The Oct. 25 fire destroyed Paper Doll Vintage Boutique and other Sayville businesses. The owner alleges the landlord’s illegal renovations and lack of safety precautions caused it.
Paper Doll Vintage Boutique in Sayville was ravaged by a fire — and its owner is suing the people she says are responsible.
Paper Doll Boutique owner Dominique Maciejka, whose store suffered some of the worst damages from the Oct. 25 fire that swept through eight businesses on Main Street, has filed a $4.5 million lawsuit against the landlord and owner of Café Joelle, the vacant restaurant and Paper Doll’s next-door neighbor where the fire reportedly began. The suit alleges a lack of safety precautions while renovating Café Joelle’s storefront caused the fire that the plaintiff describes as completely avoidable.
“This disaster was entirely preventable were it not for the jaw-dropping, reckless hubris of defendants trying to remodel retail space without valid or proper permits, without any proper safety protocols and safeguards, and with zero regard for the safety of the public,” said Vess Mitev, Maciejka’s attorney. “The public should be outraged. This lawsuit will never turn back the clock on this shockingly avoidable tragedy, but it will send a clear message to those responsible who will have to pay.”
Café Joelle storefront — which was vacated in July when the owners relocated the eatery to Foster Avenue — was undergoing renovations that allegedly violated town codes and were done without proper permits or standard safety precautions, according to the suit. Basic safety features such as working fire extinguishers were allegedly absent, and the “grossly negligent” work was a foreseeable fire risk, the suit says.
Paper Doll lost nearly everything in the fire. The boutique specializes in vintage, designer and one-of-a-kind clothing, all of which were destroyed by the flames.
Maciejka was in Paper Doll when she, and two customers with their 6-week-old newborn, smelled a “chemical smell.” Soon after, the fire alarm went off — and then the smoke started.
“After I saw the white smoke coming from what looked like the ceiling, I started taking the cash out of the register because I realized, ‘Oh my god, something’s happening,’” Maciejka told the Press.
The “white smoke” quickly turned gray, then black. Maciejka and her customers ran out of Paper Doll and called 911.
Minutes later, Maciejka found herself on the other side of the street, loved ones offering her water and tissues, as she watched her store go up in flames.
“It felt like watching my life burn down,” Maciejka said. “Because I put so much into this, 15 years of everything I put into this. It was a lifestyle. It wasn’t just the store, it wasn’t just retail. I love vintage, and I love the way things are made, and these are historic pieces that also have a connection with the owners. Like I met the owners or got stories behind every little piece.”
“I made a lot of sacrifices in my own personal life to be able to run this business and run this store,” she added. “I can never have that time back.”
The defendants, including the landlord, the owners of Café Joelle and the companies performing work on the storefront, did not respond to the Press’ request for comment. The Suffolk County Fire Marshal’s office is still investigating what caused the fire.
