Nude Dancing vs. Day Care
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| Mountainview owner Michael Milazzo and his father, Anthony Milazzo |
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Can a proposed nude entertainment club and an existing day care center operate side-by-side in close geographical quarters?
A public hearing centered on a Mountainview Restaurant request to alter an entertainment license to permit full nudity and live nude dancing was continued to 7 p.m., Nov. 16, at Town Hall. Selectmen continued the hearing so that applicant Michael Milazzo, owner of the restaurant, could supply Selectmen with more detailed information about the proposed license change.
If approved, nude wiggling and jiggling would likely occur on, at minimum, a semi-regular basis in very close proximity to an existing child care center that provides child care services during evenings and weekends as well as during the daytime.
Over 120 residents and interested individuals packed a Town Hall meeting room well before a 7 p.m. Oct. 26 public hearing. Selectmen's Chairwoman Deborah LeFave, Selectman Carl McKinney, Selectwoman Lily Kuzia and Town Administrator Michael Canales listened attentively throughout the nearly two-hour hearing.
Selectmen must issue a decision about the license change application within 30 days of the close of the public hearing.
Day Care Business In Jeopardy
The hearing began after the Selectmen's regularly scheduled weekly meeting, and it didn't take long for Milazzo's attorney, Daniel Kelly of the Springfield-based Robinson Donovan law firm to realize that no supporters of the Milazzo proposal had attended the hearing.
Terry Goodermote, of 35 Jordan Ave., told the crowd that she operates a child-care center at her home, which abuts the restaurant property. Goodermote provides evening and weekend child care as well as weekday care, and parents of children enrolled at the center have already told her that if nude dancing is allowed at the restaurant, they will remove their children from her care, she said.
Goodermote said the center is her only means of support. When the restaurant first opened, she was "excited" about the business and its promotion as a family-style venue. But the noise level has escalated and Goodermote has called police repeatedly about the situation, she said. On one evening alone, Goodermote said she called police five times and her father called three times about the noise.
Her daughter is kept awake by the noise and Goodermote said she has asked police and Milazzo to come into the child's bedroom and hear the racket for themselves, but they have not done so yet. Goodermote said there has been nudity on the restaurant premises already.
"We've had people streak down Wheeler Avenue," she said. "[Restaurant employees] aren't going to keep [nudity] in the building, they can't. People will do what they are going to do."
The family has had to erect a sign alerting restaurant patrons that there is no business access from Jordan Avenue to keep people away from her residence, she said.
Mountain Views
Kelly painted a very different picture of the business. Kelly told the crowd that between Oct. 1, 2004, and September 2005, the restaurant, which is not licensed to provide nude entertainment, has generated two noise complaints to police.
One complaint involved air conditioner noise and was resolved; the second complaint was subsequently deemed to be unfounded based on a decibel reading, Kelly said.
The restaurant was not the source of noise that generated five additional complaints, Kelly said. He also said that following a Sept. 13 Selectmen's meeting, during which Selectmen told concerned residents to call police when they believe there is a problem at the restaurant and create a "paper trail," 10 complaints about restaurant issues have been reported to police and have been termed "unfounded."
However, Police Chief Michael Williams told the crowd that, using a slightly different time frame prior to the Sept.13 Selectmen's meeting, his records show 25 calls about the restaurant. The calls included car accidents at or near the restaurant, three assault complaints, a false identification complaint, and a "well-being check" for a vehicle driver that was allegedly "passed out" at the wheel of a parked vehicle.
Williams said that since Sept. 13, the department has received five noise complaints, one hit-and-run accident complaint, and one report of dangerous driving. Williams said that of the five assault complaints received since the restaurant opened in 2004, two occurred within the past 45 days and involved bodily injury. Three drunken driving arrests have led to statements that the vehicle drivers had been drinking at the restaurant prior to their arrest, Williams said.
Williams said within approximately the same time frame, the Key West lounge in North Adams generated nine police calls, the Golden Eagle restaurant in Clarksburg generated no police calls, and the North Adams Country Club on River Road generated two calls to police.
Williams said Milazzo has the ability to self-police noise situations and has appeared to be cooperative with noise complaints. Williams also said Milazzo has complained to police about the number of restaurant-focused complaints generated since the Sept. 13 Selectmen's meeting. Town officers have told Williams that they want to respond to any complaints about the business in pairs at minimum because they are uncomfortable about investigating complaints on the premises on a solo basis, Williams said.
One arrest at the restaurant involved a person who was subsequently charged with three counts of possession of a dangerous weapon, Williams said.
Kelly told the crowd that Milazzo plans no changes to the site to accommodate the nude dancers, and said dancers will use separate and existing parking areas and entrances, and will use private dressing rooms, if the license change is approved.
