Outdoor Dining Approved at Page Restaurant

By Kathryn G. Menu

Page at 63 Main restaurant was granted an outdoor seating permit by the Sag Harbor Village Board last Friday morning, just in time for the season’s first holiday weekend.

The approval is one of many the village board has granted in May, after board member Ed Deyermond threatened to pull outdoor dining permits altogether earlier this spring, following what he said were years of non-compliance by some restaurants with regard to village and state codes. Village trustees announced in March they would not grant outdoor dining licenses to any restaurants with outstanding violations with state building, fire and sanitary codes, or with Sag Harbor’s own zoning code.

For many years, restaurants hoping to use outdoor seating on village sidewalks have been able to apply for licenses on an annual basis for $100 per season, according to village clerk Beth Kamper. The overall seating of an establishment cannot increase under the license, with business owners transferring seats from their interior dining rooms.

Some restaurants, including the American Hotel, Muse and Dockside, own their outside dining spaces and do not have to apply for outdoor dining licenses. Sen and Wolffer Kitchen — both who earned approvals in early May — pay upwards of $2,000 for outdoor dining platforms outside their Main Street restaurants, after a survey unearthed in the 1990s showed that those spaces partially cover village property.

Mr. Deyermond this week expressed gratitude for efforts made by code enforcement and local business to rectify outstanding violations in time for the summer season.

“I want to applaud out staff for getting everything to fruition here, as well as the folks at Page,” he said on Friday. “We will certainly be monitoring the outdoor seating and serving issue in the back, but I don’t have a problem with this.”

In other village news, The Sag Harbor Express will partner with the John Jermain Memorial Library and Save Sag Harbor to host a Meet the Candidates debate on Saturday, June 10, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the library. The debate, moderated by Sag Harbor Express news editor Stephen J. Kotz, will feature incumbent mayor Sandra Schroeder, who is running unopposed for a second term at the helm of the village board, as well as three candidates running for two trustee seats. Incumbent Ken O’Donnell, the owner of La Superica, is seeking a third term on the board and is running on a slate including Ms. Schroeder and former Sag Harbor Fire Department Chief Thomas Gardella. Businessman H. Aidan Corish is also seeking a seat on the village board. Mr. Deyermond, who also serves as the village clerk for North Haven Village, has opted not to seek another term as trustee in Sag Harbor Village.

Village elections will be held on Tuesday, June 20.