Wantagh cabaret application denied

Town zoning board denies proposal

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To the relief of many Wantagh-Seaford residents — and the frustration of Billy Dean, a local club owner — the Hempstead Town Board of Zoning Appeals denied an application to open a cabaret in the community on Nov. 2. 

Erica Dubno, an attorney representing Green 2009 Inc., Dean’s parent company, said she feels community opposition to the cabaret — which she also believes is the basis for the board’s denial — was based on misinformation about the nature of the intended business. “You had politicians saying it was going to be a strip club, which it’s not,” she said. “At no point did the clients ever ask to open a strip club there … In a free society, we cannot silence expression upon fear that someone might do something. That’s fundamentally wrong and unconstitutional.”

Dean and Rori Gordon had purchased a building at 3500 Sunrise Highway for the intended cabaret in 2009. Gordon also owns Billy Dean’s Showtime Café in North Bellmore, which advertises lap dances on its website but also features a disclaimer at the bottom of the homepage that states, “Dancers appear on our stage in their costumes, which are g-string and pasties and do not disrobe.” 

Dean was initially granted a special-use, five-year permit for a cabaret seven years ago, according to Dubno. The BZA, however, reopened the case in 2011 and the license was denied. State Sen. Michael Venditto, a Republican from Massapequa who was a town attorney when the case was heard, said the board’s decision was upheld by the State Appellate Division in 2014 and affirmed by the State Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state.

Dean originally filed a federal suit against the Town of Hempstead in 2014, claiming that the denial of the application for a cabaret license violated his civil rights. The BZA heard the case again on Oct. 13, Dubno explained, because U.S. District Court Judge John Gleeson found that the board’s determination was not final. “Billy Dean’s had not provided a full enough record for them to determine the type of entertainment that was going to be offered,” the judge stated.

Howard Avrutine, another attorney for Dean, said the cabaret would feature a range of performers, from sword-swallowers to jugglers, knife throwers and magicians. But in an interview shortly after the public hearing, Heather Donahue, 40, a lifelong Wantagh resident, said she feared that a Wantagh cabaret would resemble Dean’s North Bellmore establishment. At a series of protests held in the community, residents also cited concerns about traffic, parking, late hours of operation, proximity to school bus stops and a proposal to serve alcohol on site. 

Nassau County Legislator Steve Rhoads, a Wantagh native who now lives in Bellmore, agreed, saying that was why he, Venditto and State Assemblyman David McDonough were supporting residents by writing letters and distributing petitions. Donahue helped to collect more than 2,000 signatures from residents of Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa and other areas opposing the cabaret.

“I was jumping up and down for joy last night,” she said on Nov. 3. “I posted about [the BZA denial] on the Wantagh Mommas Facebook group, and within two hours, there were 350 likes and 70 comments saying ‘way to go Wantagh, sticking together as a community.’ I think they looked at the community response heavily.” 

The zoning board did not issue any findings, or explanations, with its decision. Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky, a spokeswoman for the Town of Hempstead, said officials had no comment about the case because it is a matter of ongoing litigation. 

Dubno questions local elected officials’ involvement in the case, saying that it was unfair that former Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray was allowed to speak before Dean’s representatives at previous zoning board meetings and that legislators like Rhoads and Venditto should not be “so deeply involved in making sure a tax-paying business remains closed.” All three are named in Dean’s lawsuit, amended on Sept. 30 this year, along with current town officials and McDonough. 

According to the complaint, Dean and Gordon are seeking $5 million in damages. Dubno said that they spent more than $1 million on the property and $350,000 to renovate the building. When asked if Dean would appeal the board’s decision, Dubno said, “We are still considering our options.”

“We have not made any definitive determinations, but we still have the federal lawsuit,” she continued. “We are going to alert the federal court to the determination and the denial, which we think fully supports the conspiracy claim that we have made.” 

Rhoads, who held several community meetings about the application and said he has fielded scores of concerned residents’ phone calls, said he believes he was doing his job as a public servant by “defending the community from an unwelcome and unwanted intrusion. There are plenty of places where this type of business can open. It just wasn’t a right fit for this particular neighborhood.” 

Donahue, who expressed gratitude to Rhoads for his advocacy, said that she hopes Dean sells the building. She urged her neighbors to keep abreast of developments in the case, which has been ongoing for nearly a decade. 

“It’s a small victory,” she concluded. “There is still a battle ahead, and I expect them to appeal it. I am very, very excited that the first step in all of this came in our favor.”