Restaurant owner began illegal construction on ‘paper street’ after village issued building permit in error

Nassau Restaurant owner began illegal construction on ‘paper street’ after village issued building permit in error By Vivian Rose … Comments Posted on November 10, 2026 Second Deputy Mayor Beaumont Jefferson, Mayor Peter Cavallaro and Steven L. Corte, First Deputy Mayor Steven Corte discuss Cena 081’s cabaret license. Vivian Rose The Village of Westbury renewed the cabaret license for Italian restaurant Cena 081 following some tense exchanges between the village board and the eatery’s owners over a request for a building permit. The back-and-froth came during the village’s Nov. 5 board meeting following a continuation of a public hearing that began on Oct. 1, when the restaurant owner, Christopher Stasi, and his son were not present for health reasons. The restaurant had been granted multiple probationary permits during past meetings due to noise complaints from the community, according to previous Press reporting. Mayor Peter Cavallaro said the village receives frequent complaints from community members and neighbors who say the restaurant plays loud music past the 10 p.m. legal time limit. “The board really wanted to have you address the fact that there are still noise complaints being generated by the property, despite the fact that we went through a lot last year to try and get those things mitigated, and apparently they haven’t been,” Cavallaro said. The mayor said Stasi’s application from last year stated the restaurant would not have music operated by third parties, though Stasi went on record to say that some people “bring outside entertainment” to events hosted at Cena 081. Cavallaro said the restaurant’s music must be played over fixed speakers and operated by Stasi’s personnel at a certain decibel. Stasi said he canceled his events leading up to the November meeting and said he bought the house behind the restaurant several months ago. “That problem was solved,” he said. “I guess there are other issues around. We’ll try to keep it to a minimum.” During a second public hearing, the board discussed selling a parcel of land to Stasi, located off of Lenox Avenue, known as a “paper street,” which relates to a street that only exists on paper but was never built. Cavallaro said Stasi is planning to build a house on the paper street and said that before construction continues, the paper street must be converted into a public street. He said Stasi cannot build a house at the location without it having access to a public street. Village attorney Anna Vikse said that Stasi has purchased the lot where he plans to build the house but said it cannot serve as a buildable lot until he acquires the proper frontage, or access to a public street. To begin construction, Stasi must improve the street to meet the standards of a village road, including adding proper drainage and lighting, Cavallaro said. The conditions were made explicit to Stasi in a zoning board variance that was “granted by the zoning board a few months ago,” according to Vikse. “The village plans to sell that small portion to Mr. Stasi at the northernmost portion of that road to facilitate this whole process,” Vikse said. “This is consistent with the village’s past practice of selling very small portions of land, including roads that benefit only one property owner and don’t benefit anyone else.” Cavallaro said the village technically owns the end of the paper street and said it will need to decommission the road to sell it to Stasi. According to First Deputy Mayor Steven Corte, the total value of the parcel is $5,250 with a 50% discount. During what became a heated meeting, Stasi said the village issued a building permit to him in error, which he said was later revoked. Cavallaro said Stasi had been issued multiple summonses for illegally starting construction on the parcel. “You know full well that there are multiple legal steps that you were aware of for over a year that you failed to satisfy, and that’s why we’re here tonight,” Cavallaro said. “You could have had that building constructed this summer had you followed the explicit instructions that were provided to you on numerous occasions, but you failed to do that.” Vikse said she and Stasi’s lawyer will arrange for the plans to be executed. At the meeting, Trustee Vincent Abbatiello also reported that two pedestrians were struck by cars within 30 minutes of each other on Monday, Nov. 2 in the Westbury Fire District and said that drivers should drive carefully as they adjust to daylight saving time. About the Author All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines . Schneps Media does not endorse the views shared by readers in our comment sections.