An
attorney
with
the
U.S.
Department
of
Justice
and
her
husband,
a
prominent
bio-ethicist
with
the
National
Institutes
of
Health,
startled
customers
and
employees
of
D.C.’s
gay
Latino
dance
party
Fuego
last
month
when
they
began
videotaping
and
photographing
customers
entering
and
leaving
the
event.
DOJ
lawyer
Christina
Parascandola
and
NIH
researcher
Mark
Parascandola
—
while
off
duty
and
acting
as
private
citizens
—
photographed
and
videotaped
people
arriving
and
leaving
the
U
Street,
N.W.,
restaurant
and
lounge
Cada
Vez,
which
hosts
the
Fuego
event,
to
document
possible
liquor
law
violations,
Mark
Parascandola
said.
Parascandola
said
he
and
his
wife
had
no
intention
of
offending
the
mostly
gay
Latino
customers
during
the
picture-taking
excursions
they
conducted
on
four
successive
Saturday
evenings
beginning
in
the
middle
of
June.
But
Cada
Vez
manager
Charles
Zhou
said
the
gay
people
who
patronize
the
Fuego
event
each
week
considered
the
photo
surveillance
“an
outrageous
form
of
intimidation.”
“The
customers
were
furious,
and
many
were
scared,”
Zhou
said.
He
said
some
of
the
Fuego
customers
are
citizens
of
Latin
American
countries
who
may
work
for
international
organizations
where
they
are
not
openly
gay.
Lisbeth
Meléndez
Rivera,
an
official
with
the
National
Latino
Coalition
for
Justice,
a
gay
group,
called
the
action
by
the
Parascandolas
a
form
of
intimidation
that
is
often
used
to
target
undocumented
immigrants.
“It
is
homophobic
and
xenophobic,”
she
said.
According
to
Zhou,
the
Parascandolas
were
accompanied
in
their
picture-taking
sessions
by
Ramon
Estrada,
a
gay
member
of
the
Dupont
Advisory
Neighborhood
Commission,
and
his
domestic
partner,
Elwyn
Ferris.
The
couple
has
filed
papers
opposing
the
Cada
Vez
license
renewal.
Estrada
has
charged
that
Cada
Vez
is
operating
as
a
nightclub
disguised
as
a
restaurant.
Zhou
has
said
the
establishment
is
in
full
compliance
with
the
law,
which
allows
it
to
provide
dancing
and
entertainment
as
long
as
at
least
45
percent
of
its
revenue
comes
from
the
sale
of
food.
In
a
comment
made
after
the
Blade
print
edition
went
to
press,
Estrada
said
the
videotaping
was
part
of
the
information-gathering
phase
of
the
protest
against
the
Cada
Vez
license.
Those
protesting
the
license
"have
the
right
to
collect
information
about
the
operation
of
the
business,
including
when
they
close
and
crowd
management,"
he
said.
"So
they
are
entitled
to
videotape.
In
fact,
under
advice
of
legal
counsel,
that's
what
they
are
doing."
Mark
Parascandola
said
most
of
the
photos
and
video
footage
he
and
his
wife
took
are
“crowd
shots”
that
did
not
zero
in
on
individual
people.
Among
other
things,
the
two
wanted
to
document
the
size
of
the
crowd
leaving
Cada
Vez
at
closing
time
and
the
time
it
took
for
the
crowd
to
disperse,
Parascandola
said.
Zhou
said
Parascandola
often
stood
on
the
sidewalk
in
front
of
Cada
Vez,
where
he
photographed
and
videotaped
customers
at
a
distance
of
10
feet
or
less
while
using
an
illuminating
device
similar
to
a
floodlight.
“They
certainly
were
not
trying
to
be
inconspicuous,”
Zhou
said.
“It
was
an
in-your-face
type
of
thing.”
The
Parascandolas
are
part
of
at
least
three
“groups
of
five”
that
have
filed
protests
with
the
city’s
Alcoholic
Beverage
Control
Board
opposing
the
renewal
of
Cada
Vez’s
liquor
license
on
grounds
that
the
establishment
draws
large
nighttime
crowds
that
disturb
the
neighborhood.
Zhou
disputes
these
claims,
saying
his
customers,
especially
the
gay
Latino
customers,
are
respectful
of
nearby
residents
and
have
not
caused
neighborhood
problems.
Among
the
groups
challenging
the
Cada
Vez
license
are
the
Dupont
Circle
Advisory
Neighborhood
Commission,
the
Dupont
Circle
Citizens
Association,
and
at
least
three
“groups
of
five,”
including
the
Parascandolas’
group.
Zhou
said
Christina
Parascandola
entered
Cada
Vez
on
at
least
one
occasion
with
a
small
still
camera
and
began
taking
photos
of
the
gay
Latino
customers
on
or
near
the
dance
floor.
According
to
a
Justice
Department
directory,
Christina
Parascandola
works
as
an
attorney
for
the
DOJ’s
Environment
&
Natural
Resources
Division.
The
NIH
Web
site
includes
extensive
information
about
Mark
Parascandola’s
work
as
a
bio-ethicist,
science
historian,
and
author
of
a
wide
range
of
scientific
papers
and
articles.
He
currently
works
on
the
staff
of
the
National
Cancer
Institute’s
Tobacco
Control
Research
Branch.
“I’m
just
amazed
that
two
people
with
such
a
prominent
background
would
spend
so
much
of
their
time
hanging
out
on
the
street
at
night
bothering
our
customers,”
said
Zhou.
Mark
Parascandola
declined
to
comment
on
his
job
other
than
to
say
he
“works
for
the
government.”
Christina
Parascandola
could
not
be
reached
for
comment
by
press
time.
Zhou
said
the
Parascandolas
were
accompanied
in
their
picture-taking
sessions
by
gay
ANC
Commissioner
Ramon
Estrada
and
Estrada’s
domestic
partner,
Elwyn
Ferris,
In
past
ANC
meetings,
Estrada
has
argued
that
Cada
Vez
was
in
violation
of
a
section
of
the
liquor
law
that
requires
restaurants
to
promote
themselves
primarily
as
a
place
for
dining,
and
has
charged
that
Cada
Vez
promotes
its
events
through
advertising
—
including
the
Fuego
event
—
as
primarily
non-dining
establishment
that
crosses
the
line
as
a
nightclub.
Cada
Vez
supporters
say
they
believe
the
establishment
meets
the
criteria
as
a
restaurant,
but
argue
that
opponents
have
vowed
...
