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Caffé on the Green, Bayside’s renowned restaurant and catering venue, which was once the home of silent film actor Rudolph Valentino and former Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, is now the battleground for an all-out war of words among owner Joe Franco, members of Community Board 7 and local civic groups and The City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Parks Department announced last February that it was terminating Franco’s license to operate the establishment and, as of February 2009, Franco and his wife, Marie Franco, will cease to be the owners. The City is already shopping around for new vendors. A Request for Proposal for a new concessionaire was released in August and proposals are due at the end of October. According to a provision in the owners’ contract, the City does not have a responsibility to explain its motives, though this has not prevented Franco and residents from engaging in speculation.

Rumors began flying two years ago when the New York Post published an article about Franco, alluding to the possibility that he had connections with organized crime.

The article cited that Franco’s uncle had once served as a leader for the Gambino crime family and that Franco gave former Mafia boss John Gotti’s son, John “Junior” Gotti, a monetary wedding gift, an allegation that Franco does not deny.

In a recent statement, the Parks Department said because Franco had been the subject of an investigation by the Department of Investigation, the City chose to terminate his license.

“I think there is more to this than that,” Franco said. “The Department has been investigating me for five years, and I’ve never been charged with anything. I’ve never even had a parking ticket. Since when is it a crime to give someone a wedding gift?”

Some residents and local civic groups are rallying behind Franco. The business community was furious over the City’s decision, according to Albert F. Pennisi, president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

After running the restaurant for 18 years, he said, Franco was a well-regarded member of the community. He and his colleagues are petitioning the mayor to reconsider the decision to end his contract.

“This was an extremely foresighted move on the part of the administration,” said Howard Weiss, Franco’s attorney at Davidoff Malito and Hutcher. “The Franco family built up this concession. They built up what was a death wish to something that became a centerpiece of Queens.”

CB 7 members are taking their complaints one step further. They are demanding the Parks Department include them in future plans for the site, including honoring their wishes to serve the same continental cuisine that gave the restaurant a favorable reputation.

In the August RFP, the City stated its intention to find a new operator who would be open to working in partnership with the Clearview Golf Course, which is situated alongside Caffé on the Green. Though it stresses its commitment to environmentally-friendly building practices, it also alludes to the possibility of expanding the space, possibly to accommodate upscale golf-related events, which worries CB 7 members.

“We don’t want to be Long Island and we don’t want to see an expansion,” said Eugene T. Kelty, Jr., chairperson of CB 7. “If they decide to build something bigger, they should give us a traffic plan first. You’re going to put more cars there for a function that holds more people. Where are you going to put the cars?”