MONTAUK, N.Y. — From Key West to Lake Tahoe, formerly quiet enclaves across the country are grappling with the impact of rising wealth, short-term rentals and influencer-fueled tourism.
In one such town on the eastern edge of Long Island in New York, the sudden death of a young fashion entrepreneur has stirred new concerns about how a once-tight-knit fishing village is being transformed by these cultural shifts.
Martha Nolan, a 33-year-old Irish immigrant, was found dead early Tuesday morning aboard a luxury yacht docked at an exclusive marina. Police said they are not treating the case as foul play and the cause of death remains inconclusive pending toxicology results.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether drugs were involved. Still, the case is stirring anxiety among locals about what some describe as an ever-growing party culture fueled by visiting social media influencers and young professionals escaping the city grind for a glamorous weekend or summer vacation.
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“It’s absolutely changed,” Tommy Rando, a marina operator born and raised in town, told Fox News Digital. “Social media put Montauk on the map. It used to be a fishing village… now it’s a very happening place.”
“This is mostly a peaceful, family-friendly spot,” another local resident told Fox News Digital. “But in the summer, there’s a younger crowd that comes in and they party hard. You see the yachts, the nightlife — it’s become a kind of escape valve for New York’s elite.”
Located on the eastern tip of Long Island and beyond the rest of the ritzy Hamptons area, Montauk has witnessed a boom in luxury redevelopment, with major investments and renovations to hotels and docks, including the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club where Nolan was found and was a frequent patron.
Many wealthy people descend on the area via the vibrant yacht scene, with one woman telling Fox News Digital that sea-goers follow a popular luxury loop — describing it as part of a well-worn yacht circuit connecting Newport, Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. Others come from Florida or the Cayman Islands and their boats are brought up via the Intracoastal Waterway.
Revelers party summer nights away as the sun goes down, with boats becoming floating extensions of the bar scene. Locals say weekend nightlife now stretches deep into the early morning, and it’s not uncommon to hear music blasting around the marina in the wee hours.
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Michael Brown, a former DEA senior special agent, said that money, parties and youth are fertile ground for drug-pushers looking to capitalize on curiosity, trust and the illusion of safety. Sometimes, it can have deadly consequences. Dealers have been lacing drugs with fentanyl, causing an explosion in overdose deaths, he said.
“Young adults are going to do drugs,” Brown said. “That’s just a given… But you don’t know what’s in what you’re taking. And if I’m wrong, I’m gonna die in 30 seconds.”
Well over 100,000 people around the nation die from drug overdoses every year, although total drug-related fatalities dropped from around 111,000 in 2022 to approximately 107,500, marking the first fall in five years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Local dealers spike cocaine with small amounts of fentanyl — not necessarily enough to kill, but to intensify the high and hook new users,” said Brown, the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices.
“We’re talking about individuals who are very well-off, especially young individuals — they have the money to spend. Drug traffickers know this is fertile ground for distribution. Dealers are taking advantage of individuals who don’t know they’re buying fentanyl.”
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“Fentanyl has jumped all racial, ethnic, religious, and income lines,” he added. “It’s in every community — high-income, middle-income, and low-income.”
One lifelong Montauk resident and business owner in his 70s lamented the dramatic transformation in the town’s character over the past few decades.
Once a tight-knit fishing village where “everybody knew everybody,” Montauk has, in his view, become an enclave for wealthy outsiders and partygoers who have little connection to the community.
He reminisced about the summers when Irish youth would come over to work seasonal jobs in bars, restaurants, and marinas — often forming lasting bonds with locals and leaving with fond memories.
“The most you’d see wrong with them was a few drinks,” he said, calling them “completely innocent compared to this other class that’s coming out here.”
Now, he said, Montauk draws “spoiled kids using their parents’ credit cards” and has become a hub for influencers and drug use. He said that over-priced hotel rooms and bottle-service clubs have fed into a culture of overspend and synthetic highs — where image matters above all else.
“Montauk was known as a small fishing village with a drinking problem. That is very true,” he said. “Now it’s… craziness.”
Still, for most of Montauk, life carried on this week.
Wednesday night at the Montauk Yacht Club, the restaurant was bustling with well‑to‑do patrons in evening attire. In one corner, about two dozen people participated in a wine‑tasting session — a reminder of Montauk’s upscale side.
During the day, families strolled barefoot across golden sand. Kids slurped ice cream outside weathered beachfront shacks and the town’s beloved cafés buzzed with brunch crowds ordering iced lattes and açaí bowls. The sun spilled across the docks and dunes. Young people played beach volleyball, and for a moment, it was easy to forget anything dark had ever touched this place.
But a tragedy had, and on Wednesday evening, a woman walked quietly to the marina — to the boat where Nolan had been found.
She remembered Nolan as kind, warm, and driven — someone who was just beginning to make a name for herself, a view shared by many other boaters.
“She was very sweet, very genuine,” the woman said through tears. “She was just getting started. It’s heartbreaking.”