Police called to Sea Cliff Village Hall after Robert Ehrlich, Pirate's Booty founder, claims he's the new mayor
Sea Cliff Mayor Elena Villafane on Glen Cove and Lafayette Avenues in her village in 2023. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
The Nassau County Police Department responded to a tense scene at Sea Cliff Village Hall earlier this week after Robert Ehrlich, founder of the company that makes the Pirate's Booty snack, claimed to be the new mayor, officials said.
Ehrlich entered Sea Cliff Village Hall on Monday around 9:45 a.m. along with three other men and claimed he had "authority" as the village's new mayor, the village said in statement posted to Facebook. Ehrlich told village staff they were fired and could reapply for their jobs.
Sea Cliff Mayor Elena Villafane, who is running for reelection in an uncontested race on Tuesday, told Newsday that Ehrlich had invoked the state's Citizen Empowerment Act. That law outlines a process in which voters can petition for their municipality to be absorbed by another entity. The village on the North Shore of Oyster Bay has a population of about 5,000 residents, U.S. Census data show.
Villafane said in an interview with Newsday on Friday that she asked Ehrlich to view his petitions to assess the form's validity. Ehrlich declined and behaved in a "very aggressive" way toward staff, she said.
"When informed that this claim was invalid and unsupported by law, he was asked to leave Village Hall at which point, Mr. Ehrlich and his associates became increasingly confrontational," the village's statement read.
The statement continued: "While Village staff remained calm and professional throughout the incident, Ehrlich and his associates raised their voices, used profane language, made outlandish claims, and engaged in direct harassment of Village personnel. Despite multiple requests to leave, they refused, creating a hostile and disruptive environment that required police intervention."
A Nassau County Police Department spokesman said police responded to the scene around 9:45 a.m. No arrests were made, the spokesman said.
In the interview, Villafane said: “If he really had a true intention in regard to village government, it’s an open ballot — he could just run. ... I’m not afraid of a contested election.”
The state's Citizen Empowerment Act “provides a process for voters to petition for a public vote on consolidating their local governments,” according to state documents.
The petitioner must collect signatures representing 10% of voters in any given municipality, or 5,000 signatures, whichever is less, according to the law. Other steps must also take place, including a referendum, before a consolidation can be approved.
Backers of the 2009 measure hailed it as a way to combine many high-tax special districts, including those that provide garbage, water and fire protection services. In 2012, a referendum to dissolve Baldwin's Sanitary District 2 failed by a vote of 4,597-1,682, Newsday previously reported.
During a phone interview Friday afternoon, Ehrlich said he had collected more than 1,900 signatures on the petition but refused to share a copy of it with Newsday, citing concerns over the safety of the signers.
Ehrlich said he is mounting a write-in campaign for mayor on Tuesday and wants a group that he formed — the "Incorporated Village of Sea Cliff Residents" — to absorb the village.
In 2004, Ehrlich sued the village in federal court over the permitting process for his restaurant, the Sea Cliff Sushi Co., Newsday previously reported. A judge dismissed that case in 2007, Newsday reported, and ordered Ehrlich to pay $900,000 to the village and several other former officials to cover attorney fees.
The Nassau County Police Department responded to a tense scene at Sea Cliff Village Hall earlier this week after Robert Ehrlich, founder of the company that makes the Pirate's Booty snack, claimed to be the new mayor, officials said.
Ehrlich entered Sea Cliff Village Hall on Monday around 9:45 a.m. along with three other men and claimed he had "authority" as the village's new mayor, the village said in statement posted to Facebook. Ehrlich told village staff they were fired and could reapply for their jobs.
Sea Cliff Mayor Elena Villafane, who is running for reelection in an uncontested race on Tuesday, told Newsday that Ehrlich had invoked the state's Citizen Empowerment Act. That law outlines a process in which voters can petition for their municipality to be absorbed by another entity. The village on the North Shore of Oyster Bay has a population of about 5,000 residents, U.S. Census data show.
Villafane said in an interview with Newsday on Friday that she asked Ehrlich to view his petitions to assess the form's validity. Ehrlich declined and behaved in a "very aggressive" way toward staff, she said.
"When informed that this claim was invalid and unsupported by law, he was asked to leave Village Hall at which point, Mr. Ehrlich and his associates became increasingly confrontational," the village's statement read.
The statement continued: "While Village staff remained calm and professional throughout the incident, Ehrlich and his associates raised their voices, used profane language, made outlandish claims, and engaged in direct harassment of Village personnel. Despite multiple requests to leave, they refused, creating a hostile and disruptive environment that required police intervention."
A Nassau County Police Department spokesman said police responded to the scene around 9:45 a.m. No arrests were made, the spokesman said.
In the interview, Villafane said: “If he really had a true intention in regard to village government, it’s an open ballot — he could just run. ... I’m not afraid of a contested election.”
The state's Citizen Empowerment Act “provides a process for voters to petition for a public vote on consolidating their local governments,” according to state documents.
The petitioner must collect signatures representing 10% of voters in any given municipality, or 5,000 signatures, whichever is less, according to the law. Other steps must also take place, including a referendum, before a consolidation can be approved.
Backers of the 2009 measure hailed it as a way to combine many high-tax special districts, including those that provide garbage, water and fire protection services. In 2012, a referendum to dissolve Baldwin's Sanitary District 2 failed by a vote of 4,597-1,682, Newsday previously reported.
During a phone interview Friday afternoon, Ehrlich said he had collected more than 1,900 signatures on the petition but refused to share a copy of it with Newsday, citing concerns over the safety of the signers.
Ehrlich said he is mounting a write-in campaign for mayor on Tuesday and wants a group that he formed — the "Incorporated Village of Sea Cliff Residents" — to absorb the village.
In 2004, Ehrlich sued the village in federal court over the permitting process for his restaurant, the Sea Cliff Sushi Co., Newsday previously reported. A judge dismissed that case in 2007, Newsday reported, and ordered Ehrlich to pay $900,000 to the village and several other former officials to cover attorney fees.
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SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Newsday's All-Decade teams for the 1950's and 1960's On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Gregg Sarra and former Newsday sports writer Mike Candel discuss their All-Decade boys basketball teams for the 1950's and 1960's, plus highlights from the county championships.