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Overcast Billy Dean’s sues town
Hempstead leaders say cabaret doesn’t belong in Wantagh
The owner of a proposed cabaret club in Wantagh has filed a federal suit against the Town of Hempstead, claiming that the denial of the business’s application for a cabaret license is in violation of its civil rights.
The town has halted the opening of Billy Dean’s, a cabaret-style entertainment venue planned for the southwest corner of Sunrise Highway and Oakland Avenue. Its parent company, Green 2009, has filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Herald Fahringer, the owner’s attorney, said he believes his client is entitled to a cabaret license, and that cabaret is a constitutionally protected form of entertainment. The town’s denial, he said, is a violation of the owner’s First Amendment rights.
Town officials vow to continue to fight against Billy Dean’s. After several court victories, including a ruling in the town’s favor by the New York State Appellate Division earlier this year, leaders say they are ready for one more round against the proposed club.
“Every level of court in New York state has supported and affirmed the Hempstead Board of Appeals’ decision,” Town Supervisor Kate Murray said on Sept. 8 at a press conference in front of the unopened business at 3500 Sunrise Highway. “I want Wantagh and Seaford residents to know that we will continue to fight this latest effort to open a cabaret at this location.”
Murray described Billy Dean’s as a “Las Vegas-style” cabaret club, and said it would be an inappropriate business at a location that abuts a residential neighborhood, would cause parking problems and congestion on surrounding streets, and would be a noisy neighbor.
“This is not an appropriate location,” Murray said, adding that the club would diminish the quality of life for neighbors.
She was joined by Town Councilman Gary Hudes and County Legislator Michael Venditto, who was a town attorney when the case was before the Board of Appeals.
Billy Dean’s is seeking to recoup its investment in the building, four years after the town initially granted a permit for the facility. Following public outcry, the Board of Appeals reopened the case in 2011, and the cabaret license was denied.
