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Barbara Niggel

    BUSINESS

    High-Interest Loan Pushes Willy’s Into Bankruptcy

    Owner of popular Eastham gym files for Chapter 11

    By

    EASTHAM — Barbara Niggel, the owner of Willy’s World Wellness and Conference Center, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, unable to pay off a $6.87-million short-term commercial loan on her property that came due in a balloon payment last September.

    Willy’s Gym is strategically located in the planned North Eastham village center. (Photo by Emma Doyle)

    The bankruptcy filing, initially made in mid-February by Niggel, put a hold on the fast-mounting interest and default payments due on the loan. The action also put a hold on the lender’s right to foreclose and sell Niggel’s property, something the lender has asked the bankruptcy court to overturn.

    The 9.4-acre property at 4730 Route 6 in Eastham, which was used to secure the one-year loan, is owned by Niggel’s limited liability company called Goeroe’s Goldens. Three businesses operate there: Willy’s Gym, in which Niggel is the majority shareholder at 91 percent; Stow Away Storage, which is solely owned by Niggel; and a seasonal business called Paddle Cape Cod, which is owned by Niggel’s son, Benten.

    The property is strategically located in the heart of the planned North Eastham village center between the 10.9-acre former T-Time driving range to the north and the 3.5-acre Town Center Plaza to the south. Both of those parcels have been purchased by the town.

    A 10.99% Interest Rate

    Niggel borrowed $6.87 million from Capital Funding Financial in August 2022. The Florida-based company immediately assigned the loan to NuBridge Commercial Lending of California, which continues to hold the promissory note.

    The interest rate during the loan’s one-year term was 10.99 percent, with the borrower required to make monthly interest-only payments of $62,917. The entire debt was due to be paid off in a balloon payment at the end of the loan’s one-year term, in September 2023.

    Niggel stopped making payments on the loan in May 2023, putting the mortgage in default as of June 1, 2023. At the time of the bankruptcy filing in mid-February, NuBridge calculated the total principal and interest at more than $7,750,928.

    Under the terms of the loan, the lender has no obligation to offer refinancing, leaving Niggel with the options of trying to quickly refinance the property with another lender to pay off NuBridge, selling the property, or declaring bankruptcy.

    A recent appraisal put the value of the Willy’s property at $12.1 million. The town has assessed the land and buildings at $4.26 million.

    A Proposed Reorganization

    Niggel’s proposed plan for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, based on the latest amended version filed in mid-June, lays out how she will pay back NuBridge and her other creditors during the two years following the date the plan goes into effect.

    According to the court documents, the payment plan would be funded primarily from either a refinancing or the sale of the property, with interim payments made with revenue from Niggel’s commercial operations. According to the court filing, Willy’s and the debtor (which are Niggel in both cases, as she is both the major shareholder in Willy’s and the sole principal of Goeroe’s Goldens) have renegotiated the monthly rent, lowering it to $47,500 for the rest of the current year. The rent would then increase to $50,000 per month.

    Stow Away, again with Niggel as both landlord and tenant, pays rent of $5,000 per month. Paddle Cape Cod, owned by Niggel’s son, pays $20,000 per season.

    Under the reorganization plan, Niggel would pay NuBridge only the monthly interest on the original amount of the loan, $6.87 million. The interest rate would be 7.5 percent rather than the original rate of 10.99 percent. The plan needs the court’s approval.

    NuBridge filed a motion in June opposing Niggel’s plan. On Aug. 7, NuBridge’s attorney filed a second motion asking the court to remove the hold on the loan repayment that has been in effect since February. At the loan’s agreed-upon interest rate of 10.99 percent, the interest owed for the six months since the bankruptcy filing totals $377,506. NuBridge has also asked the court for authorization to foreclose on the mortgage. A hearing on that request is set for Sept. 10 in the federal bankruptcy court in Boston.

    Niggel did not respond to a request for comment before this week’s deadline.

    The short-term loan is not the only outstanding debt on the Willy’s property, according to the bankruptcy filing. Niggel owes Eastham about $24,000 for past due water and sewer charges. She also has $275,000 in unsecured claims, comprising $180,000 in private loans obtained from people Niggel has a relationship with, about $28,000 in utility charges, $65,000 in legal fees to the Ascendant Law Group of Andover, and a $1,700 debt to a supplier. The list of people who gave Niggel private loans includes Jennifer Jordan, a Charlestown resident who loaned Niggel $120,000. Niggel owes $35,000 to Deborah Mangelus, an Eastham psychic and spiritual consultant, and $25,000 to Paige Coker Heiman. Mangelus lives in a house in Eastham owned by Niggel, according to the town assessor’s records.

    The proposed reorganization calls for paying those unsecured claims from the proceeds of a refinance or sale of the property no later than two years from the plan’s effective date.

