Greetings Hamptons MouthPiece readers, I know that it has been awhile since I last updated this blog and for that I apologize. Bring out the vigilantes….Coo-dos to the School Administrators for doing their due dilengence by informing the parents of potential dangers lurking around that could be potentially dangerous for our kids…which leads to today’s topic….There are always 2 sides to a story.
Today I read a letter from the Principal at Pierson that mentioned a club in East Hampton (Lily Pond) was not a suitable place for teens to hang out due part and parcel to an event that took place there Halloween weekend. Apparently some girls took a video posted it on Youtube and it is indicated that several workers acted inappropriately. The letter states that “some of what takes place at these events are distributing to me and not what parents would want for their children. Your support is needed to assure our teens are safe. This type of atmosphere is not safe for 13-17 year old students.” An upcoming event that was scheduled to take place on 11/22 at this club has been postponed by the promoters. Parents and school administrators sought out to discourage other parents from allowing their kids to attend because of past occurrences at this place of business. I commend the school administration for taking a stand but I question why this one place of business is being singled out. There are several issues in this community with the lack of activities for our teens to participate in therefore lending to them hanging out in town, at the parks or friends homes getting high and drinking. I decided to reach out to the owner Frank Cilione in my quest to get to the truth and I hear a different story from him. He is confused with why he is being singled out, he explains how his place is safe place for teens on Teen designated nights. Lily Pond is secured with security, noone is allowed in with any bottles, they are checked for weapons of any sort. He cannot control how the kids are dressed, nor can they control how the kids dance. There is no alcohol served and I was told that it is a safe place for kids to come and party. He questions a video that was placed on Youtube and has since been removed and the sole evidence for his business being the focus as an unsafe place for teens. I too have been unable to view this video to judge for myself and so has Frank. When I spoke with Frank he told me if he saw any of his staff acting inappropriately on the video they would be dealt with. He indicates that he does not make a big profit from hosting these teen events he has hosted for a couple of years and he does it so that the kids have a place to hang out and be safe. There are only 4 teen events hosted during the school year. My stand is if something did take place there then it must be addressed, but why not sit down with the owner and address the situation and find solutions to make it better. I am told that noone from any of the school contacted the owner, is this fair for him not to be able to give his side of the story or to hear the complaints being presented towards his business. I was told early by a friend of mine that this was an event hosted by the East Hampton School, this is untrue and the school had nothing to do with this event. On the contrary the owner feels that the schools are upset that his events are competing with school events. I am sure that is not the problem in Sag Harbor since we have very few school organized after hour events for middle school students and practically nothing for High School students. I would hate to see other business owners close the door on other possible teen organized events in fear that if something occurs their businesses will be bashed in the public and they will loose business. Being a mother of an 18 year old and a 12 year old I would not want to send my children to a place that is not safe, but lets access the situation. There have been several house parties where alcohol is flowing and parents are present, kids have been rushed to the hospital to get their stomachs pumped…Drugs are being sold right under our noses in our public parks, kids are being given a free pass to drink Mimosa’s at Mimosa Monday at Sagg Beach in the summer months, kids are putting vodka in water bottles and drinking in school and this list is endless… There are 12 year old’s that wear more make-up than I do and their parents see nothing wrong with this, these are also the same girls dressing inappropriately for school and nothing is said..I have yet to see a letter sent home from the school talking to parents on keeping our kids safe from these occurrences and these homes that are the party houses that everyone is aware of. I commend the schools for trying to be proactive but in your quest to protect the kids lets not bash businesses that too want to do something good for the community. I agree there are many businesses that need to clean up their act with regards to under-age teens drinking, but there are also some really honest business people that do not deserve their names to be dragged through the mud without an opportunity to give their side of the story. The schools cannot control the kids bringing alcohol to school, drugs, dressing inappropriately, sexing, on school grounds, so why the hypocrisy when these same kids are out doing what is regular for them at a party. Parents need to take some responsibility on how their kids dress..if girls are dressing provocatively, they are seeking the attention. What parents and young girls don’t understand is when you wear too much make-up and dress sexy, you will look older and therefore attract the attention of older boys/men. For many of these girls they want the attention but are way to young to know how to handle the attention. Frank Cilione owner of Lily Pond/SL East has told me that he has nothing to hide and will welcome a committee of parents to chaperone any of the teen events that they host. BTW, situation that occurred last year in which a fight broke out did not take place in the club, it occurred outside of the club. SL East host Saturday night parties throughout the winter months which are adult ONLY…the legal drinking age is 21. Many of our sweetheart children have fake ID’s, so businesses beware and check those ID cards our kids are so much smarter than us….
I do beleive there is a way to work together, there will always be a few bad apples that try to spoil everything for everyone, does everyone need to be punished for their bad behavior?
