged that on June 2, 2024, Mr. Ganz endangered a beach employee by recklessly driving into the parking lot behind the pavilion. The entrance to the lot is blocked by a traffic cone, and permit holders wait there until an attendant verifies they have a beach pass and moves the cone, allowing them to enter. The village alleged that Mr. Ganz did not wait for the 16-year-old attendant on duty that day, but rather sped around the cone, brushing up against a wall and running over and damaging a cable.
Mr. Ganz, however, said that he had stopped, realized a car was exiting the lot, and moved over as the car passed, before driving to his parking space. Hours later, police officers went to his residence and gave him tickets for leaving the scene of an accident and disobeying a traffic control device.
In his lawsuit, Mr. Ganz claimed that the village had violated state and federal due process and equal protection laws. The village tried to settle the case, but, according to Lisa Perillo, the village attorney, Mr. Ganz was not interested in a settlement.
Early in 2025, Mr. Ganz’s criminal defense attorney obtained videos of the incident taken from cameras affixed to the pavilion. They depict Mr. Ganz approaching behind a line of cars and, when a car in front of his slows as it approaches the entrance, turning prematurely into the lot and appearing to drive over the curb as the attendant walks toward his car to inspect his sticker. As Mr. Ganz moves into the lot, his car is visibly jostled as it brushes a retaining wall. He then parks in the near-empty lot and leaves his vehicle, walking toward the pavilion.
Mr. Ganz has maintained that village officials revoked his pass and locker as retaliation for publicly criticizing the board at its meetings.
In June 2025, Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice James F. Quinn ruled against the village, finding that it had no authority to revoke a permit or locker assignment and ordering it to reinstate Mr. Ganz’s parking permit and beach locker. The village appealed the decision.
Mayor Jerry Larsen said on Monday that the village and Mr. Ganz had agreed to a comprehensive settlement to resolve the matter. “Basically, we’re walking away from our claims” and Mr. Ganz was doing the same, he said, “as we both feel litigation would be too expensive. He will be entitled to get his beach permit and locker back, and agrees to follow all the rules.” The village will not pay any legal fees, he added.
“I’m pleased that the village has withdrawn its appeal of Judge Quinn’s decision,” Mr. Ganz said in an email on Monday.
