Duryea’s in Montauk owner tries to allay expansion fears as foes continue fight

The Tuthill Road Association has hired attorney Jonathan Wallace to help represent it in a renewed fight against Duryea’s Lobster Deck and Food Market in Montauk after local officials asked a state judge to nullify a settlement of lawsuits from its owner, Apollo Global Management co-founder Marc Rowan, 27east reported. Wallace, in his first public confrontation with Rowan’s representatives at a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting last week, called the eatery “lawless.” The lawyer sharply criticized what the association sees as Duryea’s disruptive expansion and Rowan’s lack of transparency. The billionaire’s acquisition of Duryea’s in 2014 has spurred a litany of local legal skirmishes between Rowan and residents. Neighbors have long felt that Duryea’s new owners have tried to expand the popular eatery and make it more of a destination, which they believe will destroy the character of the bucolic area. Rowan tried to tamp down those fears in an interview with 27east, telling the outlet that he’s tried to alter his plans to meet his neighbors’ various demands and that any changes are purely aesthetic. “This is a labor of love,” he said. “This is not my business. I am not in the restaurant business. If Duryea’s makes a dollar more or a dollar less, that doesn’t matter to me. I’m doing this because I want to do it — because I love that place.” [27east]