Ambrosino Calls For Immediate Closure Of Courtesy

From the Three Village Times:

Ambrosino: Close Courtesy Now

The members of the West Hempstead Civic Association have been clamoring for the Town of Hempstead to close the Courtesy Hotel for years. The town, having failed to close the hotel under its public nuisance law, is now trying to facilitate the development of the area around the hotel through an urban renewal plan. However, at least one member of the town board joins the civic association's philosophy that the town should close the Courtesy now and ask questions later.

Councilman Ed Ambrosino, who is one of six members of the Hempstead Town Board, said the town should do whatever it can to close the hotel immediately.

Ambrosino, a Republican, said he supports Town Supervisor Kate Murray, also a Republican, in trying to develop the area around the hotel. "I know the supervisor wants to take it down immediately, but I think we need to take aggressive action to pursue a remedy, craft legislation, do whatever we need to do to take it down immediately," he said.

The thought was that the town had legislation to close premises that were deemed to be public nuisances through a public nuisance law that the town board adopted in 2000.

According to a letter sent to concerned residents by Murray and Ambrosino, the town had sought a restraining order and injunction against hotel owners in 2004 to shut the hotel but the town was ruled against by the Supreme Court.

While Ambrosino believes the re-development of the site is important, he said he would prefer the town close the hotel immediately and then proceed with the development of the site.

Ambrosino suggested that if the public nuisance law isn't working as it's written perhaps the town board and the supervisor should look at rewriting the law to make it work. "The most important thing for me right now is to have the hotel stop functioning. After that, let's see what happens," he said. "If we don't meet the requirements, let's redraft the law to make us meet the requirements. The community has had enough and I stand with the community."

- Joe Rizza