    The Road to Bankruptcy

    In her filing, Niggel cast blame on the town for delaying an expansion of storage units on the Stow Away site in 2018. After obtaining a $4.6-million refinancing to fund the expansion, she said, the town changed zoning restrictions and put a moratorium on new construction while she was in the middle of permitting. She was required to apply for a special permit, she argued.

    “After countless hearings, excessive cost, and two and a half years, the special permit to complete the storage build out was granted,” said Niggel in her court filing.

    During the delay in permitting the new storage units, a November 2019 fire severely damaged the property, said Niggel, and Willy’s had to cease operations. The repairs took several months, she said, and she was required to install a new sprinkler system “and generally bring the facility to 2020 standards.” The cost of the repairs and upgrades topped $1.2 million, she said.

    With the agreement of the lender, Niggel used a portion of the funds she had borrowed to expand the storage units.

    The property was ready to open in March 2020, but the pandemic kept Willy’s closed for the next several months. In July 2020, she was allowed to open at 25-percent capacity, following Covid restrictions. Willy’s was not able to fully reopen until 2022.

    Niggel took out the one-year commercial loan in August 2022 to stabilize her business, she said. An ice storm on Christmas Day 2022 caused massive damage resulting from frozen and burst pipes at Willy’s. The gym’s cardio, strength, and fitness facilities were closed until the end of April 2023.

    But reports in the Independent have told a different story from the one Niggel gave in her court filings.

    In November 2019, the Eastham Fire Dept., responding to a report of smoke in the locker room, checked the whole building and found an improperly vented gas heater in the sauna area and several electric space heaters throughout the facility, which fire officials ordered removed. The fire alarm and sprinkler systems had also stopped working, according to the Independent’s account. The fire chief allowed Willy’s to stay open under a fire watch that required staff members to check the entire building daily for any signs of danger.

    On Dec. 7, 2019, Niggel held an after-hours party at the gym despite the lack of a fire suppression system. Videos of the party, which came to the attention of town officials, showed the exit door was blocked by equipment that had been pushed against the walls. That gathering also violated Niggel’s liquor license.

    On Dec. 12, the building commissioner found several shortcomings and infractions at the gym during an inspection and closed the gym for violations of fire codes, building codes, and electrical codes.

    A review of town records by the Independent in 2020 found health violations and ongoing complaints related to visible mold on the pool room’s walls and ceilings dating back several years. When the ceiling partially collapsed into the pool in 2018, the building commissioner wrote that the cause was extremely high humidity due to lack of proper ventilation.

    Niggel has also had a few scrapes with the law. She was indicted by a Boston grand jury in 2014 for failure to make unemployment tax payments and ordered by the attorney general’s office to pay $177,000 in restitution.

    In August 2020, Niggel was fined $101,466 by the attorney general’s office for labor law violations. About $20,000 of that amount went to the widow of Joe Abbott, a tennis pro at Willy’s who died in August 2019. Abbott’s wife, Francine, told the Independent at the time that Niggel owed her husband $20,000 for work he had done but was not paid for.

    PERMITTING

    Niggel’s Storage Expansion Gets Planners’ OK

    With conditions, two new buildings can go up behind Willy’s Gym

    By

    EASTHAM — After two years of applications and revisions of plans, Willy’s Gym owner Barbara Niggel can expand her self-storage business. The planning board granted her a special permit during a remand hearing on Jan. 19.

    Last August, board bember Joe Manas denied Niggel a permit by casting the only vote against her plan to add two storage buildings to the existing four at 4730 State Highway. The four buildings occupy 11,000 square feet. Two new buildings will add 9,600 square feet.

    The permit required unanimous approval. Manas said he was opposed because of concern that potential spills of hazardous chemicals could contaminate the town’s water supply. The property is within the Eastham Corridor Special District and groundwater protection overlay district.

    The Eastham Planning Board is asking owner Barbara Niggel to repair and paint her existing storage units as a condition of her new permit. (Photo by Ryan Fitzgerald)

    A month after that denial, attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel and her companies Goeroe’s Goldens LLC, which owns the land, and Stow Away LLC, the storage business, filed a complaint in Land Court against the planning board, alleging that Manas’s vote was not supported by facts.

    In the complaint, Zehnder argued that Niggel’s application had included “a comprehensively engineered system and protocols for addressing potential hazardous material spills.” He also argued that groundwater protection is not a criterion for special permit review in the Eastham Corridor Special District. That, he argued, was a matter for zoning, not planning. Finally, he argued, the possible release of hazardous materials could apply to any type of construction, and so could not be a reason to single out storage units.

    The planning board met in executive session on Oct. 20 to negotiate with Zehnder and, according to court documents, agreed to reconsider the case.

