Yamali vs Nassau comes after years of bipartisan support
Final motions are due tomorrow in Butch Yamali's court fight to stop Nassau from terminating his exclusive contract to provide catering and food services in county parks -- eleven days before the county says the deal automatically ends anyway.
County Attorney Jared Kasschau contends in a letter submitted to the court that Nassau's 10-year license agreement with Yamali's company, Dover Gourmet Corp., terminates Dec. 31. But Yamali argues that former Deputy County Executive Rob Walker extended the contract through 2021.
Yamali has asked Supreme Court Justice Vito DeStefano to set aside the Dec. 31 termination date and declare the two-year extension valid. He also wants the judge to bar the county from seeking new vendors to provide catering and food services in county parks.
Yamali is fighting on all fronts right now.
He has been in a legal dispute with the Nassau University Medical Center since this spring over alleged unpaid fees for operating the hospitals coffee and gift shops. Yamali denies the allegations.
He has been quarreling with Hempstead Town since July over alleged unpaid rent for operating the town's Malibu Beach Park. Yamali contends the town owes him money.
Also in July, Newsday reported Dover Hospitality Services, a related business, was ordered to pay Suffolk County Community College nearly $300,000 for not turning over commissions to operate cafeterias and vending machines.
Nassau moved to end Yamali's contract in September after Nassau Community College alleged Dover owed it vending machine fees and the county contended Dover was behind in paying its park concession fees. Yamali also denied those allegations.
Despite his fights with the administration of Democrat County Executive Laura Curran, the hospital corporation chaired by Curran's Democratic appointee George Tsunis, and outgoing Democratic Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen, Yamali has been supported through the years by both parties.
Just look at the law firm representing Dover: Forchelli Deegan Terrano Llp.
Jeffrey Forchelli is a longtime Locust Valley Republican leader. Dan Deegan was the Glen Cove city attorney when Tom Suozzi, now a Democratic U.S. Congressman, was mayor of Glen Cove.
Yamali was a concessionaire in Nassau during the Republican administration of County Executive Thomas Gulotta, through the entire Democratic administration when Suozzi was county executive, through the entire Republican administration of County Executive Ed Mangano and now through two years of Democrat Curran's administration.
In addition, Curran held at least one campaign fundraiser at the Yamali-operated Coral House in Baldwin and hosted other events at the Coral House after she became county executive in Jan. 2018.
Ironically, one of the final acts of the Suozzi administration was the ten-year deal with Yamali. Just days before Suozzi left office on Dec. 31, 2009, after being defeated for a third term by Republican Mangano, the Suozzi administration awarded Dover the exclusive catering and food service license for county parks beginning Jan. 1 2010 through Dec. 31, 2019, with an option to extend for two more years.
The then-Democratic controlled county legislature authorized the license agreement on Dec. 21, 2009 at its last meeting of the year and then Deputy County Executive Marilyn Gottlieb signed it on Dec. 24, according to documents submitted in court.
In April 2016, Mangano's then chief deputy Rob Walker wrote a letter extending Yamali's license through 2021, documents show.
County attorneys say they do not recognize the extension because it wasn't approved by the county legislature. They also argue the license allows the county to terminate at any time with 30 days notice.
But Yamali's lawyers on Tuesday produced affadavits from former parks commissioner Brian Nugent and former County Attorney Carnell Foskey, saying they knew about the extension at the time and were not aware of any objections. Foskey also said he did not know of any provision in the license requiring the legislature to confirm the extension.
Michael Ciaffa, of counsel to the Forchelli firm, argued the county is attempting to terminate Dover for convenience rather than for cause.
"This court should conclude as a matter of law that the county's 'termination for convenience' defense is simply part of a year-long wrongful course of conduct, further evidencing the county's arbitrary and capricious bad faith efforts to replace Dover with another licensee or licensees of its choosing," he wrote in a motion this week.
County Attorney Jared Kasschau contends in a letter submitted to the court that Nassau's 10-year license agreement with Yamali's company, Dover Gourmet Corp., terminates Dec. 31. But Yamali argues that former Deputy County Executive Rob Walker extended the contract through 2021.
Yamali has asked Supreme Court Justice Vito DeStefano to set aside the Dec. 31 termination date and declare the two-year extension valid. He also wants the judge to bar the county from seeking new vendors to provide catering and food services in county parks.
Yamali is fighting on all fronts right now.
He has been in a legal dispute with the Nassau University Medical Center since this spring over alleged unpaid fees for operating the hospitals coffee and gift shops. Yamali denies the allegations.
He has been quarreling with Hempstead Town since July over alleged unpaid rent for operating the town's Malibu Beach Park. Yamali contends the town owes him money.
Also in July, Newsday reported Dover Hospitality Services, a related business, was ordered to pay Suffolk County Community College nearly $300,000 for not turning over commissions to operate cafeterias and vending machines.
Nassau moved to end Yamali's contract in September after Nassau Community College alleged Dover owed it vending machine fees and the county contended Dover was behind in paying its park concession fees. Yamali also denied those allegations.
Despite his fights with the administration of Democrat County Executive Laura Curran, the hospital corporation chaired by Curran's Democratic appointee George Tsunis, and outgoing Democratic Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen, Yamali has been supported through the years by both parties.
Just look at the law firm representing Dover: Forchelli Deegan Terrano Llp.
Jeffrey Forchelli is a longtime Locust Valley Republican leader. Dan Deegan was the Glen Cove city attorney when Tom Suozzi, now a Democratic U.S. Congressman, was mayor of Glen Cove.
Yamali was a concessionaire in Nassau during the Republican administration of County Executive Thomas Gulotta, through the entire Democratic administration when Suozzi was county executive, through the entire Republican administration of County Executive Ed Mangano and now through two years of Democrat Curran's administration.
In addition, Curran held at least one campaign fundraiser at the Yamali-operated Coral House in Baldwin and hosted other events at the Coral House after she became county executive in Jan. 2018.
Ironically, one of the final acts of the Suozzi administration was the ten-year deal with Yamali. Just days before Suozzi left office on Dec. 31, 2009, after being defeated for a third term by Republican Mangano, the Suozzi administration awarded Dover the exclusive catering and food service license for county parks beginning Jan. 1 2010 through Dec. 31, 2019, with an option to extend for two more years.
The then-Democratic controlled county legislature authorized the license agreement on Dec. 21, 2009 at its last meeting of the year and then Deputy County Executive Marilyn Gottlieb signed it on Dec. 24, according to documents submitted in court.
In April 2016, Mangano's then chief deputy Rob Walker wrote a letter extending Yamali's license through 2021, documents show.
County attorneys say they do not recognize the extension because it wasn't approved by the county legislature. They also argue the license allows the county to terminate at any time with 30 days notice.
But Yamali's lawyers on Tuesday produced affadavits from former parks commissioner Brian Nugent and former County Attorney Carnell Foskey, saying they knew about the extension at the time and were not aware of any objections. Foskey also said he did not know of any provision in the license requiring the legislature to confirm the extension.
Michael Ciaffa, of counsel to the Forchelli firm, argued the county is attempting to terminate Dover for convenience rather than for cause.
"This court should conclude as a matter of law that the county's 'termination for convenience' defense is simply part of a year-long wrongful course of conduct, further evidencing the county's arbitrary and capricious bad faith efforts to replace Dover with another licensee or licensees of its choosing," he wrote in a motion this week.
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