The Riverhead Town Board is considering bringing live music and alcoholic beverages to South Jamesport Beach for a select few days this summer.
Board members said they want to run a pilot concert program at the beach a handful of times this year, and possibly continue or expand the program if it is successful. The idea is similar to a short-lived proposal in 2019, which was nixed shortly after the idea was raised when it ran into opposition from members of the Greater Jamesport Civic Association.
Council Member Joann Waski, a resident of Jamesport who lives “a stone’s throw from South Jamesport Beach,” raised the idea at the Town Board work session Thursday.
“Over the years, I have heard people always say, why can’t we have some type of music, a little entertainment down at the beach?” Waski said.
“I am not talking about a band, per se [with] loud, obnoxious music. I’m talking about a person or two coming up with a guitar and being able to sing [six] times during the summer, from May to September,” she said.
“If it doesn’t work, we can stop it at any time,” Supervisor Tim Hubbard said. “But I think it’s a great idea. A lot of people do go to the beaches in the evening and we should offer something for the evening folks who go down there.”
Council Member Bob Kern asked why the town would limit the proposal to only six events.
“We want to see if it works,” Waski said. “We want to unveil it and see how it goes, see how the residents react to it.”
Waski said the town should also lift the ban on alcohol at the beach “during the time that the music is playing, where people are able to have a glass of wine,” stressing that she meant a single glass of wine, “if they’re enjoying themselves, enjoying the music.”
“I think that it would be nice. It’s very expensive for people to go out and… to go to a vineyard or a brewery,” Waski said. “We have a jewel right here in Riverhead, and I think that we’re missing a great opportunity for the residents to be able to enjoy more of what we have here to offer.”
Mark Alhadeff, the chair of the Beach Advisory Committee, said there was “complete approval” from the group to allow live music. “Everybody loved the idea for South Jamesport,” he said. “There was a little concern that we don’t want Woodstock, but certainly…within reason.”
Alhadeff said he isn’t against the idea of alcoholic beverages at the beach, but has not discussed the idea with the Beach Advisory Committee.
Sean Egan, an East Creek Advisory Committee member, said residents would welcome a small concert at the beach, which shares property with the East Creek Marina. The one concern from boaters is about the usage of bathrooms, he said.
“There’s no entertainment at the beach, and I think we as a town have underutilized our beaches in that aspect,” Egan said. “So I think that as long as we can control the parking, we can control the alcohol sale, where the music is going to be, I don’t see it being detrimental.”
Recreation Superintendent Ray Coyne warned the board of the possibility of blowback from community members. He said he proposed allowing food, alcoholic beverages and music at South Jamesport Beach in 2019, but the town ended up dropping the idea after opposition from the Greater Jamesport Civic Association.
The concession stand at South Jamesport Beach last year, which was operated by a new vendor, was “extremely successful and received very well” by beachgoers, Waski said.
“We’re all for it. The perception was that kids are going to be down there drinking alcohol and driving drunk — things like that. And our [idea] was an acoustic [guitar] with wine,” Coyne said.
Waski said the plan is “a little bit different, because I believe that the suggestion was that there would be music every single weekend, and the fear was that it was going to turn into Meschutt” Beach, the Hampton Bays beach.
“Meschutt is wonderful, if that’s what you’re into over on the South Fork. This is not a Meschutt thing. This is extremely laid back,” Waski said.
Assistant Recreation Program Coordinator Ashley Schandel said there have been no parking or bathroom issues for the movie night the department hosts at the beach every summer.
“I’d say, as far as alcohol, I don’t know if I would go with bring your own, because then that’s where there’s no limit on anything,” Schandel said. “But perhaps, and I don’t know the rules on this, but to get a local vendor” and restrict sales.
Waski said she would discuss the idea with the town attorney. “I just kind of wanted to bring it for discussion to the board and just see what the feel was in the room for it and take it from there,” she said.
The board also discussed keeping town beaches open longer. They agreed to take up a resolution to set beach hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.. Town beaches are currently open from sunrise until sunset.
“Also, for writing summons, it’s a lot easier to know a time rather than sunrise to sunset, because that changes all the time,” said Supervisor Tim Hubbard. “They can argue and say the sun is still up. So to alleviate that, I think we’re better off going to a time period.”
Alhadeff said the Beach Advisory Committee was unanimous in the opinion that closing the beaches at sunset is “a terrible idea.”
“The North Shore beaches, they really are sunset beaches,” Alhadeff said. “So people stay for sunset; the vast majority of people stay an hour after sunset.”
Town officials discussed suspending enforcement of beach parking rules in special cases, such as when the northern lights are visible in the middle of the night.
Lifeguards would remain on duty at town beaches during the season from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., officials said. Town beaches open next month and Coyne said he wants to ensure signs there are accurate.
Only town residents are allowed to purchase beach parking permits. The Town Board eliminated beach parking permits for non-residents in 2022. Visitors staying in local hotels can visit town beaches using a special seasonal beach permit purchased by their hotel.
Residents can renew or purchase beach parking permits online and at the Recreation Department office at Town Hall. Town residents who are veterans, volunteers in Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps and volunteers in the Riverhead, Wading River Jamesport and Manorville fire departments can receive beach parking permits for free.
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