Surf Lodge’s Defense Files a Motion To Dismiss Some Charges

The 's new attorney filed a motion to dismiss multiple counts of the nearly 700 alleged violations the Montauk bar and restaurant faces, citing New York State law and town code to substantiate his claims. 

The case of the Surf Lodge has been adjourned to May 14 when the charges of 686 violations of town code and one fire code violation Edgemere Montauk L.L.C. has accumulate between May 28 and Sept. 16 of last year will be back on the judge's docket. These violations - which were issued daily, include no certificate of occupancy, no site plan approval, no building permit, illegal clearing of wetlands, property maintenance violations, and overcrowding.

Justice Cahill spoke at the bench with defense attorney Thomas Horn, who is also a former town fire marshal, and Robert Connelly, an assistant town attorney. She appeared to encourage the two sides to settle. “Come back with a number,” she said, “Instead of doing this,” as she gestured to the motion in her hands. If an agreement cannot be reached, both parties have three weeks to submit additional material.

When asked about the potential number, Connelly said, “I already came up with one in October, which was $100,000, and it’s still on the table.” He said he would talk to Horn and, “See if we can work something out before the date, and see if the court accepts it.” 

“The motions are well-founded and will be constructive in helping us reach a settlement,” Horn said. The motion details that state and town laws only allow for alleged zoning code violations to be written up on a weekly basis, with each week’s continued violation to be counted as a separate one. Also, it alleges that town code restricts violations to be cited only once per week. The business received the same violations repeatedly, several times a week. 

The motion asserts that there was no proper notice before more violations were tallied, and that numbered sections of the code cited “do not match the actual Town Code.” 

In reference to statewide code, the motion said that a 5-by-8-foot hot dog cart addition to the Surf Lodge, which received many of the violations, “does not need to be built in accordance with the New York Uniform Code, thus a Building Permit would not be required." And “the food cart was reported to have had a license plate affixed to it,” rendering the cart be regulated by New York State Department of Motor Vehicles instead.

This past fall, the Surf Lodge tried to legalize the food cart on the premises through the East Hampton Town Planning Board, but was referred to The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals for variances and permits. The scheduled appeal senior building inspector Tom Preiato's determination of the cart as an “expansion of a nonconforming use,” will be heard on April 24.

In a phone interview this week, Horn said, “It’s not about how many violations or how many dollars. It has to do with if I see a settlement that has a certain concept behind it, I’ll pursue that.”