Joey Vento wants change and an apology

Flush from his victory over the city in a case involving a sign outside his steak shop urging customers to speak English, Geno's owner Joey Vento yesterday demanded a revision of the Commission on Human Relations' practices. If nothing is done, he said, he will sue. Also, he wants an apology from Mayor Nutter.

Vento said yesterday he was insulted by Nutter's returning a $1,000 donation he had made to his election campaign, and by the mayor's statement that the commission's pursuit of the case "was good for the city."

"At this point, I can't have respect for the mayor," Vento told reporters gathered at his shop at Ninth Street and Passyunk Avenue.

Mayoral spokesman Doug Oliver said Nutter had no comment on Vento's case.

"We recognize that the Human Relations Commission plays an important role in investigating complaints of discrimination and bias-related issues," Oliver said.

The dispute - over a sign at the South Philly steak shop that reads: "This is America. When ordering, please speak English" - began after the Rev. James S. Allen Sr. filed a complaint with the commission in June 2006. Allen alleged the sign was discriminatory.

The case - and Vento - soon attracted national attention and got buzz on the Internet. It consumed hundreds of hours of legal work and was the subject of a seven-hour hearing in December.

On March 19, the commission dismissed the discrimination complaint, ruling that the sign did not convey a message that service would be refused to non-English speakers. Had the commission ruled against Vento, it could have imposed fines and moved to revoke his business license.

Albert Weiss, Vento's lawyer, said the case took too long.

"We were not happy with the way this case proceeded," Weiss said. "The city took two years and denied Joe his basic rights in this case in the way they pursued it."

Shannon Goessling, executive director of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a public-interest law firm in Atlanta that championed the case as a "First Amendment question," said Vento wanted a change in the way the city handles such cases.

"What the commission did to Mr. Vento in dragging his name through the mud for 21 months was unconscionable and unconstitutional," she said.

"A decision could have been made two days after the complaint was filed," Goessling said. "That's not what happened. But for the resources of Joey Vento and his attitude about standing up for the small-business owner, he might not have been in the position you see now. He is a victor because he had resources."

Goessling said she and Weiss would ask City Council to appoint a panel to evaluate the legal and constitutional issues raised during the hearing so that the commission's "fair practices ordinance can be rewritten so that it is constitutional."

Vento said it was not his aim to offend anyone by posting the sign.

"As far as this sign goes, everybody knows my intentions were not bad," Vento said, adding that the sign was posted nine months before a complaint was filed.

"Why did it take nine months?" he asked.

City Councilman James F. Kenney talked yesterday about his role in the controversy.

"I made a public request for him to remove a sign that I thought created problems for us attracting international tourists," he said. "It's his business. If the law protects him, that's fine."