- The Hamptons are facing an influx of exclusive social clubs, and locals are not happy.
- Traditionally a quiet haven for the wealthy, club nightlife is now taking over the area.
- Hamptons residents don’t want their community to become a party place.
Just two hours east of Manhattan, the Hamptons are an ultra-wealthy seaside retreat where millionaires and celebrities from Martha Stewart to Beyoncé escape the hustle and bustle of the big city.
At least, that was the case.
These days, exclusive social clubs with long lines, dress codes and blaring music are popping up in downtown Long Island catering to the wealthy, and residents are not happy.
Take Blu Mar restaurant, for example. The Southampton restaurant was recently transformed into an Italian restaurant and nightclub by Kyky Conille, who has operated several trendy venues in New York.
Conille told The Hollywood Reporter that the restaurant’s club will be inclusive, catering to “guests from 25 to anyone who can walk.”
However, another club at the back will be more selective.
“We will choose the clientele of the salon,” Conille told the outlet. “My doormen will choose based on how they dress. We don’t want people coming to the salon in the evening in shorts. I want to bring back elegance, for people to be excited to get dressed.”
And Conille is not the only one trying to shake up the scene.
Scott Sartiano, owner of Manhattan’s elite social club Zero Bond, where A-list celebrities like Taylor Swift and Elon Musk, Tom Brady and Kim Kardashian party, planned to transform East Hampton’s historic Hedges Inn into a new club earlier this year, according to the same report.
Business Insider previously reported that the club’s membership fees for new members would range from $2,700 to $9,000 per year, depending on age.
But Sartiano’s plans had to change in May after residents packed town meetings and convinced local leaders to institute an 11 p.m. curfew for that season.
Since that scuppered the nightclub idea, Sartiano says he’ll use the property as a new outpost for his New York restaurant, Sartiano’s, for now.
However, some residents are not convinced.
“Mr. Sartiano has watered down his proposal considerably, so that it will simply be an Italian restaurant, and if that’s the case, we’ll roll out the red carpet,” East Hampton Village property manager Marcos Baladrón told The Hollywood Reporter. “But if his ultimate goal is to open another Zero Bond, I think the neighbors should be wary.”
The New York Times reported Thursday that city officials had seen no confirmation that Sartiano had officially leased the property.
While the future of the Hamptons is uncertain, one thing is clear: This wealthy enclave is in the midst of a cultural identity crisis, and residents will have to fight to keep it from becoming a haven for party animals.
“One of the things that’s lost in this world is quiet,” City Councilwoman Carrie Doyle told the New York Times. “People come looking for peace and quiet, and the irony is that to get it, you have to make a lot of noise. That’s what we did.”
