Dan's Papers publisher files for bankruptcy

Dan Rattiner, owner of the Hamptons-centric Dan's Papers, goes over corrections with managing editor Susan Galardi in the newspaper's Bridgehampton office. (March 2010) Photo credit: Doug Kuntz

The publisher of the Hamptons staple Dan's Papers has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Ohio-based Brown Publishing Co. filed petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York in Central Islip on Friday for itself and 14 affiliates in New York, saying the operations owe their five largest secured creditors $70.5 million.

Started and still run by Dan Rattiner, who is now executive editor, the weekly paper has been around for 50 years.

Just a month ago, it began charging $2 for a copy in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.