Letters

Letter: ‘Night-clubbing’ not in the North Fork spirit

GIANNA VOLPE FILE PHOTO | Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley has twice testified before the New York State Liquor Authority about complaints the department has received on Vineyard 48 in Cutchogue.
GIANNA VOLPE FILE PHOTO | Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley has twice testified before the New York State Liquor Authority about complaints the department has received on Vineyard 48 in Cutchogue.

To the editor:

This letter is regarding the proposal and public hearing for Vineyard 48 to add a pole barn and 100 additional parking spaces to their property.

The part that I don’t understand is who wins besides the owners of this property? The “night-clubbing” environment is not in the spirit of agri-tourism and the business has lost support from the Long Island Wine Council as well as the Long Island Farm Bureau. The neighbors on all sides are contending with public drunkenness, lewd behavior/sex acts, dangerous traffic patterns and complete and continual disregard for the noise ordinance.

Add to this that Vineyard 48 is in litigation with Southold Town in the state Supreme Court and the subject of a State Liquor Authority investigation. My question is, what is this giving to the community aside from aggravation, litigation and expenditure of our tax dollars to fight for the return of the bucolic atmosphere that attracts agri-tourism to the North Fork in the first place?

There are tough decisions to be made in this town as far as what works for the businesses and community, but this isn’t one of them. I wholeheartedly support the other agri-businesses on the North Fork that have given consideration to the future of their business and the community at large by preserving the spirit of the towns in which they live and work. Sometimes the difference is that when you don’t live here it’s just all for the taking.

But let’s give serious consideration for the people who have to contend with it before we just give the winery what it wants.

Jillanne Johnson, Cutchogue

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