East Hampton must bar access to “Truck Beach”

“Truck Beach” might need a new name.

East Hampton Town must prevent any driving on the Amagansett beach per a state judge’s decision, according to Newsday.

The judge granted a temporary restraining order requested by a group of homeowners in the area. They first sued East Hampton in 2009, claiming the beach was private, which would give them the right to limit access. The town government disagreed.

The judge’s ruling was in line with an earlier appeals court decision that the beach was private. The town said earlier this year that if the state Supreme Court did not rule in its favor, officials would attempt to condemn the 22 acres of the beach through eminent domain.

The homeowners’ claim of ownership rests on the town’s 1882 sale of the beach parcel to Arthur Benson. If they can keep the general public from driving cars and trucks on to the beach in front of their homes, their properties could be worth millions of dollars more.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc last week vowed to “take every step necessary in order to [ensure] our traditional beach access rights,” and asked the public “to just be patient” in the meantime — in other words, to not drive onto the beach, sparing the town from having to enforce a policy it opposes.

[Newsday] — Dennis Lynch