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‘Blindsided’ restaurant owner sues North Jersey town for trying to condemn his businesses

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‘Blindsided’ restaurant owner sues North Jersey town for trying to condemn his businesses

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SOUTH HACKENSACK — The owner of a strip nightclub and restaurant on Route 46 is suing the township to stop it from condemning the land in the name of redevelopment.

Anthony Giaquinto, the owner of the restaurant Fat Bastard and Sons as well as Flamingos, a strip nightclub at the location since 1962, said the township is targeting his business and others.

Giaquinto filed the lawsuit in Bergen County Superior Court against the Township of South Hackensack, its mayor and the committee and planning board on Aug. 2.

The lawsuit seeks to invalidate the resolution passed in June that deemed his and others’ properties as “areas in need of redevelopment” with the power of condemnation and other properties as “areas in need of rehabilitation.”

“The businesses are thriving. People are working and paying their bills,” Giaquinto said of his and neighboring businesses. “I understand they want to make things nicer, but why not go to the owners and get them involved rather than blindside everyone and condemn the whole highway.”

Other businesses included in the “areas in need of redevelopment” are the Stagecoach Motel and Knights Inn, and the Stop and Shine Car Wash.

The area in need of redevelopment study was prepared by Neglia Group in 2023 and included 16 property parcels totaling more than 13 acres of land. The area includes portions of the Route 46 corridor beginning at Phillips Avenue, South Hackensack and west along Route 46. It also includes the intersection of Phillips Avenue and Route 46 and properties on Louis Street.

The mayor and planning board attorney did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on the lawsuit.

The resolution approving the area of redevelopment shows the properties experienced “property maintenance issues in the past and received prior building code violations.” The resolution also stated, “notice of unsafe structures, zoning violations and code violations were issued for several parcels within the area in need of redevelopment.”

Condemning the area and rehabilitating it would also “advance the goals of the township’s master plan” and promote development and redevelopment.

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“It seems it’s all about money and getting a big business in there to wipe out the small guys,” Giaquinto said. “These buildings aren’t empty and filled with homeless people or boarded up. There has to be something else behind it to include my family-style restaurant but skip over the Wendy’s.”

Giaquinto said the township is targeting Flamingos and the motels along the highway, but they are still operating businesses that pay their taxes. He said Flamingos has operated on the highway for decades, while the town allowed other nightclubs to open up in neighborhoods near homes.

The township, Giaquinto said, allowed him to open his Fat Bastard restaurant last year, allowed him to take out permits knowing this was going to happen.

“I spent a good part of my life savings for me and my son and they let me do it to turn around a year later and try to condemn the property,” he said. “Things are just getting good at the restaurant with tough times and now I’m spending money on lawyers and have to be afraid of retaliation.”

He said he hopes the lawsuit stops politicians’ efforts to take away “mom and pop” places and sell the land to big corporations.

“You can try to fight city hall, but it’s scary,” Giaquinto said. “I grew up here and the town is great, but it just seems all about money.”

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