The access of Motor Vehicles with valid East Hampton Town access stickers onto a stretch of beach in Amagansett referred to Truck Beach is getting ugly. Suffolk County Judge Paul J. Beasley has now accused EH Town Board and Trustees of “indifference and deliberate disobedience” to a court ruling in February, of 2021 in which a State Appellate Court declared sections of the beach “privately owned.”
It now has been reported that East Hampton Town is in contempt of the Truck Beach Court Order and fined $239,000 based on $1000 a day contempt fine, since the order in June 2021. The town is in contempt for not turning over all relevant emails, text messages and other communications that the court requested. Along with effectively curtailing all vehicle traffic on the beach. The Town contests that contempt claim, basically saying any omissions were not intentional.
In April 28, 2022, hamptons.com stated “this battle is still not over,” and after this new development, the appeal process now enters an even higher gear of significance.
As reported, this dispute centers around a surprising decision, by a panel of four Appellate Division judges who forcefully reversed much of the East Hampton Town friendly 2016 State Supreme Court decision. That 2016 decision ruled that in fact the 1882 deed in which the trustees conveyed some 1,000 acres on Napeague to Arthur Benson “clearly reserved some rights ‘to the inhabitants of East Hampton’ and, arguably, the allowances for some public use.”
However, the determined ocean front beach residents disagreed with that ruling and appealed. As of now, they have successfully stopped legal vehicular traffic from passing their home and their land along the beach. The New York State Appellate Court last April, ruled decisively in their favor. Therefore, EH Town official have been ordered to enforce a prohibition of vehicles on a 4,000-foot stretch of ocean beach (Truck Beach) on Napeague. Judge Beasley has now ruled the Town of EH has not obeyed that ruling.
One of the homeowners in a quote in one of the leading east end publications literally called out the East Hampton Town officials reportedly saying, “Being called a criminal by a judge … should not be acceptable,” then asking how many town boards have been held in criminal contempt?
But the actual answer is that towns are held in contempt during long protracted legal cases pitting the rights of a whole town versus the desires of those opposing the town. Town lawyers believe at the end of the day the Town of East Hampton must prevail or else perhaps all beach front owners will begin a process to claim the ocean beach in front of their homes as their domain.
Access to the beaches is something residents of East Hampton Town have considered a “right.” There is no doubt the residents are on the side of their elected leaders on this issue. The judge does have the right to hold the town leaders in contempt, but the town leaders have the right to challenge that ruling in order to keep their authority over the ocean beach in Napeague not for them personally but for the town residents now and moving forward.
The last ruling on this issue is still yet to come.
