Southampton nightclub roils neighbors, generating 911 calls and complaints

Friday nights in Southampton can bring the usual weekend woes, like sitting in snarled traffic or trying to land a coveted reservation at a buzzy new restaurant.

But for residents in Southampton Pointe, a 50-unit condominium complex on Tuckahoe Lane, Friday nights mean bracing for impact as a parade of Ubers begins, and thumping music pulses from the Ultra nightclub across the street.

Housed in an old potato barn, the club has become a well of frustration for neighbors who say the rowdy scene has spun out of control. The disruptions have caused sleepless nights, property damage and a string of violent incidents that have put the community on edge, according to neighbors and police reports.

"Most people, come 10, 10:30 at night on the weekends, they dread what’s coming," said Jonathan Yedin, president of the condominium's homeowner’s association. "The sound and the bass truly carry and people’s houses shake. People’s windows shake."

Club representatives, however, say they were there first. Neighbors, they added, should have known they were buying across the street from a longtime nightclub property. The building at 125 Tuckahoe Lane has hosted a slew of different nightclubs going back decades. The condo complex was completed in 2017 with units ranging from $795,000 to $1.25 million, Newsday reported at the time.

"Who doesn't go to the Hamptons and party from June until September? Then it's over. That's his high season," said Arelia Taveras, a consultant working with club manager Carlos Rodriguez and liquor license holder Navil Mendoza Martinez.

Taveras said in an interview that Rodriguez is willing to work with neighbors to resolve the disputes. Neither Rodriguez nor Martinez responded to requests for comment.

After mounting complaints, hundreds of 911 calls and disciplinary action by the State Liquor Authority, the property's landlord says the club's days are numbered: The owners plan to launch eviction proceedings over unpaid rent. A court stipulation settled earlier this year says Ultra nightclub's lease ends on Oct. 1. However, an attorney for the club says they have no plans to leave by then. 

The future of the property remains in limbo, too. Its owners are considering holding on to the valuable nightclub property or replacing it with a cannabis dispensary.

Four frustrating summers

Clashes over noise were perhaps inevitable between the nightclub and its new neighbors, but multiple residents told Newsday the issues extend far beyond loud music. Public urination, trespassing, underage drinking and fights are among the top concerns, Yedin, 41, told Newsday.

"We’ve had people who are probably too young and probably overserved that exit the club, and they have beer muscles. They come on over and they feel it's OK to smash the windshield of a car," Yedin said. "They think it’s OK to jump over our fence and take a dip in our swimming pool ... It’s unruly."

But Taveras, the consultant for Club Ultra, blamed the condo developers for poor planning. "Whoever built [the condos] should have taken more precautions to soundproof the establishment so it wouldn’t disturb the neighbors, because they knew the club was there," she said.

On May 18, just before the summer season began, a man was stabbed after a fight spilled out from the club onto the street. There were no fatalities. Southampton Town police later arrested three teenagers in connection with the incident the department described as a "gang assault," according to a police news release. The season ended with a past-midnight fireworks display that enraged neighbors over Labor Day weekend.

"They're having fun, I get it," said Veronika Stoeckigt, 39, who lives in the development. "But there are youngsters parading themselves on the lawn. They’re noisy, they’re messy."

After four frustrating summers, residents of the complex now pay for private security when the club is open and petitioned the town for permission to install a driveway gate, which Yedin estimates will run more than $120,000.

Stoeckigt said she didn't expect these issues when she moved there in 2022.

"This is all very mind blowing, thinking we’re here in the Hamptons," she said. "It should be safe."

Calls, records

Town police records, obtained by Newsday through a Freedom of Information Law request, show nearly 200 related to the club since 2022 that include complaints about noise, underage patrons, fights and disorderly conduct.

Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan said officers respond frequently to the club, most of the time to neighbors who want the music turned down, which can be difficult to enforce.

"You go and address the noise complaints, the staff turns it down for five minutes and turns it back up," Kiernan said in an interview.

Underage drinking is a bigger concern at the venue, Kiernan said.

"You’ll see kids that are clearly 15-year-olds," Kiernan said. "They’re not going to show us their fake ID, because that’s a crime. So they just run."

In one instance, an officer reported entering the club shortly after midnight and seeing a "juvenile drop a liquor bottle when he saw me and attempt to walk away," according to a Southampton Town Police incident report from July 2023.

Nightlife a summer tradition

Nightlife has always been a part of summer in the Hamptons, and many clubs have an "18 to party, 21 to drink" policy, though neighbors and officials say it's gone too far.

"I’m not even opposed to the 18-year-old thing. Kids need something to do also, they want to be social," Kiernan said. "But if you’re going to do it, you have to be strict about it."

Records from the State Liquor Authority show the club was fined $3,000 in 2023 and $10,000 in 2024 over charges including serving underage patrons, becoming a "focal point for police attention" and a "sustained pattern of noise/disorder," according to state documents.

Taveras pushed back against those claims, saying club security routinely turns away minors and seizes fake IDs.

The club "has security that pats them down and also takes away the ID so they can’t get into other clubs, either," she said. The teenagers are "shut down for the evening ... so we do our part, but we’re not police."

The business could risk additional fines, license suspension or revocation due to pending SLA violations. Patrick Garrett, an SLA spokesman, said the agency does not comment on its investigations.

Southampton’s police chief said the state process lacks teeth, and consequences should focus more on suspension, not just fines that become a cost of doing business. 

"With that kind of threat looming, I think we would get more compliance," Kiernan said.

The property never bothered neighbors — because there weren’t any. Things shifted after Southampton Town approved a change of zone from highway business district to allow the condominium complex.

Club Ultra debuted in 2022, disrupting the quiet residents had become accustomed to during the pandemic shutdown.

'Their time is up'

John Flanagan, who co-owns the property with business partner Gordon von Broock, said the club is grandfathered in and "has every right to exist," but their role is limited as landlords.

"We've had many tenants there over the years and we've had no problems whatsoever," Flanagan said in an interview.

Despite that, Flanagan said Ultra’s management is "not capable" of operating a business and is seeking to evict the nightclub.

"Their time is up, basically," he said.

Court documents show Ultra, also known as Cayos Tequila Corp., owes $101,000 in unpaid rent. A stipulation filed in Southampton Town Justice Court in April sets a repayment schedule and terminates the lease on Oct. 1.

The stipulation says if the club does not "make any payment ... [it] consents to the immediate entry of a warrant of eviction." 

James Vlahadamis, an attorney for the property owners, said Wednesday the club is in default and the "only remedy" is to seek formal eviction proceedings.

Jeannie Daal, an attorney for club management, said her client "has no intention to move out by Oct. 1 nor do I foresee any eviction taking place" in a text message Thursday, but did not comment further. 

Flanagan and von Broock are contemplating the site's future. Southampton Town highly limits where nightclubs can operate, and they are considering finding a new operator to carry on the club tradition.

That could include vetting successful nightclub operators in New York, Miami and Los Angeles "who know how to operate venues properly," Flanagan said.

But the duo have also floated plans for a recreational cannabis dispensary at the site. Southampton planning officials said no formal applications have been filed, and it would require approval from the town.

"He’s trying to evict them, but you have to pick your poison," Taveras said, referring to the prospect of a dispensary. "Let’s see how the neighbors like that."

Condo neighbors stopped short of outright endorsing the dispensary. But a pot shop could be a welcome alternative since they are highly regulated by the state, require security and must close by 9 p.m. under Southampton Town code.

"It’s kind of like the lesser of two evils for us," Yedin said.