THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996 TAG: 9603210366
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
A condemnation fight between a Suffolk businessman - whose record store stands in the path of a planned courts complex - and the city of Suffolk just escalated a notch.
William E. Beamon, who owns Hot Spot Records and Tapes, filed a federal lawsuit naming Suffolk Mayor S. Chris Jones - as a private individual - and the city as defendants Wednesday alleging racial discrimination. In turn, Suffolk has appealed a civil courts decision to the Virginia Supreme Court. Beamon is asking for $3.1 million in damages.
Assistant City Attorney Kay Rudiger and Jones refused comment Wednesday.
During a news conference at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Beamon and his lawyer, Joseph T. Waldo, alleged that the city skipped over a number of white businesses that were near the complex to get to the black-owned ones.
A year ago, the city acquired about a dozen mostly black-owned downtown businesses along East Washington Street to make way for parking for the $14 million courts complex. Beamon is the lone holdout, and he has no plans to give up.
``Considering what I've been going through, I maintain to see this all the way through,'' said Beamon.
Waldo says the city violated a number of civil rights statutes.
``It was racial animosity and Mr. Beamon was targeted because of his race,'' Waldo said. ``It's not right to pick out certain businesses because they're minority and eliminate them from participation downtown.''
The suit highlights several issues:
City officials disregarded an Urban Design Study recommending that Beamon's property not be condemned for courthouse parking because there was ``plenty of parking'' downtown.
About 80 percent of the displaced tenants living near the complex were minority.
City officials' real intent to condemn the businesses was not for parking, but to clean the East Washington businesses out.
Beamon wasn't given fair compensation for his shop: the city first offered $20,400 and ended at $71,300.
Suffolk has a historical background of discriminatory practices including the lack of minority promotions within the police department.
The filings are the latest in a six-month legal fight over who has rights to the shop. ILLUSTRATION: VICKI CRONIS
The Virginian-Pilot
William Beamon listens as attorney Joseph T. Waldo says the city
skipped over white businesses to get to black-owned ones.
KEYWORDS: RACIAL DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT by CNB