Talk of the Sound has confirmed that the Greentree Country Club and its owner Michael Grannmas along with a senior executive of Steiner Sports Marketing are facing up to $5,000 in fines for holding an illegal for-profit at the beach club on November 14th. The event was organized by Steiner’s Last Licks Ice Cream company which sold tickets to autograph sessions with current Yankees Alex Rodriguez and Joba Chamberlain along with Yankee manager Joe Girardi as well as former greats David Wells, David Cone and Don Larsen.
Greentree and Steiner were cited for violating City Code Section 331-45 D which applies to membership clubs in the R1-WF-10 Waterfront Residence District and ordered to appear in New Rochelle City Court on November 24th. The code prohibits the use of the beach clubs including Greentree Country Club for “an activity commonly conducted as a business”.
Steiner sold tickets for prices ranging from $60 to $475. With crowds estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 people, Steiner took in several hundred thousand dollars at the gate plus Steiner also sold sports memorabilia and signature authentication certificates. Estimates of total revenue from the six-hour event range from $500,000 to $1,000,000.
Section 5 further limits who may use the club:
No person other than a member or a guest shall be permitted to use any facility of any club, except that during the period between September 15 and June 15 only of each year, a religious, charitable or fraternal organization organized or duly recognized and qualified to operate under the laws of the State of New York, or a local civic, professional, educational or political organization may be permitted to use a club’s facilities. Such use shall be permitted only by clubs holding and maintaining in effect a valid license issued under the provisions of Chapter 93, Article I, of the Code of the City of New Rochelle. Each membership club shall file a report with the Building Official, on or before the date of each such use, stating the name and character of the organization permitted to use the club premises in a form authorized by the Building Official.
The event also appears to have violated city ordinances regarding off-street parking for beach club events and requirements that parked cars be screened from view.
Steiner Vice President Stephen Costello told Talk of the Sound on November 25th that he had no knowledge of any city ordinance that prohibited holding a for-profit event at the beach club. Records obtained by Talk of the Sound show that Costello was issued a ticket for violating City Code 331-45-D on November 14th, the day of the event and ordered to appear in New Rochelle City Court on November 24th, the day before Costello told Talk of the Sound that he unaware that his event violated any City ordinance. It would appear that by November 25th, the day he was interviewed by Talk of the Sound, Costello not only knew the had violated a city ordinance but had been ticketed, appeared in court and been fined thousands of dollars.
The Greentree Country Club was well aware that selling tickets for an event at their club was a violation of the City Code because the club was cited for the same violation on February 6, 2009 when it ran event bills as “Oldies at Greentree II”. The promotional flyer for the event indicates that there a previous event (the flyer states the event was “back by popular demand” and the event was designated with the roman numeral “II”). No appearance ticket was issued for the first event, according to a search of City records.
Sources tell Talk of the Sound that the “Oldies at Greentree II” was widely promoted in New Rochelle with flyers papering the city prior to the event. Event organizers were contacted prior to the event and notified that the event violated city ordinances but the organizers refused to cancel the event and elected to accept a fine of $250.
Unlike the Steiner-Yankee event, the “Oldies at Greentree II” event appears to have included a cut from the event proceeds for the Greentree club and its members. The flyer says the event was “sponsored by the members of the Greentree Country Club”.
One of the Greentree’s most prominent members is Charles Strome, the City Manager of New Rochelle. Questions have been raised on this site and elsewhere as whether the Greentree is being given special treatment because the City’s chief executive is a member. Such events generate revenue which helps defray the costs of dues and assessments for club members meaning that Strome directly benefits when the club holds illegal, for-profit events.
Sarachelli has been a licensed wresting promoter in New York State for many years, organizing local wrestling events at venues such as the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle. His license expired September 30, 2009 but he can re-apply for a new license at any time and is still considered an active wrestling promotor by state officials.
The Steiner-Yankee event in November was not widely advertised in New Rochelle (if at all) suggesting that Greentree officials sought to keep a low-profile. Promotion appears to have been limited to Last Licks Ice Cream stores in Armonk, Scarsdale, Rye Brook and Manhattan and the Last Licks/Steiner web site. The Yankee event only came to the attention of City officials after a story about the event appeared in the Journal News.