Mayor Noam Bramson and City Council Members

New Rochelle Confederation of Neighborhood Associations

July 8, 2013

Louis Trangucci, Albert Tarantino, Jared Rice,

Ivar Hyden, Barry Fertel, and Shari B. Rachman

New Rochelle City Hall

515 North Avenue

New Rochelle, NY 10801

Re: Public Hearing on Special Permits to Operate Cabarets;

The Case of Mama Francesca Restaurant Corp. d/b/a Capriccio Latino

aka Mama Francesca Restaurant Corp.d/b/a Siete Ocho Siete

Dear Mayor and City Council members,
I am writing on behalf of the New Rochelle Confederation of Neighborhood Associations to request that you deny the application of Mama Francesca Restaurant Corp.d/b/a Capriccio Latino for a cabaret permit, because this application suffers from the same defects and deficiencies as the Mama Francesca Restaurant Corp.d/b/a Siete Ocho Siete application, which this City Council denied on October 16, 2012, not even nine (9) months ago!

Capriccio Latino is Siete Ocho Siete all over again. The two restaurants are so simpatico that the owner, Nicola DiCostanzo, did not even bother to complete a new application for Capriccio Latino. He submitted the supporting documentation from the Siete Ocho Siete application as his supporting documentation for the Capriccio Latino application. This man does not care. Does a tiger change its stripes?

First, the Capriccio Latino application should be denied because it, like Siete Ocho Siete, is located in a Neighborhood Business (NB) District. Section 331-28C of the New Rochelle Municipal Code provides that businesses in an NB district are "to serve the retail, personal service and office uses located in residential neighborhoods throughout the City." The old Mama Francesca restaurant did just that. As a restaurant, Capriccio Latino, like Siete Ocho Siete, would do that. However, as a cabaret, neither Siete Ocho Siete nor Capriccio Latino is a neighborhood business. Their clientele resides outside of the neighborhood. In fact, it resides primarily outside of New Rochelle – Yonkers, Larchmont, Mt. Vernon, and the Bronx – any place but New Rochelle. Rumor has it that Siete Ocho

Siete bused patrons in from the Bronx. By definition, a neighborhood business does not intentionally bus in its customers from outside the City. Will Capriccio Latino do likewise? Does a tiger change its stripes?

Second, the Capriccio Latino applicationshould be denied because it cannot provide "adequate on-site parking"– not street parking, but on-site parking! Capriccio Latino has no more on-site parking than did Siete Ocho Siete, one of the reasons for which the City Council denied the latter’s application and on which the City Council should deny Capriccio Latino’s application.

According to Capriccio Latino’s application, it has an occupancy limit of 133 persons. It needs 1 parking spot for every 3 patrons or 45 parking spots. It has, maybe, 25 parking spots (7-8 in the adjacent parking lot and 17 in a lot that it owns across Pelham Road). Its parking plan provides:

B. PARKING IMPACTS

The subject property is a business strip center that contains multiple parking spaces. A majority of business carried out by applicant will be at night when a majority of stores in the strip center will be closed. There will be parking available in shopping area and approximately 1000 feet from the subject property is a large parking lot used for businesses that are closed at night. The applicant also owns a private parking lot across from the subject property on Pelham Road. Parking can be in this are and is also available on side streets in the surrounding area from the subject property.

This “parking impact” was lifted verbatim from the Siete Ocho Siete application. Does a tiger change its stripes?

Pursuant to Section 331-28C of the Municipal Code, Capriccio Latino is not allowed to park cars for its patrons on the side streets. The alleged parking lot 1,000 feet from the subject property is too far away to comply with the 250’ rule. The restaurant uses valets to park cars in the lot across Pelham Road, but I understand that this procedure is not legal. Moreover, the valets have a very bad habit of darting across Pelham Road at breakneck speeds to beat traffic coming along Pelham Road. This is dangerous for both the cars driving along Pelham Road as well as patrons who do not park in the shopping center lot and do not cross Pelham Road at the traffic lights, but cross anywhere they choose. One day, either a valet or a patron will cause a serious accident on Pelham Road. New Rochelle residents should not have to bear the burden of additional taxes to supply additional police just so that this insensitive, inconsiderate restaurant can turn a profit.

Finally, we have the doctrine of unclean hands that Councilman Barry Fertel so eloquently articulated on October 16, 2013, as he cast his NO vote on the Siete Ocho Siete application. This

doctrine has not gone away. Capriccio Latino is owned by Nicola DiCostanza, the same man who owned Siete Ocho Siete, the same man who blatantly flaunted his operation of Siete Ocho Siete as a cabaret, without a license, and cared not one iota for the health, welfare, and safety of residents in the surrounding neighborhoods. I could not have been more amused by his patrons who spoke at the Siete Ocho Siete public hearing of using the restaurant/cabaret to “relax” and “unwind,” but who made raucous noise and left beer bottles, cigarettes, and other litter on local residents’ lawns as these local residents simply wanted to “relax” and “unwind” in their homes, but could not, because of Nick’s cabaret crowd. Mr. DiCostanza never even apologized to his residential neighbors or said that he was sorry! Does a tiger change its stripes?

For all of the forgoing reasons that the City Council denied the cabaret permit application of Mama Francesca Restaurant Corp.d/b/a Siete Ocho Siete, the Confederation respectfully requests that the City Council also deny the cabaret permit application of Mama Francesca Restaurant Corp.d/b/a Capriccio Latino.

Sincerely,

Joyce Furfero, Co-Chair

New Rochelle Confederation of Neighborhood Associations

82 Vaughn Avenue, New Rochelle, New York 10801

T: 914.325.5230 F: 914.633.3103 I: E: