Fact or Fiction: the Hamptons Hates Zero Bond

By Linda Lee

It was as predictable as rubbing two sticks together. One stick was “The Hamptons” and the other was a glitzy private club in Manhattan called “Zero Bond,” founded by Scott Sartiano.

Rub the two together, and the media burst into flames. The headline in “The New York Post” was Hamptonites mad that Zero Bond, Eric Adams’ favorite NYC club, is trying to come to East Hampton.

Scott Sartiano, founder of Zero Bond, and his wife, Allie Rizzo. (Photo Joey Schildhorn/BFA)

The “Curbed” section of “New York” magazine made it sound like a storm: Hamptons Braces for Zero Bond. The village is losing its mind.

“Air Mail” got arty:  Hamptons Agonistes… battle lines were swiftly drawn in the well-groomed sand.

The contretemps was kicked off on April 17 with the Facebook page of the East Hampton Village Civic Coalition, which has functioned under the cloak of anonymity since its founding in 2021. It specializes in throwing brickbats at Mayor Jerry Larsen.

Note: there is the Town of East Hampton, which includes Montauk, part of Sag Harbor, Amagansett and several other hamlets (Springs, Wainscott), and the Village of East Hampton. The Village of East Hampton, of which we speak here, has 1,500 residents, some of them famous, lots of fancy stores, a windmill, and the Main Beach. The Village is led by Mayor Larsen.

Mayor Jerry Larsen, former police chief, invincible. Photo courtesy of Jerry Larsen

As far as Zero Bond invading East Hampton — the rumor was that Scott Sartiano was eager to lease a 12 bedroom B&B called the Hedges — the Mayor and the East Hampton Village Civic Coalition were of one mind. They were against it.

Before a village board meeting in April Mayor Larsen was adamant when interviewed by “The East Hampton Star”: “The owner of the Hedges Inn should be ashamed of himself for trying to push this on the village.” Larsen blamed “greed.”

The Hedges, named for the Hedges family, dates back to 1774. Zero Bond was said to want it for a summer club house.

Like a hornet, the East Hampton Village Civic Coalition was determined to create buzz. For one thing, they called Zero Bond a “nightclub.”

Cynthia Sesstito, a longtime inhabitant of the Hamptons and a well known chef, now a proprietor of The Cookery by Cyn and Trudy in East Hampton, says, impatiently “It’s not a nightclub. But if you go against the people, you pay.”

Zero Bond was designed by the establishment architect William Sofield, known as the Lord of Luxury. Among other things it has a Baccarat Room, named not for the casino game but for its crystal glassware. It has a library, something they forgot to include at Webster Hall.

Scott Sartiano, a co-owner, wants Zero Bond to be another Annabel’s in London, or Doubles, not the Tunnel, or Bounce Beach.

The Zero Bond Library, which contains actual print publications and reading lamps. Photo compliments of Zero Bond

The anonymous letter on Facebook equated dancing with partying, and concluded: “You get the idea: Idling ubers (sic), car doors slamming, dining noise trickling out. Paparazzi will be lurking to catch sight of the Zero Bond members who include Elon Musk, Tom Brady, Sergei (sic) Brin (all single billionaires) and Taylor Swift. Kim Kardashian is frequently sighted at their club.”

Ubers don’t stick around for long. What exactly are “dining noises”? Do paparazzi really stalk Sergey Brin (the co-founder of Google)?

Instead of fretting about visits by Kim Kardashian, and seriously, who needs another photo of her, the letter writer should have been concerned about the Hamptons most famous party-giver, Michael Rubin, who is a Zero Bond member.

The letter urged people to turn up at the April 19 village board meeting. They did. There were 50 people there. But where was the outrage?

Taylor Swift in a typical outfit. She usually dresses like her teenage fans, complete with hairband. Has she ever been seen drunk or disorderly? Instagram

If you watch the video recording of the meeting   there are no raised fists, no raised voices, no pitchforks. Mayor Larsen conducted a civil discussion of the plan to strengthen a code from the 1980s that prohibited any “eating and drinking establishment located in a historic district” from remaining open for business or taking “orders of food and/or beverages, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.”

