Paris Inn Application Denied

The Board of Adjustment voted down an application by the Monday night to increase its seating capacity and install more parking spaces.

The application was denied because the restaurant failed to convince the board that the requested changes are appropriate for its location. The restaurant was applying for a use variance. The commercial property is located in a residential zone.

The restaurant's owners wanted to increase the number of seats from 231 to 298, install an elevator, hold more banquets and parties on the facility’s second floor, install a garden area and outdoor patio, and install 36 parking spaces in an “overflow” area, which, according to the application, would be utilized “only when needed.”

Board chairman William Van Gleason said that the proposed expansion would “create more problems” for area residents rather than solve them.

“The board has to balance things,” Van Gleson said. “I understand the need to stay viable in the community [but] this board has to balance things: the proper use of one’s property versus the needs of the community.”

The vote was 4-3 in favor of denying the application.

Several residents addressed the board. They said that the proposed improvements would destroy the enjoyment of their homes.

“We have an expectation that our home will be peaceful and quiet,” said Theresa Wu, a Tall Grass Drive resident. “The expansion would be destructive to the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.”

Attorney Gary Cohen, who represented a family who lives next to the restaurant, said that because of the noise coming from the property from parties and events, “the commercial use of the property already is expanding into the nearby residential zone.”

Keith O’Loughlin, a Baldwin Terrace resident, testified that he heard loud music and noise coming from the restaurant after 11 p.m. recently. He said the noise was coming from an area of the building where music is not permitted to be played.

The attorney representing the restaurant, A. Micahel Rubin, could not be reached for comment after the meeting.

Paris and Sophia Petritsis have owned the property for more than 30 years. The 14,000-square-foot restaurant could seat approximately 125 people when they purchased it. They obtained a use variance in 1984 permitting them to enlarge the restaurant and increase the number of guests to 231.

According to the Petritsis’ application, the only way for a restaurant such as The Paris Inn to survive in today’s economy is to cater to “parties, celebrations, funeral repasts and events of all types.”

The restaurant's website states that it will "gladly accommodate luncheons, dinners, weddings, corporate functions, birthdays, anniversaries, showers, bar [and] bat mitzvahs and rehearsal dinners."