A Suffolk legislator’s complaint has led LIPA to pull the plug on lighted parking lot signs for the pricey eatery Tellers, next door to Islip Town Hall.
A LIPA investigation showed the Teller signs at both ends of the town parking lot behind the chophouse were unmetered, shortchanging the public power agency as much as $2,000 over the past six years, with another $2,000 to pay for the cost of the field investigation.
Legis. Cameron Alden (R-Islip), pictured here at left, claimed to town officials that the restaurant was involved in a “theft of services” and should be sued. “Tellers has to do the right thing,” said Town Supervisor Philip Nolan, but indicated he does not expect the town to go to court. He said the town attorney met with owners Friday to discuss the problem.
The historic former bank building, an abandoned eyesore when Tellers moved in, has become an anchor of the downtown area. The restaurant, once a favorite haunt of convicted former GOP Supervisor Peter McGowan, got permission to use the town parking lot in return for paving and keeping it clean. The town required electric signs, to respond to neighborhood residents who feared customers would park on their streets. But cleanup crews have angered Alden by blowing dirt and debris into his house behind the lot.
“No one should be subsidizing them,” said Alden, “Not with the prices they charge.”
Rick Brand