No decisions were made. The can was kicked down the road until the May 17 board meeting. [The relevant discussion starts at the 29 minute and 23 second mark.] There are four venerable inns or B&Bs on the Main Street of East Hampton: The Hedges is closest to Main Beach, about a 14 minute walk. Across the village pond, on the other side of Main Street, is the Maidstone Hotel, with 16 rooms. (Maidstone was the original name for East Hampton.)

The Maidstone Hotel, 207 Main Street, East Hampton

At the top of the meeting, the Mayor announced the new curfew, which everyone already knew. It’s a small village. Word gets around. Last call would be at 10:30 or 10:45. Doors would be shut, he said at 11.

Joan McGivern, a lawyer at Twomey Latham in Riverhead spoke first. (The law firm represents many of the inns.) She said that the village had no right to set the hours that alcohol can be served. That the state Alcohol Control Board sets those laws. And, she said, the code “was not well written and unconstitutionally vague.” Silence.

She was followed by a partner from the same firm, Martha F. Reichert, who spoke about the vagueness of the code. And she said, “The penalties are quite harsh. And there needs to be due process.” Silence.

Robert Burch said he lived on Jefery’s Lane (yes, quaint, and that’s the way it’s spelled) and had lived in East Hampton for 15 years. Jefery’s Lane is right behind the Hedges. He mentioned Escalades — popular with rappers, and black Suburbans, popular with everyone. “I’ve also heard rumors of the Maidstone Hotel putting in a disco there. And the owners of the Hunttings Inn is interested in putting casinos there. … Pretty soon you won’t have a historic district. You’ll have private inns that have become night clubs.” Applause.

At the Village Board meeting, Robert Burch drew applause with mentions of Escalades, casinos and discos. (Video of the May 17 meeting)

And so it went. Whenever speakers expressed reservations in their three minutes, they got applause. Many speakers praised the board and the mayor for their wisdom. They pondered just how hard it might be to thread the needle so that it would keep nightclubs out, but lay off the local establishments. Applause.

Was Zero Bond the camel’s nose under the tent? There are three inns in the village besides the Hedges: the Maidstone Hotel, the Baker House 1650, with 13 rooms, and the Hunttings, with 19 rooms. Baker House 1650 seems to have been spared a hint of invasion-by-nightclub.

Baker House 1650

Most concerning to the hometown folk is that the Maidstone Hotel was bought by the hotelier and restauranteur Mayank Dwivedi along with Irwin D. Simon of Tilray, a giant in the marijuana business. They were joined by the LDV Hospitality Group.

LDV has opened a string of concept restaurants, supper clubs, and night clubs including, in New York, Queen of the Night (a decadent dinner theater, now closed)  and No. 8 (an attempt to recreate Bungalow 8, now closed). LDV has two projects at Gurney’s in Montauk: Beach Club (rent a cabana) and Tillie’s (wholesome breakfast and lunch). In general, while saying how effortless “the good life” is, LDV sometimes seems to try too hard.

They plan to reopen the Maidstone on June 17 with an Italian theme; a menu from Scarpetta, an LDV success story; Santa Maria Novella amenities (from a hotel in Florence); and an Italian aperitivo hour, or three.

Mr, Dwivedi told Easthampton.com that he is OK with Mayor Larsen’s policies, as long as the Maidstone can apply for an exception for New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July.

“Maidstone Hotel is not a clientele that is worried about after 11 o’clock. That’s not our clientele.” He responded to Mr. Burch’s claim at the town meeting, “There will be no disco in the basement!”

Enzo Morabito, a top real estate agent at Douglas Elliman, has a laissez faire attitude about the perceived threat.
“Anything that comes into town is always a plus. Who cares?  More bodyguards.  We’re the Hamptons.” He adds, “If they are doing anything illegal, it will be stopped.”

The lawyer, Martha Reichert, said by telephone, “My feeling is, probably, this isn’t the village we want, where the laws are very harsh.”

The chef, Cynthia Sesstito noted with a sigh, “My mother used to say, ‘All small towns are small towns.’ ”