Montauk Turns Out To Reclaim Town From Drunken Partying

“The infrastructure was never designed to handle the volume of traffic it’s receiving,” he said. “It was never designed for the level of activity we have.”

He added that the town is considering a traffic circulation study of downtown Montauk to see if some of the streets could be made one-way to help the flow of traffic.

“We need to look at this next summer,” he said.

He also told the crowd the town is willing to ask Suffolk County to change county law that allows bars to be open until 4 a.m.

“We need the help of local businesses,” he said. “They can play an important role in security and controlling activity on their property.”

Chief Sarlo, who patrolled Montauk over the Fourth of July weekend and again this past weekend and began his career as a police officer in Montauk, said he agrees with the community that more must be done.

“I’m sympathetic with the citizens in their disgust,” he said. “What I witnessed Saturday night was not acceptable in any way.”

But, he added, the solution to the problem “will take much more than officers on the street.”

Chief Sarlo said the town currently has 63 police officers, 42 of whom are assigned to uniform patrols. In order to add just one more patrol officer’s presence 24 hours per day, he said, the town would need to hire six new police officers at the same time.

Chief Sarlo added that the police are somewhat limited in what they can do.

“Public intoxication is not an offense,” he said. “Police cannot work for an establishment with a liquor license.”

“We cannot put a drunk tank on Montauk Main Street,” he added.

He said the town has been asking people for years to not drink and drive, which has led to the preponderance of taxis in Montauk, which are another source of many complaints.

Chief Sarlo said there are 88 liquor licenses issued by the State Liquor Authority to businesses in Montauk, of which at least 40 are restaurants with bars and at least 30 have music permits. The town police have a link to the SLA’s complaint form on their website.

“We are aware of the presence of drug activity,” he added. “I cannot comment further on the investigations.”

Chief Sarlo said that, after the melee on the Fourth of July weekend, he assigned seven extra officers to patrol Montauk this past weekend, as well as additional fire marshal, code enforcement and marine patrol staff.

“We hear you, and we’re here to work for you,” he said, to a hearty round of applause from the crowd.

More than 40 people spoke throughout the meeting, many of whom brought constructive suggestions that were met with applause from the crowd.

Henry Uihlein of Uihlein’s Marina on West Lake Drive, said his mother succinctly explained the issue at hand to him when he was a child.

“My mother told me to never sell your soul for a buck,” he said, adding that greed has gotten the best of many business and property owners who cater to drunken partiers. “People have sold their soul for a buck…. My parents bought here to make a living, not to make a dollar.”

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