The Village of Great Neck Village Hall was the scene of two disputes Tuesday night – one, a civil if contentious debate between trustees and residents concerned about the opening of a hookah lounge on Middle Neck Road, and the other a screaming match between two residents that ended with a police response.
The owner of a home at 4 West Park Place petitioned the board for a third extension to a building permit that was first issued in 2006, drawing questions from the board. A woman in the audience made critical comments as he justified his request, which escalated to an expletive-laden argument in Village Hall’s driveway minutes later.
“The woman he had ended up arguing with outside started heckling,” said an eyewitness.
The applicant told the board a relative’s ill health prevented him from completing the work on time, and the women suggested from her seat that the board require a doctor’s note to verify the illness.
The man swore at the heckler and accused her of insulting his mother as a resident called the police.
“You need attention, that’s what you need,” yelled the applicant as another man who appeared to be an acquaintance held him back.
“I am Catholic, sir. I am Roman Catholic,” the woman responded. “You better back off, mister. You, who can’t pay your own bills.”
Village of Great Neck Deputy Mayor Mitchell Beckerman urged the two to calm down and go home, and both had left in the scene before three Nassau County police cruisers pulled up in front of Village Hall.
Clerk-Treasurer Joe Gill spoke with officers before heading back into the meeting. No crime report was filed, as is common when neither party in a dispute stays at the scene to talk to police, said a Third Precinct official Wednesday morning.
The evening’s next disagreement featured no profanity or law enforcement response, but did include deeply felt concerns from neighbors of a recently approved hookah lounge who told board members they were concerned about the noise and health effects of outdoor smoking.
The village approved a conditional-use permit for a hookah lounge at the corner of Middle Neck and Picadilly Roads in July with several caveats, including requiring a re-permitting of planned outdoor seating in October 2014, a prohibition on noise emanating from the building and a requirement that the substance smoked be a tobacco-free fruit blend.
But neighbors said they were concerned about the effects of carcinogenic second-hand smoke exposure from outdoor tables and that they were not aware of the plans for the site when a public hearing was held weeks ago.
Elaine Sobel, who identified herself as a long-time teacher in the Great Neck School district and an anti-smoking advocate, said the water pipes could cause cancer regardless of their tobacco content.
“There’s no nicotine – there’s carbon monoxide, there’s tar, there’s every other chemical found in a cigarette,” Sobel said.
Some critics voiced total opposition to the planned use, including a resident who expressed fears that the lounge could turn into a “drug palace” and neighbor Warren Rosenthal, who rejected the plan outright.
“We don’t want the facility at all. That’s outrageous,” Rosenthal said.
Others focused on the potential health effects of second-hand smoke on themselves and asthmatic children.
“I’m a cancer survivor. If they go inside and stay inside the confines of their own building, that’s fine,” said resident Jackie Burris. “I already went through chemo. I’m not doing it against because of some enterprise that wants to have something on the street outside. It’s not right.”
Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman said he was sensitive to residents concerns and that the board would be responsive to complaints that the lounge was violating its permit, but emphasized that Village Attorney Stephen Limmer had told the board it had no legal recourse to revoke the permit or regulate the smoking of non-tobacco products.
“It is a permitted use. We imposed what we believed were reasonable conditions,” said Kreitzman adding that the hookah lounge was an alternative to the original plan to build a catering hall.
Kreitzman suggested that advocates could lobby the state to regulate all smoke as it does tobacco smoke, but said that had the village tried to block the use it could have been subject to a legal challenge it would likely have lost.
The mayor also said that the village had sent out legal notices about the July public hearing and had sent mailers to local building managers, but an officer from a nearby building said she had never received the notification.
Kreitzman scheduled a meeting Wednesday morning to further discuss the issue with concerned residents.
Reach reporter Dan Glaun by e-mail at dglaun@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516.307.1045 x203 and on Twitter @dglaun. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
