Village challenges Bonefish

On Aug. 22, the Village of Rockville Centre and Bonefish Grille returned to court, this time for the village to file a petition to dismiss the suit the restaurant filed against it.

Bonefish filed an Article 78 proceeding in late June, which would overturn the restrictions to hours and parking that the village’s Board of Zoning Appeals placed on the restaurant. As it stands, Bonefish can’t be open for lunch on weekdays and has to share a parking lot with the HSBC Bank next door. The restaurant is also required to have valet parking for customers.

Many residents and nearby business owners were happy with the BZA’s decision, because they said that the extra cars from Bonefish customers were making it almost impossible to park near the shopping center on Sunrise Highway, hurting their business.

The village filed the petition to dismiss the case with Judge Steven Jaeger, who will decided whether or not to accept the petition. That process, village official said, could take weeks.

“The village’s motion to dismiss the case is based on the fact that the Zoning Board of Appeals acted lawfully in imposing certain conditions when it granted Bonefish a parking variance and substantial occupancy permit,” said Village Administrator Keith Spadaro. “Not only were the conditions reasonable, the conditions had already been proposed by and agreed to by Bonefish.”

Michael Zapson, the attorney representing Bonefish, declined to comment on the proposition while it was still before the judge.