Cyril’s Party Goes On
The liquor license for Cyril’s Fish House on Napeague may have been canceled, but the party goes on, according to a statement from Dianne LeVerrier, attorney for the ownership groups of both the restaurant and the land it sits on.
The New York State Liquor Authority’s cancellation of the license was due to go into effect yesterday, but instead, according to Ms. LeVerrier, it will remain in place through an injunction obtained from New York State Supreme Court Justice Peter H. Mayer, who stayed the cancellation until Sept. 9.
She said he cited “irreparable harm” to the restaurant if the license was taken away immediately, and that he pointed out the possibility of success by the restaurant upon appeal.
According to Ms. LeVerrier, the delay will allow Justice Joseph Farneti to consider the matter. He is currently presiding over counter lawsuits between the town and the ownership group of Cyril’s Fish House, which includes Cyril Fitzsimons, as well as the owners of the land, headed by Michael Dioguardi.
Meanwhile, both sides have until Friday to file final briefs in Mr. Farneti’s court on a request the town made earlier this year to immediately shut the popular roadside bar down, via an injunction.
The liquor authority’s action was based on the allegations contained in the town’s lawsuit. William Crowley, a spokesman for the authority, said yesterday that the agency always relies on local government and police to make it aware of code violations. He used the New York City Building Department and the New York City Police as an example. “That is where we get most of our charges” in the city, he said Wednesday.
Ms. LeVerrier accused the town’s attorneys of feeding “misinformation” to the liquor authority, using “false assertions that Cyril’s had pled guilty to a ‘misdemeanor’ and had been ‘arrested’ for not having a certificate of occupancy.” Ms. LeVerrier also called the town’s code enforcement efforts at the popular bar and restaurant “overzealous.” She said that during the hearings over the town’s request for an injunction against Cyril’s, Tom Preiato, the town’s chief building inspector, had told the court that there were no apparent health or safety concerns.
Joseph Prokop, the attorney representing the town, did not respond this week to phone calls.
The liquor authority found Cyril’s guilty of 69 of the 83 East Hampton Town Code violations it was accused of, all similar to the charges the town is fighting the owners over in State Supreme Court. The liquor authority also cited a past hearing from 2010 in which the restaurant was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine for an “illegal extension of premise” as well as “general pre-mixing and unauthorized additional bar.”
According to Mr. Crowley, the authority has cited and fined Cyril’s previously, and that factor, along with the current cancellation, will be taken into account should the restaurant attempt to apply for a license. He said the next court date for the liquor authority to pursue the cancellation is Oct. 2.