    “The advantage of the remand is that the case remains under local control, as opposed to the court making decisions without the town being privy to them,” Town Planner Paul Lagg said. “It’s pretty common that the court will refer it back, basically to give both parties another chance to work it out amicably.”

    During the remand hearing, Zehnder presented the same proposal that the board rejected last summer. But this time Niggel agreed to 12 conditions stipulated by the planning board.

    These include posting a $5,000 bond to ensure compliance with the monitoring and reporting requirements of the special permit. Niggel also agreed to contract for $15,000 worth of landscaping over three years to ensure that plantings around the storage facility take hold. She also agreed to repair and paint the existing storage units.

    The two sides also agreed that, should Niggel skip one of several procedures in the building process, the special permit will be revoked. The planning board also reserved the right to “monitor the ongoing construction for compliance with the approved plan.”

    Planning board members Craig Nightingale, Peter Weston, William Craig, Brian Early, and Dan Coppelman voted to grant the permit. Dave Hobbs recused himself. He had also recused himself during a May 2021 planning board meeting, attending as an abutter to express concern about water contamination. At a February 2020 ZBA meeting, Hobbs questioned Niggel’s application on the basis of her reputation as the owner of Willy’s World Wellness and Conference Center.

    Manas was not present for the Jan. 19 hearing. Asked why he did not participate, he would say only that he could not make the meeting. Town Counsel Carolyn Murray said Manas’s absence was not part of any agreement between the town and Zehnder, nor had she advised him against attending.

    STOWED

    Niggel’s Storage Expansion Rejected by Planning Board

    Possible danger to groundwater cited by one board member

    By

    EASTHAM — Barbara Niggel’s quest to expand her Stow Away self-storage business at 4730 Route 6 ended at the planning board’s Aug. 18 hearing, with board member Joe Manas casting the lone no vote. Because the special permit Niggel sought required five yes votes, the expansion cannot happen.

    Manas said his concern was that the town’s water supply could be contaminated by spills at the storage units. “I don’t feel comfortable,” he said. “Accidents happen.”

    The location, at Niggel’s Willy’s World gym, is within the Eastham Corridor Special District and District J — the groundwater protection overlay district.

    Before the vote, board chair Dan Coppelman, who voted to approve the permit, told Niggel, “I think you’ve done a reasonable job in answering our concerns from the engineering standpoint.”

    The project had been reduced from the original plan to build five 14-foot-tall storage buildings, proposed in May 2020 and then withdrawn without prejudice. The proposal that was voted down on Aug. 18 would have added two sections of storage pods with a total area of 9,600 square feet.

    Noting that he needed a unanimous vote from the five board members, attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel and her companies, Goeroe’s Goldens and Stow Away LLC, said at the start of the hearing that he might request a continuance if he believed he did not have the needed votes.

    “I am going to be paying particular attention to the members’ questions and their demeanor toward the project,” said Zehnder.

    About one hour later Zehnder said that, while he normally has a sense of how board members would vote, this time he was at a loss.

    “I would really hate to have this go to a vote and have one member holding an ace that I haven’t seen and we have a denial,” said Zehnder.

    Coppelman noted that, while he normally would allow a polling of board members, he did not think it was appropriate “in this particular case.”

    “I don’t know where we are,” said Coppelman. “You have a choice — ask for a vote or wait another month.”

    Zehnder asked if there were any further questions that board members needed addressed and, finding none, asked for the vote.

    Coppelman, Craig Nightingale, Jim Kivlehan, and Brian Earley voted to approve the special permit, with Manas, holding the ace, voting no.

    CONTRACTIONS

    Stow Away Storage Expansion at Willy’s, Continued

    Attorney Zehnder won’t promise not to come back for more

    By

    EASTHAM — A proposal by Willy’s Gym owner Barbara Niggel to expand the number of storage units at 4730 State Highway has been scaled back after a Cape Cod Commission (CCC) staff report indicated that the storage pods would be considered buildings, and their proposed size would have triggered an automatic CCC review of the development.

    Attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel and her companies Goeroe’s Goldens LLC and Stow Away LLC, told the planning board at its July 21 public hearing that his client had assumed the storage pods were “personal property” and not buildings.

    For that reason, said Zehnder, Stow Away’s project engineer, John O’Reilly of Brewster, “went back, yet again, and redesigned to remove storage pods so that the total pod area, consisting of two sections of pods, was under 10,000 square feet.”

    storage units
    The existing storage units on the Willy’s Gym property. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    The thresholds for triggering a Cape Cod Commission review as a development of regional impact (DRI) are 10,000 square feet for building projects and 40,000 square feet for disturbed open area.

    Planning board member Jim Kivlehan pointed out the revised total area was 9,600 square feet, 400 feet short of triggering a review as a DRI.

