Carltun at Eisenhower Park agrees to pay Nassau County $250G
An exterior view of the Carltun on the Park in Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, August 22, 2018. Credit: Daniel Brennan
Nassau County will receive $250,000 from the former operator of the Carltun at Eisenhower Park after the County Legislature approved a cash agreement Monday, but Nassau says it's still pursuing a $1.85 million lawsuit against the company for breach of contract, legislative documents show.
Lawmakers approved the vote along party lines, with 12 Republicans supporting the agreement, and five Democrats opposing it. Legislators Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury) and Carrié Solages (D-Lawrence) were absent.
In September, Nassau sued Carltun on the Park Ltd., and Anthony A. Capetola, the longtime operator, alleging the company breached its contract. Carltun stopped making significant payments to the county beginning in 2021 and also throughout 2022 before leaving at the end of September, Nassau lawyers wrote in court papers,
Nassau is suing the Carltun for a total of $1.85 million. The tally includes $850,973 in missed revenues and fees, plus interest, and an additional $1 million in damages related to the contract breach.
Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, said in a statement: "The settlement voted on today allowed the county to recover money it was owed, while further litigation is still pending. The County Executive is committed to recovering all of the funds which went uncollected by the previous administration."
Nassau alleged in court papers that the company missed payments in 2021 and in 2022, after Blakeman took office.
In October, the Carltun was taken over by new operators including Bobby and Elias Trahanas, operators of food concessions at Jones Beach and Robert Moses state parks. They also own the Golden Reef Diner in Rockville Centre.
The 85,000-square-foot-property includes the Carltun Clubhouse, the Palm Court Restaurant, the Patio, the Wine Cellar, Havana's Private Cigar Club, and the Grand Ballroom.
Monday's action came after Nassau used a legal tactic to recover a portion of the payout before the suit was heard.
The county did so by making a claim against the company's performance bond, according to the legislative documents.
The Carltun was required to post a $250,000 performance bond as part of the contract's original terms. One party can require the other to issue a "performance bond" to guarantee that a vendor abides by the agreement.
Carltun agreed to pay $250,000 to the county in lieu of the performance bond, officials said.
Representatives for the company did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
In court papers, the company denied the lawsuit's allegations and claimed Nassau breached the contract in several instances.
Attorneys for the Carltun said Nassau should pay $900,000 in total to the company.
The Carltun's attorneys said that at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the former county administration ordered the Carltun facilities closed at 5 p.m. Friday, March 13.
Nassau should have ordered the closure three days later, on March 16, when a state order was to take effect, company lawyers wrote.
Moneymaking events the Carltun was supposed to hold over that weekend, including "a large firefighters association party" for more than 350 people, "as well as other smaller functions," were canceled, the attorneys wrote in court papers.
Further, lawyers wrote, "in addition to these banquet affairs, Carltun lost over 100 ala carte reservations in the Palm Court restaurant, [and] numerous reservations in the Havana Cigar Club were also canceled."
Nassau lawyers denied responsibility for the claims.
Capetola began operating the Carltun in 1995. He and then-partner John Tenney made significant renovations to the property and it became a popular destination.
Capetola, a prominent Williston Park attorney and former Oyster Bay Town zoning board member, has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to GOP political committees or candidates over the years, state campaign records show.
Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.
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