What will happen to the Capri Motor Inn in West Hempstead?

The Capri Motor Inn, on Hempstead Turnpike in West Hempstead, was shut down on Aug. 7, with structural issues. The Town of Hempstead is holding a special meeting on Aug. 31 to make sure it stays that way.

“You want to make a difference, you come down to this special board meeting,” Town Supervisor Don Clavin said at an Aug. 24 news conference. “Let your voices be heard about why this facility should be labeled a nuisance.”

The meeting, at Hempstead Town Hall, at 1 Washington St., at 11:30 a.m., will begin the process of getting the motel classified as a public nuisance.

The Capri was shut down when an Aug. 7 inspection by the Nassau County fire marshal’s office discovered smoke detectors that were not working, a faulty fire alarm system and unsafe electrical cords, according to officials. The shutdown is independent of the motel’s reported history of gun violence, drug use and prostitution. The listed owners, L&S Realty Co. in West Hempstead, can reopen the motel if they acquire the proper licensing and resolve the safety issues, officials said.

The community is rallying against the motel’s potential reopening. The West Hempstead Community Support Association has started a petition titled “Keep the Capri Motel Closed,” which gathered more than 600 signatures in the first three days after it was created on Aug. 25.

“For years, the Capri Motel has been a bane on West Hempstead’s community,” County Legislator John Giuffré said in a statement. “Residents and community members have been loud and clear that they do not want this crime-infested business in West Hempstead.”

Police have responded to incidents at the motel 156 times since January, according to Detective Lt. Richard Lebrun, a Nassau County Police Department spokesman. Those incidents included nuisance complaints, drug overdoses and general “criminal activity,” Lebrun said.

“This is not the kind of business that we need in our community if it’s attracting the wrong type of clientele,” Legislator Bill Gaylor said at the conference.

As of now, the Capri is classified as a nuisance by the town Building Department due to structural concerns. In order for the motel to be classified as a public nuisance — which would more directly address the reported criminal activity that has taken place there — the town must hold a public meeting.

“This meeting is about creating a public record to start the process of making this a public nuisance and getting rid of this bane in our community,” Clavin said. “This starts the process. And the residents want it, too.”

Clavin urged those who cannot attend the meeting to send an email to their local representatives so their complaints can be made part of the record.

“I urge everyone who cares about this community to be at that special town board meeting … where action can be taken under the law to shutter the Capri motel,” Giuffré added.

“By working together,” Clavin said, “we can get an end to this blighted area, this eyesore and, really, this actually amazingly dangerous facility that shouldn’t be in this community anymore.”