East Hampton Town Opening Four Beaches Saturday

There will be four ocean beaches in East Hampton Town open with lifeguards and restrooms in time for Memorial Day weekend.

The beaches — two in Montauk and two in Amagansett — will open Saturday, and only be open on weekends from 9 AM to 5 PM for the time being.

The Montauk beaches include the one at the end of Ditch Plains Road, and the beach entered from South Edison Street in downtown Montauk, also known as Nick’s Beach. The two in Amagansett are Indian Wells Beach, located at the end of Indian Wells Highway, and Atlantic Beach at the end of Atlantic Avenue.

Beaches run by the state and two of Suffolk County’s ocean beaches will also be opened on Friday.

Parking at town beaches will be carefully monitored, in keeping with New York’s no more than 50 percent capacity mandate at each beach. There will be no non-resident parking at this time. This year, the Ditch Plains beach will have a traffic control officer in a kiosk at the entrance, as Indian Wells has had in years past.

The restrooms at these four beaches will be cleaned and sanitized several times throughout the day. During those cleansing sessions, the restrooms will be closed to the public.

John Ryan Jr., chief of lifeguards, said there will be seven or eight lifeguards on each beach, though there will only be one stand. Lifeguards will have expanded duties, including patrolling the beach to ensure proper social distancing is being observed.

All beachgoers, Councilman David Lys said, must come with face masks, which must be worn when entering and exiting the beach, as well as in the parking lots.

When entering or exiting the beach, people should walk to the right, to allow six feet between those exiting and entering, he said.

Food vendors that have spots in beach parking lots will be open for business. Social distancing for those waiting for food must be observed. The food stands will all sell face masks.

East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said a police officer will be assigned to each beach. Marine patrol will be present, as will traffic control officers.

“We are going to flood these areas with as many people as we can,” Sarlo said, indicating that beyond the officers, other available town employees will be on-hand to ensure people remain safe.

The police department will also have officers on bike patrol.

Starting this weekend, the public restroom in the Amagansett parking lot — north of Main Street — will be open during the day, as will the restroom on South Euclid Avenue in Montauk by the police substation.

t.e@indyeastend.com