Large windows will be shrouded with curtains to prevent outside views of inside entertainment, he said. Interaction between dancers and clientele will be prohibited, he said. The restaurant has hosted "capacity crowds" regularly, Kelly said. His records indicate that the large crowds have not resulted in increases in vehicle accidents or traffic violations, he said, and he predicted that permitting nude dancers will not change those circumstances. The license amendment seeks permission for live nude entertainment seven days a week; Kelly asked Selectmen if they would be willing to consider granting a permit that limited the opportunities for nude entertainment. Selectmen offered no reply to the question.
Only Professional Talent
All Mountainview bartenders and "bouncers" are TIPS-certified and a video security system is in place, Kelly said. He also said that security tapes would be made available to law enforcement officers. Dancers would be hired through professional talent agencies, said Kelly, and he identified Pretty Woman, Inc. of Springfield as one of the agencies that would supply dancers. Kelly also said that a criminal records check, called a CORI, would be initiated on any dancer expected to appear at the eatery. According to Kelly, the restaurant has "a clean record" and the "evidence supports granting the application."
Take It To Court
Former town Selectman Robert Norcross told the crowd that referring to the entertainers as "dancers" was "sugar-coating" the issue.
"They should be called strippers," he said.
Norcross said the town's reputation as a quiet hamlet is already being shredded by the proposal of nude dancing and told Selectmen and residents that the town should force Milazzo to launch a court battle.
Town residents could help finance a court fight with fundraisers and other revenue generators, he said. Later during the meeting, Norcross asked Milazzo to withdraw the application. Milazzo did not respond to the query and did not speak publicly during the entire meeting, instead allowing Kelly to field all audience and Selectmen questions and comments. Milazzo was accompanied by his father, Anthony Milazzo.
Beer Bottles, Betrayal, and Integrity
Jackie Pecor of Houghton Street said that she was initially pleased by the news of the restaurant's opening.
"But I've had a beer bottle thrown through my bedroom window," she told the crowd and Selectmen.
Resident Lester Dumoulin told Selectmen that the establishment wasn't planning to offer "dancing." "It's going to be pornography," he said.
Resident Neil McCleod told the crowd that he and a neighbor, Michelle Beebe, have launched a petition drive that opposes the nude dancing. He said that when he was notified by town officials that the restaurant was planning to open under Milazzo's ownership and that he, as an abutter, had a legal opportunity to object, he did not offer any opposition because of Milazzo's assurances that the business would be family-friendly.
"I'm going to throw a word out to you," McCleod told the residents while looking directly at Michael and Anthony Milazzo. "The word is integrity."
McCleod defined "integrity" as "treating someone fairly and honestly" and said that when one person gives their word to another, it is incumbent upon the promiser to keep his word. Milazzo promised a family venue, he said.
"This was supposed to be a nice place, where people could have a nice meal, a cocktail if they wanted, and bring their children," he said. "This is not what we are talking about tonight. They have not met their commitment and they lack business integrity."
Charlene Lawson said she lives in proximity to the restaurant and feels "betrayed" by the Milazzo plans. Lawson said that as an abutter, she did not oppose the restaurant opening and identified reasons similar to McCleod. But that has changed, she said.
"I was happy to have a restaurant," she said. "But this is a dive, and I feel it is a disservice to the restaurant."
Teen-aged Nudity
Attorney Rinaldo Del Gallo of Pittsfield spoke as a Berkshire region citizen and offered several suggestions to town residents about battling the application. He said he believes Pittsfield residents did not fight strongly enough against nude entertainment in that city, and he lauded town residents for their efforts.
"I admire the way you are fighting this," Del Gallo said. "Believe it or not, it discourages them."
While admission to a nude dancing establishment may be restricted to those aged 21 or over, Del Gallo cautioned town residents that the law permits the dancers to be 18 years old. Several residents questioned why seek nude dancing if the restaurant is filled to capacity when it operates as a clothing-required dance club.
Town Seeks More Information
Town attorney Jonathan M. Silverstein of the Boston-based Kopelman and Paige PC law firm, told the residents that the public hearing was a fact-finding session for Selectmen. He noted that Selectmen may only consider public health and safety issues when reviewing the Milazzo application.
He asked Milazzo and Kelly to provide interior and exterior site plans that indicate the specific locations of dancer parking, entrances, and dressing rooms as well as a layout of the security camera system. He said adult entertainment venues present "unique incidents" that do not occur in other entertainment or restaurant businesses, and asked for complete resumes of employees, including the "head bouncer."
Silverstein questioned whether any employee bar training included training dedicated to adult entertainment and also asked whether any new business principals were poised to join the venture. "A traffic study may not be a bad idea," he said.
Two comments appeared to delineate the proverbial "line in the sand" between residents at the hearing and the Milazzo proposal. At the hearing outset, Kelly told the crowd that Milazzo hoped "this isn't as contentious as it probably will be."
And minutes into the hearing, resident Shirley Therrien informed Milazzo and Kelly that she had been a restaurant patron.
"I, for one, will never eat there again," she said. "I will not eat off those tables."
Tags: adult entertainment,
