Martell's Not Budging

Martell's is continuing to litigate against Point Beach's overnight parking plan, says the oceanfront bar's attorney.

Martell's Seabreeze and Tiki Bar is not dropping its lawsuit against the parking plan the town had in place this past summer and plans to establish again this summer, says Ronald Gasiorowski, Martell's attorney.

"Martell's isn't dropping anything," Gasiorowski said Thursday.

Patch asked Gasiorowski if there is any change in plans because Jenkinson's Boardwalk has made a deal with the town to drop all pending litigation against the proposal for earlier bar closings and the overnight parking plan in exchange for the town dropping the earlier bar closing proposal.

The Point Beach Council, except for Michael Corbally, who was absent, voted unanimously Tuesday night to accept the terms of the agreement and plans to vote in early January for an ordinance to rescind the early bar closing ordinance.

Jenkinson's also pledged to pay up to $1 million during the next 20 years towards Sandy-necessitated boardwalk repairs not reimbursed by state aid or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Gasiorowski confirmed last week that he also still represents Jenkinson's. Attorney Ed McGlynn, who has represented Jenkinson's for years, was at the Tuesday night council meeting with Jenkinson's President Anthony Storino confirming that Jenkinson's has agreed to the terms of the agreement.

Mayor Vincent Barrella said he had met separately with owners of Jenkinson's and Martell's, but acknowledged "Martell's is not on board with this."

Barrella and Councilmember Kristine Tooker said they hope Martell's will ultimately agree to enter into the same kind of agreement the town now has with Jenkinson's.

Martell's will no longer need to litigate against the earlier bar closing proposal since the town has pledged to drop that.

However, since Martell's still plans to pursue its lawsuit against the parking plan, that will continue to cost the town.

Tooker had said at a council meeting a few weeks ago, "....those lawsuits are costing us money every day."

It remains to be seen if that lawsuit will remain viable since Barrella has said that he expects he and the council members to possibly revise the parking plan. This past summer the plan prohibited overnight parking to non-residents in District 4. Residents and employees who needed overnight parking were given passes.

Barrella has said that maybe certain sections of District 4 can be removed from the plan while maybe sections of District 3 should be added. However, he said those specifics will be up to the council members.

Barrella has also said he favors revising the parking plan so that it begins at 12:30 a.m. instead of midnight.

Residents and business people who have questions or concerns about the parking plan will have an opportunity to listen to council discussions and to voice their concerns at upcoming meetings.

Some residents have said the parking plan helped keep residential streets quiet during the summer. Others attributed the improvement to the increased police presence, while still others credited the combination of the two.

Bars have remained open until 2 a.m. since

Martell's front bar and grill areas are open with plans to open fully by Easter, which is March 31. Jenkinson's is closed during renovations brought on by Sandy, but is promising a full opening by Easter weekend.