The
husband
and
wife
team
that
videotaped
and
photographed
customers
entering
and
leaving
the
gay
Latino
party
Fuego
earlier
this
year
filed
a
protest
against
the
liquor
license
of
the
Capitol
Hill
gay
bar
Remington’s
last
November.
The
city’s
Alcoholic
Beverage
Regulation
Administration
dismissed
the
protest
in
May
after
it
discovered
that
Mark
and
Christina
Parascandola
moved
out
of
their
Capitol
Hill
townhouse
on
the
600
block
of
D
Street,
SE,
ending
their
legal
standing
to
file
a
protest
against
Remington’s.
Remington’s
is
located
at
639
Pennsylvania
Ave.,
SE.
The
back
of
the
Remington’s
building
abuts
an
alley
and
faces
the
rear
of
the
Parascandola’s
townhouse
on
D
Street,
which
the
couple
now
rents
to
tenants
in
two
apartments.
Shortly
after
filing
their
protest
against
Remington’s,
the
Parascandolas
moved
to
another
townhouse
on
the
2000
block
of
15th
Street,
NW,
which
is
located
less
than
a
block
from
Cada
Vez,
the
restaurant
and
lounge
that
plays
host
to
the
Saturday
night
Fuego
party.
Jeff
Coudriet,
director
of
operations
for
ABRA,
said
the
Parascandolas
did
not
notify
ABRA
of
their
change
of
address.
He
said
city
law
requires
citizens
protesting
liquor
licenses
to
be
legal
residents
of
the
area
in
which
an
establishment
applying
for
a
liquor
license
is
located.
Supporters
of
the
Fuego
event
said
their
discovery
that
Mark
and
Christina
Parascandola
initiated
a
license
protest
against
Remington’s
less
than
a
year
before
the
couple
joined
a
group
that
is
now
protesting
the
Cada
Vez
license,
on
grounds
of
noise
and
neighborhood
disturbances,
suggests
that
the
Parascandolas
may
be
targeting
gay
oriented-businesses.
“I
think
it’s
kind
of
interesting
that
the
two
places
they
are
going
after
have
a
gay
clientele,”
said
Charles
Zhou,
manager
of
Cada
Vez.
The
Parascandolas
did
not
return
phone
calls
seeking
comment
on
their
Remington’s
protest.
Last
month,
Mark
Parascandola
said
he
and
his
wife
conducted
the
videotaping
and
photographing
of
customers
entering
and
leaving
the
Fuego
party
in
June
and
July
in
an
effort
to
document
possible
liquor
law
violations.
He
said
he
and
his
wife
did
not
intend
to
offend
the
mostly
gay
Latino
patrons
of
the
event.
However,
Zhou
said
many
of
the
patrons
viewed
the
videotaping
and
photographing
as
a
form
of
intimidation.
The
Parascandolas
discontinued
their
videotaping
and
photographing
in
recent
weeks.
But
two
weeks
ago,
gay
neighborhood
activist
Elwyn
Ferris,
the
domestic
partner
of
Dupont
Circle
ANC
Commissioner
Ramon
Estrada,
resumed
the
photographing
of
Fuego
customers.
Estrada
is
one
of
the
lead
opponents
of
the
Cada
Vez
license
renewal
on
the
ANC
and
helped
push
through
an
ANC
resolution
opposing
the
license.
Ferris
and
Estrada
did
not
return
calls
by
press
time
this
week.
Last
month,
Estrada
said
the
videotaping
and
photographing
was
aimed
at
documenting
the
size
of
the
crowds
entering
and
leaving
Cada
Vez
to
determine
the
establishment’s
capability
of
“crowd
management.”
He
said
the
intent
was
not
to
identify
individual
patrons
of
the
clubs.
Zhou
and
gay
nightlife
advocate
Mark
Lee
dispute
this
explanation,
saying
they
witnessed
people
videotaping
and
photographing
patrons
from
distances
of
10
feet
or
less.
Zhou
and
Remington’s
owner
Steven
Smith
also
dispute
claims
by
the
Parascandolas
and
others
that
their
establishments
create
noise
that
disturbs
nearby
residents.
In
a
Nov.
23,
2004
letter
to
the
ABC
Board
declaring
their
protest
against
Remington’s,
the
Parascandolas
charge
that
Remington’s
“plays
loud
dance
music
late
at
night,
which
can
be
heard
in
nearby
residences.”
The
letter
states
that
the
Remington’s
owner
and
employees
“have
been
unresponsive
to
our
numerous
requests
to
address
the
noise
problem
and
our
attempts
to
work
with
them
to
achieve
a
resolution.”
Smith
said
he
responded
quickly
when
the
Parascandolas
first
complained
about
noise
from
Remington’s
in
2002
by
upgrading
the
soundproofing
materials
in
his
building
and
by
redirecting
the
position
of
his
speaker
system.
Although
he
believed
the
noise
at
that
time
was
within
the
decibel
limit
allowed
under
city
law,
Smith
said
he
was
happy
to
make
changes
in
the
spirit
of
neighborhood
cooperation
by
eliminating
the
noise
problem.
According
to
Smith,
the
Parascandolas
continued
to
complain
about
noise,
calling
police
repeatedly
and
calling
him
and
members
of
Advisory
Neighborhood
Commission
6B
late
into
the
night.
ANC
6B
has
jurisdiction
over
Remington’s.
On
one
occasion,
Smith
said,
Mrs.
Parascandola
showed
up
at
his
home
after
midnight
to
complain
about
noise
from
Remington’s.
He
said
police
found
no
evidence
of
any
noise
coming
from
Remington’s
during
each
of
their
visits
in
response
to
the
Parascandolas’
calls.
Sgt.
Brett
Parson,
commander
of
the
police
Gay
&
Lesbian
Liaison
Union,
said
members
of
the
GLLU
and
officers
from
the
First
Police
District,
which
serves
Capitol
Hill,
became
familiar
with
the
Parascandolas
due
to
their
frequent
calls
to
police
about
Remington’s.
“I’m
not
aware
of
any
time
when
we
found
any
violation
of
the
law,”
Parson
said.
The
Parascandolas’
house
is
one
of
four
attached
town
houses
located
in
the
“L”
shaped
alley
that
separates
the
houses
from
Remington’s
and
other
businesses
on
Pennsylvania
Ave,
SE.
The
alley
ends
at
the
wall
of
the
Remington’s
building,
...
