By Jason Scheer
Residents used words like "eyesore," "disgusting" and "toxic waste dump," to describe the property, at 130 Hempstead Ave. They made it clear they wanted the property gone.
In the end, the residents' plea for change was heard, and the Town Board voted unanimously to adopt a condemnation map. The map identifies the specific 2 3/4-acre parcel for future condemnation proceedings. The map, according to town officials, is a required element in a court action to seize the hotel.
"This is a day for us to celebrate and cheer," said Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Civic Association.
A capacity crowd filled the Nathan L.H. Bennett Pavilion for the meeting. Of those in attendance, only one person signed up to speak against the condemnation proceedings -- Dennis Lemke, the attorney representing the hotel's owner, Bruce Zwelsky of Bellmore. Lemke said that the owner has already entered into talks with other developers to purchase the property and, in what sounded like a veiled threat, added that condemnation would be an expensive proposition for taxpayers.
"If there is an eminent domain proceeding, that will be fought vigorously by the Courtesy Hotel, perhaps at a tremendous cost to the taxpayers as well as the [Town of Hempstead]," he said.
Lemke said that Zwelsky has already received proposals from companies that would like to put a residential housing complex on the site. He urged the town to back off and allow the owner to sell the property privately.
If the property were to be seized by the town in an eminent domain proceeding, the town and Zwelsky would negotiate on a price that the town would have to pay to acquire the property. The town would then be able to sell the property to a private developer of its choosing.
While Town Supervisor Kate Murray said she would be willing to listen to the owner and work with him, the course of condemnation will go on until the property is sold.
Residents urged the town to "stay the course" and not give in to the hotel's owner or lawyers. They questioned Lemke's sincerity and whether his speech was simply a ploy to reduce the pressure being put on the owner by the town and fellow neighbors.
"The Courtesy Hotel needs to be shut down and shut down today," Marshall Myers, a West Hempstead resident, said. On the prospect of the cost of condemnation being transferred to residents, Myers added, "We're already the highest-taxed people in the United States -- that's not going to stop us. ... Please do what you can do within your power. Take the thorn that is the Courtesy Hotel out of our side."
Another resident added, "I hope that we go ahead, and don't let [Lemke] decide how we're going to work, because he works for somebody who is employing drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes in my town and we cannot trust, on their word, that they're going to sell."
While a vast majority of those who spoke at the meeting applauded the town's efforts, some questioned why it took so long to get results. As far back as the late 1980s, West Hempstead residents were clamoring for the hotel to close its doors. Resident Seth Byokofsky suggested that the town could have condemned the property for years. The town maintains that it is utilizing a June 23 U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave greater rights to local governments to condemn properties for private development. In the past, the town would have had to open the property to public use, as a park or municipal offices. Private development allows the hotel to be converted into a tax-generating property.
The Courtesy has long been thought of as a focus of crime and lewd acts. The hotel advertises hourly rates, something residents say speaks to the quality and intentions of those who stay there.
Karl Riesterer Jr., assistant chief of the West Hempstead Fire Department, said the WHFD is called to the property as many as 15 times per week. Often, it is responding to drug-related incidents.
"We were there [Aug. 30]," he said. "It's so popular, we're there numerous times a week for things like this. We were there for a cardiac arrest, drug overdose, in the lobby. It sounds tragic. But the same thing happened on [Aug. 28].
"You want to talk about a waste of taxpayers' money ... we're wasting taxpayers' money to supply emergency services to these prostitutes, these drug lords and to all types of garbage that you see there."
There is no date set for the beginning of the condemnation proceedings.
Comments about this story? JScheer@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
