May 26, 2008
Hamptons Galleries Busted for Booze!
Thank goodness for alcohol crackdowns in the Hamptons, or else the Post and Daily News wouldn't have covers today! East Hampton gallery owner Ruth Vered (of the Vered Gallery) is featured on the front pages of both tabloids being hauled away by the police for serving alcoholic drinks without a license on Saturday night.
Vered had been holding a posh reception for the opening of a Steven Klein photography exhibit when police arrived. Newsday reported Vered's reaction: "I told them, 'I served liquor before you were born.' I told them they were not invited and I asked them to leave." She was arrested when she refused to stop serving drinks and led to a squad car--all while people were yelling "Free Ruth!" Vered was also fingerprinted, photographs for a mugshot, and given a desk-apperance ticket.
The State Liquor Authority wants hosts who have receptions that serve alcohol to apply for one-day permits. Police were also bothered by the fact that some guests were consuming alcohol in a public space outside the gallery--and the fact that the party was being held at a commercial space and that it had a few hundred guests. The Hamptons Village police also issued tickets at other parties--a real crackdown!
Vered is concerned about what these draconian rules mean for the joie de vivre on the East End, especially when parties with free-flowing (and free) alcohol are a way of life: "They're sabotaging the life of our small business. Everybody does parties and gives Champagne. It's East Hampton!"
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Thank god our police are out there to drag these filthy gallerists before the scales of justice!
My joie de vivre ended when I saw her face. No amount of alcohol could get me to attend an event where that queen is standing guard!
class rage on both sides...
Wow good one for Memorial Day. Rich people and their first world problems.
forget FREE RUTH! Free those stupid glasses from her ugly mug.
Who is this Ruth Vered person?
i love it when rich people get harassed.
Wasn't she that raccoon in the Upper East Side that supposedly died? I hope they test her for rabies before releasing her back out to her Hamptons habitat.
another case of When keeping it Real goes wrong.
the Police gave her a warning to stop serving alcohol and she refused.
a monkey would of known what to do.
Grammar nazi to the rescue. "Would have known," JM, not "would of." The latter makes absolutely no sense and I don't know why ignorant people started writing that to begin with, although it seems to have spread like a virus.
These cops are insane. Next they will go after people of color for enjoying riding on motorbikes and having a cold beer.
I don't know either Spirit of 76
molon labe. Vote Quimby.