East Hampton Village Store Owner Will Fight Ticket Over 'Welcome' Sign, Stuffed Animal

The owner of a children’s boutique in East Hampton Village will take the violation she was issued for placing a stuffed animal on the front stoop of her shop to trial.

Attorney Daniel Rodgers entered a plea of not guilty on Monday, December 9, on behalf of Colleen Moeller, owner of Petit Blue on Park Place, and told East Hampton Town Justice Lisa Rana that he is requesting a trial in the matter of the violation she was issued in early November for having an outdoor “Welcome” sign in front of her shop.

Mr. Rodgers said that in defense of the charge against the store he would argue that Ms. Moeller’s posting of a stuffed animal holding the “Welcome” sign outside does not violate the law, because stores are allowed to post their hours, and the sign was simply intended to let people know Petit Blue was open.

He also noted that the Stop & Shop supermarket and various garden supply stores have retail wares for sale outside their physical buildings and don’t seem to ever receive citations.

But he also made the case that punishing a store owner for such a display was obtuse enforcement of an outdated code of the sort that has contributed to the decline of East Hampton Village’s business district.

“The taste police, at this point, need to understand that there are limits,” Mr. Rodgers said outside the courthouse. “Everyone wants the Village of East Hampton to look beautiful. That’s why we’re here.

“Colleen is not looking to create a circus,” he added. “She just wants to do something that’s simple, tasteful and meaningful, but also let’s the public know: Look, we’re open for business.”

Mr. Moeller said that her intentions with the stuffed animal placed on her stoop were simply to make it clear her store is open for business at a time of year when so many “pop-ups” and seasonal shops have closed for the winter that those passing through may not even be window shopping.

“It is difficult to tell who is open and who is closed at this time of year,” Ms. Moeller said after entering her not guilty plea. “The idea was to attract attention. That is not permitted.”

Indeed, it did attract attention. And, indeed, that is not permitted.

Ms. Moeller was issued a citation for the same thing back in July, when she had placed a stuffed giraffe with the sign “Welcome” hanging from it outside her store. It attracted attention both from passersby stopping to snap photos of their kids with the giraffe, and of code officers who cited her for violating a village code that bars the display of any signs or anything intended to “attract attention of the public” outside their storefronts.

The first time around, Ms. Moeller paid the $380 ticket. The second time, she has decided to fight it.

And Mr. Rodgers said the village has taken the strategic step the second time around of issuing a violation to her landlord as well, which is an equity company that is part of the estate of the late Ben and Bonnie Krupinski.

By doing so, Mr. Rodgers surmised, the village is hoping the landlord will pressure Ms. Moeller to conform. Ms. Moeller said that a representative of the landlord was to be in court on Monday also but did not show up.

“It’s clearly a tactic by the village,” Mr. Rodgers said. “It’s working.”