Flower Hill trustees set June hearing after residents and businesses complain about Best Western operations

The Village of Flower Hill will hold a public hearing on June 1 to consider whether to revoke the operating license for the Best Western at 1035 Northern Boulevard, the board of trustees decided Monday after an extended public meeting on community complaints about the hotel.

Mayor (speaker 2) opened the May 4 meeting by describing a months-long series of complaints from nearby businesses and residents: calls to Nassau County police, reports of loitering, trespassing, litter, and at least one disturbance between a guest and a business employee. The mayor said village staff had asked the Nassau County Fire Marshal and the Department of Health to inspect the property, and that the Nassau County Department of Social Services (DSS) had told the village it would stop placing new clients at the hotel and begin moving current placements elsewhere, a claim the mayor said he had not yet independently verified.

Residents and business owners described recurring problems. "We've had a lot of hotel guests arguing with my workers about cigarettes," Charles Schmidt, general manager of a nearby gas station, said, adding that guests have searched employees' cars, begged for money and created a repeated safety nuisance near the business. Several residents said children waiting for school buses next to the hotel had been put at risk by loitering guests. "I do not want to see that again," one resident said, describing parents who send children alone to the bus stop.

Shashin Gandhi, who identified himself as the property's owner and representative for the Best Western, acknowledged service problems over the past winter after a management change and said the hotel had taken steps to address them: hiring a security company, adding cameras and increasing supervisory staff. Gandhi said his winter DSS occupancy peaked at roughly 28 rooms and that 19 rooms were currently filled by DSS clients. "We are not accepting any new DSS customers, period," he told the board, and he said transfers out of the property would accelerate after the school year ends. Gandhi estimated there were "7 to 10 families" in the hotel with school-age children and said the typical short-term placements often lasted days to a few weeks.

Trustees and residents pressed the owner for more verifiable detail: how DSS reservations are routed; whether the hotel has a written contract with DSS (Gandhi said no); how DSS payments are received (he said DSS pays by check, often on delayed billing cycles); and whether the hotel screens guests. Trustees asked for weekly updates on the number of DSS placements. The mayor told the owner the board would expect reports: "Can you give us a weekly report on Monday? Every Monday going forward," he asked.

Village counsel read municipal licensing code language noting the mayor and board have authority to grant, condition and revoke licenses if the use is prejudicial to public safety, peace or health. After public comment and the boarddiscussion, the mayor moved that the board hold a formal public hearing on June 1 at 7 p.m. to consider options under Chapter 147 of the village code, including license revocation. Another trustee seconded the motion and the board voted to proceed; the mayor said the motion passed unanimously.

The board and the mayor said they could cancel the hearing if the situation improved, but they wanted to start the process now rather than risk further deterioration. The owner said he would call DSS and "wrap this up," and reiterated he planned to reduce DSS placements and ramp up summer bookings.

Next steps: the board will hold the public hearing at its June 1 meeting, at which time residents, the owner and any other parties may present evidence and testimony. The board indicated it expects weekly counts from the hotel before the hearing and said it could take code or licensing action depending on the facts presented at that hearing.