Neighbors sue Northport eatery over size, noise issues

A group of Northport Village residents hope to quiet down the Whale's Tale, a waterfront eatery at the Britannia Yachting Center that they claim is a neighborhood nuisance.

The residents' lawsuit alleges that Britannia ignored village covenants enacted more than 20 years ago that restrict its restaurant to a 20-seat snack bar and prohibit alcoholic beverage sales.

The Whale's Tale has operated for several years as a casual eatery with 84 seats, and serves alcohol.

The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard Friday in Suffolk County Supreme Court.

Richard Thury, one of eight residents who filed the lawsuit, said he's called police dozens of times complaining about restaurant noise he's heard at his Milland Drive home.

"We're talking about loud music at 11, 12 at night," he said.

Thury said the lawsuit was not motivated by animosity -- or by T-Mobile's application earlier this year to erect a cellular antenna at the yachting center, a move that generated some community opposition.

"Nobody wants him to go out of business," Thury said of Sosh Andriano, the Whale's Tale's operator. "This is not malicious, this is not vindictive. This is purely to give us relief from this nonsense."

Andriano has been operating the Whale's Tale for the past two years after taking over from his father. The yacht club has been on Fort Salonga Road for more than 50 years.

The lawsuit names Andriano's company, Upland Culinary Services; yacht-club owner Britannia Acquisition Corp.; and the Village of Northport's board of trustees and board of zoning appeals.

"The village is sitting back and letting this happen," said E. Christopher Murray, a Uniondale attorney representing the residents. "The neighbors shouldn't be spending their money to enforce laws that the village should be enforcing."

Britannia's attorney, Michael McCarthy of Huntington, said the residents "do not have any special or unique status to enforce an agreement between Britannia and the village. The village is working very hard to balance the interests of all involved."

Earlier this year, Britannia asked the board of zoning appeals to modify the restrictive covenants. In June, the board approved temporary changes reducing the number of seats to 64 and limiting the operating hours and hours for music. Two weeks later, after complaints from both residents and Britannia, the board rescinded its decision. It will hold another hearing Wednesday.

McCarthy and attorneys for the Whale's Tale and the village have said the court should dismiss the suit, since the issue is pending before the village.

"I don't see why they have any right to challenge something that is undergoing another hearing," said Jim Matthews, Northport Village attorney. "The administrative process is not concluded."