Montauk Pioneer - May 15, 2009

The news this week about Artie Schneider's idea to throw a concert at Eddie Ecker park in Montauk to raise money for the town of East Hampton, has a lot of people concerned about the idea. How is he going to do it? Where is the extra money going to go? How will we handle the traffic? Will it be a mess like the Deep Hollow Ranch concerts that we had in the 90s?

These are all valid questions, but the bottom line is that having a concert in Montauk this summer would be hugely beneficial to the community and Artie's idea is being taken very seriously because everybody knows that.

One of the biggest problems that has been going on in our town for a long time is the inability for people with good business ideas to accomplish them because of red tape, small minded jealousy of who gets what and senselessness. East Hampton Town saw it with the Buckskill Winter Club, one of the most wonderful places to go in the wintertime today that was fought tooth and nail from happening. Why? Neighbors didn't want to hear the sounds of children laughing during the winter, but the sounds of tennis rackets during the summer is okay with them.

Douglas DeGroot, the owner of the Buckskill Winter Club, had to go through a ridiculous amount of red tape, spent lots of money and still faces financial burdens running his winter ice skating business, his conviction and commitment to the community of East Hampton is now why it has such a wonderful ice-rink and why many people use it.

Although I was just a young kid at the time, I remember clearly the "Night at the Ranch" concerts in the 90s and I remember them as being awesome. They brought thousands of people to Montauk, people who went to the restaurants and bars, stayed at hotels, bought t-shirts and Montauk items and shopped at local stores. Yes there was traffic, yes there were issues, but in terms of being good for the Montauk economy, the locals of Montauk and the employees of Montauk, they were positive. More people in Montauk during the summer time is a good thing. Events that draw people, raise money and are a good time for the public are a good thing. Yes, it is a hard thing to pull off and yes problems arise from throwing events. But what is the alternative? The alternative is becoming a boring community, where good times are considered bad and where the m/o is to literally, to do as little and make as small an impact as possible. This attitude is not what built Montauk into the thriving tourist community it is today. There is a reason why people drive the extra hour from New York and fly here in the summer time, and it's not because Montauk is a boring place to be, it is because it is an awesome and exciting place to be in the summer.

To me, not supporting a live concert in Montauk to raise money for the Town of East Hampton, which Montauk is a part of, is like saying we shouldn't support The St. Patty's Day Parade or The Fourth of July Fireworks. It is just absolutely crazy. Tourism is the lifeblood of Montauk.