Hempstead Town postpones hearing on Capri Motel condemnation
The Capri Motel in West Hempstead on Aug. 10, days after the Town of Hempstead declared it unsafe and padlocked its doors. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Hempstead Town officials postponed a hearing on the condemnation of a West Hempstead motel that it shuttered in August, citing safety violations.
Town Attorney John Maccarone on Dec. 5 asked the board to adjourn the hearing that had been scheduled for that day on seizing the Capri Motel, also known as the Capri Motor Inn, to Jan. 20, citing “my discussions with our outside counsel and attorneys for the property owners.”
Town officials closed the motel on Aug. 7, citing safety violations, Newsday previously reported.
In October, the board took the first step to seize the motel on Hempstead Turnpike through eminent domain to stop activities that it says make it a nuisance, a tactic a legal expert called "unusual."
Alleged violations include a rusty staircase and problems with the fire alarm system and with electrical wiring, according to court filings, which also noted that a woman had been arrested for alleged prostitution at the motel on July 24.
The resolution states that these conditions pose a threat to the health and safety of residents.
The town subsequently held an Aug. 31 hearing before its board.
On Sept. 6, following a continuation of the hearing, the town board voted to declare the property a nuisance and to keep it shuttered for one year, according to town records.
In a lawsuit filed against the town on Sept. 14, attorneys for the owner, L & S Realty Co. LLC, alleged that town officials had acted improperly in closing down the motel.
The town’s outside legal counsel responded in legal filings that the board’s decision had been based on “substantial evidence.”
According to town documents, the town has received complaints of prostitution, narcotics activity, and “other criminal elements” at the motel.
Neither town officials nor the attorney for the property owner responded to requests for comment Wednesday.
The town is represented by Garden City-based Berkman Henoch Peterson & Peddy, P.C. The owner is represented by Manhattan-based Seelig & Fein PLLC and Garden City-based McLaughlin & Stern LLP.
