CG Residents Say Bars, Clubs Too Loud
Volume 49, Issue 7
By Mike Lavers

The foam is flowing fast and furious at Sunsets on the Bay, boys clad only in their skivvies bump and grind the night away at the Tides and the incomparable Gusty Winds looks for a date (or whatever) at the weekly Hollywood Squeers at Cherry’s on Friday nights.

This is just par for the course on any weekend night in Cherry Grove during the season as hundreds, if not thousands of people from across the island and beyond flock to this East End community for a great night out. But even as partygoers seeking a good time continue to flock to the Grove, some local residents are complaining that local bars and clubs are ignoring town noise ordinances.

These complaints are nothing new in the Grove, but they were on the agenda at the July 17 meeting of the Cherry Grove Community Association (CGCA) at the Community House. Cherry Grove Property Owners Association Interim President Stephen Phillips said that the presence of three bars within a once block radius, such as those clustered around downtown Cherry Grove’s bay front, violates the town of Brookhaven’s zoning ordinances.

Phillips, who also distributed a flier that advised residents how to file a noise complaint and listed the contact information for Brookhaven Town Supervisor John Jay LaValle, Brookhaven Town Council Member Timothy Mazzei, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and other elected officials, added that the large decibel meters that the town uses to gauge noise levels at bars and clubs are ineffective because of their size. And he further argued that smaller, handheld devices are not practical because their results are often thrown out of court.

“Night after night after night we get noise,” Phillips complained. “Decibel meters don’t detect the boomp, boomp, boomp. [They] only detect music.”

Current town statutes prohibit bars, clubs and other commercial establishments from producing noise above 65 decibels between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and above 50 decibels between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Penalties for violating these ordinances range from fines between $25 and $100 for a first offense, $50 and $150 for a second violation and $100 to $250 for a third or subsequent offense.

Deputy Inspector Harold Jantzen, commanding officer for the Suffolk County Police Department Marine Bureau, the agency responsible for policing Cherry Grove and other communities on the island, said that his department responds to noise complaints in a variety of ways. These include anything from simply asking bars and clubs to turn down their music to issuing summons, spot checks and even arrests, if necessary.

“We are not going to ignore the problem,” Jantzen said at the CGCA meeting. “We will do what we have to do to correct the problem–within reason.”

Local bar and club owners are quick to point out that they cooperate with local law enforcement. Mike Fletcher, a promoter for Cherry’s and Sunsets on the Bay, said that his establishments have received a handful of noise complaints this season. And each time, according to Fletcher, he turned the music down.

“Our official stance is to always be cognizant of our neighbors and always make an attempt to not turn the music so loud as to disturb our neighbors,” he said. “If we get a call, we take action immediately and turn the music down.”

Tides and Island Breeze owner Ron King, who also owns a home in the Grove, agreed. He told The News that he has only received two noise complaints so far this season–one of which came on a night when his businesses were not even open. But he admitted, however, that noise can be a problem the Grove because of its small size.

“This is a very small town,” King said. “A lot of these bars are tents and there is not much you can do about it. Sound carries and it is always going to be there.”

Barbara Ann Levy, president of the Cherry Grove Chamber of Commerce said that bars and clubs have made a conscious effort to cut down on their noise levels. But she acknowledged that the only way that the noise would completely go away is if the bars and clubs would shut down.

“Businesses have a right to be here and so do residents,” Levy said.Fire Island, by its very nature, is a party destination and even Jantzen said that this problem is not unique to the Grove. He said that Ocean Bay Park, Kismet and Davis Park are confronting similar noise concerns.

“It is not just in Cherry Grove,” Jantzen said. “There are complaints up and down the island.”