Maidstone Gun Club in Wainscott can demolish outdoor rifle range in plan to reopen, judge says

A Wainscott gun club that neighbors said was the source of stray bullets hitting their homes can start demolishing an outdoor rifle range as part of a plan to reopen, a Suffolk judge has ruled.

Justice Christopher Modelewski on Tuesday partially lifted the temporary restraining order on the Maidstone Gun Club so it could seek East Hampton Town approvals to demolish and remove the outdoor rifle range, remediate lead-impacted soils at the property and implement other safety measures.

Those conditions are being negotiated as part of a deal for a new lease between the town and gun club, Newsday reported in June. The gun club entered a long-term lease on the 96-acre town-owned property in 1983 for $100 per year. That lease expired in 2023. 

The gun club has been closed since 2022, when Modelewski imposed a temporary restraining order immediately after the lawsuit was filed. For the club to reopen, the restraining order would have to be lifted completely and a new lease signed with the town.

East Hampton Town Attorney Jake Turner, in an e-mailed statement, called the court’s action “a positive development.”

“The Town continues to negotiate terms of its lease renewal with the Club,” he added.

The lawsuit was brought by nearby property owners who said stray bullets hit their homes on multiple occasions dating back to 2004. They have alleged the club did not adequately address safety concerns. Attorneys for the club have denied many of the allegations.

The neighbors have called for the gun club to be closed permanently and have opposed granting a new lease.

Maidstone would demolish the outdoor rifle range and remediate the property as part of a Sept. 29 settlement reached by the gun club and five of the case's seven plaintiffs. The settlement has not been signed by the judge, and the case remains pending over the objections of two plaintiffs.

In addition to the rifle range, the gun club has two skeet and trap fields, a clay shooting field, two outdoor pistol ranges, an indoor pistol range, as well as an archery range, according to its website.

The settlement also requires the presence of a trained range safety officer at the club during operating hours, installation of security cameras on the property that town officials can access, as well as a new entry gate requiring a key code.

It also bans the use of assault rifles at the club except by active-duty law enforcement or U.S. Coast Guard personnel during training exercises, and prohibits the outdoor use of any rifles except by active-duty law enforcement at their designated firing range.

Two plaintiffs, Kevin Coyle and Tracy Carey, have objected to the settlement, alleging they were excluded from key discussions.

Jonathan Wallace, the Amagansett attorney representing them, said in an interview that if the town allowed Maidstone to do work under the settlement it would be “an abuse of discretion and beyond the town’s legal authority.”

“The town seems to be going to bat for an organization that really doesn't belong in the modern world,” Wallace said of the gun club.

Maidstone’s attorney, Frederick Johs, said in a court filing that Coyle and Carey’s claims in the case are “factually and legally distinct” from the other plaintiffs and has asked the court to sever them from the case.

Johs has asked the court to lift the temporary restraining order, which he said in a filing has caused the club "significant financial and reputational harm.”

Johs and Brian Doyle, the attorney for five of the plaintiffs, did not return requests for comment.