I remember the OBI well...Its hard to believe that after I got out of the service Bob Matherson and Robespiere booked my band New Rock Workshop in the winter of 1969. I did not realize it but we were one of the first groups to play the OBI thanks to Bob Matherson. We played all the clubs ...The South, East, North and West through late 1970s. Time and time again I visit the site of the OBI South and my heart and thoughts go back....So many gigs, stories and great people.... Gene / Volcano (New Rock Workshop 1969) THE BATTLE OF THE OAK BEACH INN Special to the New York Times Published: June 14, 1983 OAK BEACH, L.I., June 12— There are those who would suggest that having a beer at the Oak Beach Inn has become some sort of political statement, what with the owner having distributed a million Save The Oak Beach Inn bumper stickers and now publishing his own newspaper to tell the story of years of harassment by police and public officials. Randy Bartoli, however, said that he was not here for political reasons. When its hot, said the 21-year-old, explaining his presence, you want a beer. He did admit that there might be more to it than that, however, as dusk fell upon Fire Island Inlet to the south and he set eyes upon Ginger Meisner, the arrival of summer personified, who walked in wearing a fetching white outfit and a brand new sun tan, exuding an aroma of cocoanut oil. As he engaged in hot pursuit, Mr. Bartoli said, I live for summer. Many local residents say sometimes they could die from it. With the arrival of warm weather, 1,500 young singles or more are again arriving nightly in the small and otherwise peaceful hamlet of Oak Beach, a few miles east of Jones Beach State Park, and standing in Return of the Jedi-sized lines for admittance to the Oak Beach Inn, described as perhaps the most popular summer singles bar on the East Coast. They arrive by land, backing up along the Ocean Parkway for their chance at being guided to a parking spot by several attendants, and they arrive by sea, coming in flotillas of speedboats. To hear local residents tell it, the perennial invasion of Oak Beach closely resembles that of Omaha Beach on D-Day, except the invasion here occurs every night until 4 A.M. and the landing craft have stereos. The residents fight back with complaints to local police and town officials about noise, illegal parking, speeding and disorderly conduct. In these seasonal battles, which have heated up every June about this time since a former prominent area resident, the late Robert Moses, took exception to crowds at the inn, automobiles are ticketed and towed, the owner is led away in handcuffs, building and fire inspectors show up, as sometimes do police with helicopters and attack dogs, and a blizzard of legal briefs ensues. Officials say these measures are legal and justified. One year the Town of Babylon, in which Oak Beach is situated, put up a toll booth at the entrance of the inns parking lot. In past years, Bob Matherson, the 41-year-old owner of the Oak Beach Inn, which he purchased 16 years ago and has greatly expanded, has become so concerned about being put out of business that he has doubled his life insurance and visited the F.B.I. over concerns for his life. He often tape records telephone conversations and often wears electronic eavesdropping devices on his floral print shirts. Advertisements that Mr. Matherson has been running in Long Island newspapers, headlined Were MAD As Heck & Were Not Going To Take It ANYMORE, invite the public to $7.95 Sunday brunches where harassment will be discussed. Unusual, remarked Bob Randolph, a patron. The advertisements this year charge New York State Police with harassing customers by towing away their legally parked cars, among other things, but advertisements of past years have named other police agencies and local governments. Mr. Matherson has been involved in dozens of lawsuits, as defendant and plaintiff, with residents and public agencies during recent years, so many that neither he nor his lawyer, Patrick Kevin Brosnahan, who himself was arrested at a public meeting about the inn, can remember them all. Mr. Matherson has received hundreds of summonses for, among other reasons, building and fire code violations, excessive noise and overcrowding and parking violations. He is suing Suffolk County for harassment, as well as county and state law-enforcement agencies for alleged false arrests. His next suit will probably be against members of the community, he said. In addition to the bumper stickers and the newspaper, which Mr. Matherson distributes at the inn, he said that he had just purchased a small company with two planes that tow banners bearing advertising messages. His messages will probably speak of harassment, brunch and the like, and of his candidacy for Suffolk County Executive, which he plans to announce soon. County and state police spokesmen deny all charges of harassment. The big problem there, said Deputy Inspector Donald Jeffer of the Suffolk County Police Department, is that you cant put two pounds of stuff in a one-pound bag. Its a huge operation in a little town. I think hes trying to benefit himself with all of this nonsense, this crusade, Mr. Jeffer said. His message is: Get on my bandwagon, buy my booze. If Mr. Matherson seems to be hinting that all the world is against him, local residents are saying that quite the opposite is true. Two homeowners groups are challenging a stipulation between Mr. Matherson and officials of the Town of Babylon that settled several legal actions. The homeowners lawyer, Mark L. Silverstein, contends that the 1981 stipulation unlawfully gave public parklands to the inn for parking, more than tripled the inns occupancy, stated that all future permits would be granted and that no building code violations would be cited and even included something of a a gag order, providing that Town of Babylon officials would not criticize the inn. If anyone is getting the short end of all this, said Mr. Silverstein, its local residents. The inn is getting everything it wants. The Suffolk County Health Department and the homeowners groups both are also concerned with possible pollution from the enlarged inn. Mr. Matherson has suggested that he may organize a protest march of customers on a local state police headquarters, but there seemed to be little interest among patrons on a recent night in any such political activism. Wrong generation, said Jeb Litton, taking a pull on a beer and heading back to the dance floor. Illustrations: photo of Bob Matherson
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 02:41:39 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015