ACLU investigates complaint of discrimination by Neonopolis

Sito Negron

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004 | 10:48 a.m.

The American Civil Liberties Union is investigating a complaint against Neonopolis by a man who claims his plans to open a cabaret-style gay nightclub were scrubbed after he had spent months and more than $200,000 developing the project.

"We pledged our support in trying to get to the bottom of what is going on and to help him combat any discrimination that has occurred," Gary Peck, executive director of the Nevada ACLU, said.

Las Vegas pumped public money into Neonopolis, which Peck said places it under a higher level of scrutiny.

"The taxpayers who have been asked to help foot the bill for that venue have a right to expect it will be run responsibly and not run into the ground," Peck said. "The public has been asked to foot the bill for that place, and I think we have the right to an explanation as to why a legitimate businessperson is being denied the right to rent space."

The city invested $32.5 million in the $99 million project. That includes $15 million for an underground parking garage and millions for the land at Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Neonopolis officials did not return telephone calls seeking comment on the issue Monday. Neither did officials from Las Vegas' Office of Business Development, which has made it a priority to place businesses downtown and was working with Ohio club owner Donald Troxel.

Mayor Oscar Goodman said he has had concerns about Neonopolis since spring, when the center leased office space, which he said was not a proper use of the entertainment and retail center.

The city attorney was asked to look into the matter, Goodman said. "I plan to ask him about what's happening there."

Troxel said that he went public with his complaint because "I was tired of having my head knocked against the wall and nobody would listen. Neonopolis had cut off all communications and I had already invested a couple hundred thousand and I thought, 'This can't happen.' "

Troxel said he still plans to open a nightclub, but isn't likely to lease space from Neonopolis or the Fremont Street Experience, which he also approached more than a month ago and which hasn't given him an answer.

"They're still not giving me an answer. I have no desire to even go there now," Troxel said. As for Neonopolis: "There's no way. I'll be in Las Vegas, but not Neonopolis, and not on the Fremont Street Experience."

Fremont Street Experience chairman Joe Schillaci, who took the position Dec. 1, said he was aware of the issue, which involves the former Race Rock Cafe.

"We have not made a determination what the best use of that space is going to be. We haven't made a decision on his proposal or any other," Schillaci said. When asked what other proposals the Fremont Street Experience was considering, he said, "we haven't had any firm proposals, we have a number of discussions ongoing with several other folks."

Troxel said he's certain that with both the Fremont Experience and Neonopolis, concern over the gay issue is keeping his business from finding a home.

He said he signed an 81-page lease, and was told by Neonopolis' representative, Chardell Steves, that it would be signed by the company.

"I signed contracts with everybody, because they wanted to get that open by March 1," Troxel said. "I said I'll set up everything, I had architect there, interior designers, sound and light, kitchen people, she was there. And to get everything started, she even signed with my Realtor his piece of paper to get his commission.

"I never thought about the lease, I thought it's tied up in New York, she'll get it to me. Shame on them the first time, shame on me the second time it happens to me."

He said the project stopped after Nov. 4, when his architect needed to get the city to sign off on permits to continue work.

"(The city) needed signatures from the owners of the property. (Steves) told (the architect) to come down and she would sign them," Troxel said. "He sat for over an hour and she would not come out and sign them.

"The next day is when Chardell called me and told me it wasn't going to happen, they were afraid of it because of the male escort service, and I said 'What are you talking about?' That's when she told me she went deep into our web links," Troxel said. "I got my webmaster ... we never could find what they were talking about. So I shut every link to my site down, right then."

But Troxel said that was not the real reason.

"I said 'Chardell, you know this is a gay issue.' She said, 'Partially,"'

Troxel said he's applying for a liquor license, at a cost of $42,000 and plans to meet with Metro Police investigators next week.

And he still plans to seek a site downtown.

"Everything is moving downtown. This is a perfect time to get on the bottom ground of it," Troxel said.

He said the city has been helpful.

"When we first started, all the city officials and everybody knew what I was doing, and they put me on fast track. That's why I felt no prejudice with the city and I've not had any problems with them," Troxel said.

Ed Uehling, who owns a property next door to Gypsies, a well-known gay club near the Hard Rock Cafe, said the situation illustrates a curious situation -- a portion of Las Vegas unwilling to accept what could be a large and affluent group of people ready to spend money.

"There's a huge market that Las Vegas is missing out on," Uehling said. "Gay tourists carry three times as much money as these families they used to be trying to attract."

Peck said the issue is less about gay or not gay than it is about a failing enterprise that exists partially through public funding turning down an opportunity to do what it claims it wants -- bring entertainment and paying customers downtown.

"I want to hear the other side of the story before I do anything. I am not prepared to conclude Mr. Troxel's story is accurate," Peck said. "Given the history of that venue and its current plight, I am hard pressed to come up with an explanation that is a credible alternative to what he's telling me."