By Jeff Lipton and Jonathan Cronin
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The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 11 in United States District Court against the village, Mayor Stephen Mahler and former Deputy Mayor James Connors, levels several complaints by Jeff Greenfield, the club's vice president, and Henry Kessler, its president. They accused the village of discriminating against them and retaliating against the club for exercising its First Amendment Rights of Freedom of Speech.
Plaza and Greenfield have publicly criticized the village for failing to properly maintain the boardwalk and Ocean Boulevard; for permitting construction work on the Atlantic Beach Bridge during summer peak traffic time; for implementing a parking-permit plan that discriminates against non-residents, and for funding the private litigation of board member Connors.
For that public criticism, Plaza argues that the village and Mayor Mahler attempted to punish the club and Greenfield by: selectively applying the most restrictive parking plan in front of its beach club; refusing to share village lifeguards with the Plaza, as it has in the past and has done with all other beach clubs in the area; adopting a parking-permit plan that illegally discriminates against non-residents in violation of the state and federal constitution; and demanding rent for the use of a 14-foot strip of property in front of Plaza's premises, at 1751 Ocean Blvd.
According to Kessler, the retaliatory moves have "caused great harm to the business interests of the Plaza." As a result, the club is seeking $2 million for each of four counts in the lawsuit, for compensatory and punitive damages suffered by the club and its owners.
"The $8 million is for money that we've lost," said Greenfield. "I have a real economic loss." He added that he will prove that loss in court.
Mayor Mahler called the lawsuit frivolous. "It is just a bogus suit," he said. "Someone who is not worthy of newspaper space manages to get the publicity by doing things like this.
"There is nothing in his lawsuit. It is all mis-statement of fact. I don't think it has a chance. I think it will be thrown out of court."
Connors added, "There is no substance to anything he says. We can defend every single count and every accusation [against us]."
Greenfield said that his complaints with the village began in January 1998. Under the Freedom of Information Act, he requested to see the plans of beach shacks that were being built by the village. He also openly criticized the village for building these shacks, which serve as storage facilities, and closing down village streets to do so.
Shortly afterward, the lawsuit states, the village retaliated by calling the club and saying that if Greenfield refused to stop "meddling into the village affairs," Plaza would be charged rent for 14 feet of village-owned property that runs through the parking lot. The club has refused to pay the rent and Mahler's "threat" was reported to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office on Jan. 22, 1998.
Mahler said the village owns property that many beach clubs are using and was not singling out Plaza. He also said the village has been charging rent to other beach clubs and they have been paying it.
In addition to compensatory and punitive damages, the Plaza and Greenfield have asked the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the Village of Atlantic Beach from enforcing its parking permit plan and the median/curb restrictions on Ocean Boulevard.
Mahler said that Greenfield is angry about the parking restrictions because the club charges $225 for valet parking and the village charges only $175 for a parking sticker. The sticker allows those who purchase it to park anywhere. "Our stickers are cheaper than valet parking. I don't blame him for not liking that," Mahler said.
Another complaint Greenfield has with the village is that it does not keep Ocean Boulevard or the boardwalk in good shape.
"We've spent a fortune on Ocean Boulevard. It runs down because of heavy traffic," Mahler said. As for the boardwalk, he said the village has asked the Plaza to contribute money toward repairing it near the club. He said that since the club paved underneath the boardwalk, puddles have been forming around pilings and rotting them.
