Town officially claims eminent domain over Capri

A West Hempstead roadside motel that has reportedly been the bane of Hempstead town officials for years may have finally learned its fate.

The town has officially claimed eminent domain over the Capri Motor Inn property on Hempstead Turnpike. It happened after the town board accepted the report from special hearing officer Judge Anthony Marano, which said that officials were justified in their plans to take property for a court-determined fair price from its current owners, L&S Realty.

If successful, town officials want to replace the motel with a recreational facility — something Marano described as a "substantial upgrade for the community."

The decision comes after a nine-month legal saga that began with Capri being declared a public nuisance by the town in August, with the town citing structural concerns such as faulty smoke detectors.

But L&S Realty challenges the determination, noting what they described as deficiencies in the town’s overall process leading to eminent domain.

They cite town code, which restricts a public nuisance declaration for properties where owners were notified of a hearing addressing it less than 10 days before it is to take place. It also has to involve at least two related arrests involving crimes like those related to drugs and prostitution.

Capri owners say they were notified nine days before their public nuisance hearing, and that one of the arrests town official cite actually took place at a gas station across the street. 

The criminal charges against the owners of Capri for their alleged violations of town code were all dismissed in county district court on April 1.

West Hempstead neighbors, however, seemed to voice loud support of the Capri Motor Inn being declared a public nuisance and shut down for as long as the law would allow. A petition by the West Hempstead Community Support Association to shut down the motel gathered more than 600 signatures within three days of its creation. In the following months, that number grew to nearly 900.

The debate between the town and the Capri lawyers then shifted to the definition of “public use.” The validity of public purpose is a key part of eminent domain procedure — the law states that the government can't take over a private business without a legitimate public use.

John Ellsworth, a senior associate for the environmental planning firm providing counsel to town officials, acknowledged in a February board meeting the town did not yet have a plan for what it would do with the Capri property if it were to acquire it — but taking over a public nuisance constitutes an inherent benefit to the public, he argued, and therefore that alone could constitute public use.

Christian Browne, a lawyer representing Capri, cited legal precedent that stated “public use” remains unproven without a specific plan, rendering an eminent domain claim invalid.

In an April board meeting, the town announced that if it were to take over the Capri property through eminent domain, officials would turn it into an indoor recreation center for sports like volleyball and basketball.

In his May 8 official report and recommendation, Marano asserted that "termination of a public nuisance will serve a public purpose” because of the motel’s “negative impact on the residents of the motel, and the quality of life for the residents of the area.”

“The town's development of an indoor recreational facility will be a substantial upgrade for the community,” he added, “by providing a much-needed indoor recreational facility for the residents of the town.”

The board also accepted the environmental assessment done by the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which identified "no potentially significant impacts" and stated that the town's takeover of the private business would result in an "overall community benefit."

What happens next? The town will now spend the next three months negotiating with L&S Realty over what both sides believe would be a fair price to acquire the motel property. If they can’t come to terms, it will be left up to a judge to decide.