Southold, last holdout, considers noise ordinance

Southold is considering a noise ordinance that if adopted would make it the last Long Island town to formally put in writing that there are times of the day when "quiet, please" will be the law.

"We never had [a noise law]. We're the only ones that don't have it. It's a shame," Town Councilman Christopher Talbot said at a recent town board meeting. "I'm sorry we have to adopt a noise ordinance," he said. "We'll be like every other town."

Until now, Southold has been the lone town on Long Island operating without a noise ordinance - all 12 other towns regulate clatter to varying degrees. Hempstead, which adopted its code in 1950, appears to have been the first town to pass one. Even tiny Shelter Island bans "unreasonable" noise, both within town limits and over all the waters and beaches where it has legal jurisdiction.

At the recent Southold meeting, a few residents complained about noise from a tent used on weekends at The Portly Grape, a hotel and restaurant in Greenport. Lori Hollander of Greenport said music from the hotel has been "a little bit intrusive," she said politely, adding, "we don't want to trample on business."

But Denise Burke, who owns The Portly Grape, said she's taken steps to hold down noise whenever neighbors complained. She said music is kept at a reasonable sound level, and stops before 11 p.m., when the restaurant closes.

"We're on four acres of land. The front is a road, and we have vineyards on two sides," she said. "We run an inn. We don't want a rowdy place."

The town board has sent its draft noise ordinance back to a committee to review and plans to hold a public hearing on it by the end of September. That hearing will be scheduled when the town board meets on Sept. 7.

In town meetings, no one has voiced opposition to the proposed ordinance. Restaurant operators, wineries owners and others have been having preliminary talks with the town to discuss the proposal.

As vineyards hold numerous outdoor special events and local inns and restaurants compete with their own outdoor entertainment, officials said this year more people in town are grumbling about noise problems than in previous years, but few official complaints have been received.

Town Supervisor Scott Russell said residents increasingly had complained about outdoor music from restaurants and vineyards, which have been staging more events to draw visitors to their wineries - including a music festival that drew about 2,000 people on the North Fork last month.

Russell said the town has been discussing a noise code for some time, but that other matters got in the way. Now, he said, it's time to act.

Town Councilman Al Krupski Jr., said, " . . . it's not really about Scott or a specific event. It's about the quality of life."