Crime & Safety
Concert Draws Rave Reviews, 2 Arrests, Neighbors Peeved About Noise
Crowds cheered for acts including Avicii, Nile Rodgers and Chic, and Adam Lambert, while some neighbors said a large concert was not appropriate for the bucolic community.
Thousands poured into Martha Clara Monday night for All for the East End's Nile Rodgers dance party to benefit local charities.
Crowds of cheering fans danced the night away to a lineup that included Rodgers and Chic, Adam Lambert, and international star Avicii.
Riverhead police said despite the crowds, only two arrests were reported.
Theodore Galvles, 46, was arrested at 9:29 p.m. on Sound Avenue, near the concert venue, and charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.
Police said Galvles, who was drunk, rear-ended a car and kept going, then spun around and hit a police car that had been chasing him.
No one was hurt, police said. Galyles was arrested and brought to Riverhead police quarter for processing.
In addition, one man was arrested for disorderly conduct after he was standing in the roadway, drunk, and refused to leave, police said.
Police said they received no noise complaints.
But not everyone had rave reviews about the show. "How can this be ag production on a farm?" Georgette Keller of the Save Main Road group asked, adding that beer trucks did not constitute farm production, either.
"It's not a concert venue and is not appropriate in residential neighborhoods, and that's what Sound Avenue is. Along with Herricks Lane, Manor Lane and Laurel Lane. Not to mention the infrastructure cannot handle the crowd, either. The traffic from last weekend's beer fest and now this, is unreasonable for our roads."
She added, "We are working on Main Road and Sound Avenue to preserve our quiet, bucolic, agricultural history and culture- and this ain't it. period. Concerts should be at concerts venues, that's all."
Others felt the event put the North Fork on the map. Dennis McDermott of the Riverhead Project, who sits on the AFTEE board, said, "This is good for the North Fork." He added that Riverhead Town officials had been great in facilitating the event, which brought an infusion of much-needed funding to East End charities. Over 4000 tickets were sold, he said.
What do you think? Was the All for the East End concert a good thing for the local community? Or did you think a concert on such a large scale disrupt the bucolic North Fork quality of life?
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