    “What do we gain as a town if we go through the Cape Cod Commission review?” Kivlehan asked. “What would happen there? You’re trying to avoid it because, I can imagine, it’s bureaucratic.”

    Town Planner Paul Lagg replied that the CCC uses a different set of review criteria if the thresholds for a large project have been met. “They look at it not just through the lens of Eastham, but of the region,” said Lagg.

    A 4,800-square-foot storage unit building was dropped from the plan by Niggel earlier this year after an informal poll of planning board members indicated their intention to refer the project to the Cape Cod Commission.

    Zehnder commented that projects are typically engineered to come in under the DRI thresholds. “The Cape Cod Commission Act was passed in 1989,” he said. “And this 10,000-square-foot threshold — you can start in Orleans and go to P’town and count on both hands the number of projects that have been referred as mandatory DRIs.

    “There’s a presumption in the Cape Cod Commission Act in the DRI threshold,” he continued, “that if you keep under 10,000 square feet of building and 40,000 square feet of open area use you don’t have any regional impact.”

    Planning board member William Craig asked if Niggel, having avoided the DRI review by reducing the size of the project, might return to the board later with a plan for more storage units.

    “Are we going to be nibbled to death by ducks?” asked Craig.

    Zehnder replied that the Cape Cod Commission looked at segmentation and whether there was an intent to segment a proposal. “I think, in this particular case,” he said, “if the applicant were to come back and say, ‘Look, we want to add another 9,600 square feet of building on the property,’ I think it would get tagged as segmentation immediately.”

    Planning board chair Dan Coppleman asked Zehnder if he would agree to a condition that would forestall segmentation.

    “We have the right to come back and ask for it,” replied Zehnder.

    “I didn’t say you didn’t,” responded Coppelman. “We have the right to say no — if you were segmented.”

    The hearing was continued until Aug. 18. A work session was held on the project on Aug. 2.

    LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

    Fitness Training

    By

    In June 2019, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board of the District of Columbia considered a challenge to the renewal of a liquor license for the Trump International Hotel on the grounds that Donald Trump, the owner, “lacked good character.” A group of District residents including judges and members of the clergy asked the board to deny the license because, in their view, Trump “isn’t fit to run a bar,” the Washington Post reported.

    “Donald Trump, the true and actual owner of the Trump International Hotel, is not a person of good character,” the residents wrote. They reached that conclusion because of “certain lies he has told, his involvement in relevant fraudulent and other activity demonstrating his lack of integrity, and his refusal to abide by the law or to stop associating with known criminals.”

    It turns out licensing boards can and have denied or suspended liquor licenses of restaurants, clubs, and bars because of evidence of the moral unfitness of their owners or managers.

    Almost every state requires local officials with responsibility for issuing liquor licenses to examine the character of applicants. The website of the Mass. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) states that managers of businesses seeking liquor licenses “must be approved by both the ABCC and LLA [local licensing authority] with respect to his or her character.”

    Donald Trump managed somehow to get his license renewed. And so did Barbara Niggel, the owner of Willy’s World Wellness and Conference Center in Eastham, as we reported last week.

    When Niggel’s renewal first came up before the Eastham Select Board, its chair, Jamie Demetri, noted “multiple issues regarding … historic violations of the liquor license.” But board member Art Autorino objected to punishing Niggel for past actions. “She lost quite a lot of business,” he said, because of being shut down by the town for months. Autorino appears to have won that argument.

    The Independent has tried to report regularly on Willy’s troubles. Here’s what we know.

    Eastham shut Willy’s Gym after Niggel hosted an illegal after-hours party in the building in December 2019, when its automatic sprinkler system was broken. Willy’s had been cited for violating building, health, fire, electrical, and safety codes. That night, exits in the packed room were barricaded by furniture.

    Niggel has been sued at least 26 times by her employees and contractors for not paying them. The worst case was her refusal to pay the widow of her employee, Joe Abbott, almost $20,000 she owed him when he died of a heart attack at work. The state ordered her to do it, and she finally did.

    Niggel was indicted in 2014 for failure to pay unemployment taxes and had to pay $177,000 in restitution. After that, she was fined another $101,000 by the state for labor law violations.

    Finally, she has been credibly accused of identity fraud by one of her tenants, who agreed to drop charges after Niggel signed an agreement to pay her $100,000. After making five $2,000 payments, Niggel never followed through.

    Maybe the select board in Eastham believes that Niggel has done more than just rearrange the furniture at Willy’s but has had an actual change of heart. We’ll try to report on how it goes.

    COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

    Niggel Hits Roadblock in Storage Unit Review

    Zehnder threatens suit to challenge regulators’ interpretation of plan

    By

    EASTHAM — A new 4,800-square-foot storage unit building proposed by Barbara Niggel, the owner of Willy’s Gym, will be dropped from the project currently before the planning board after an informal poll of the members showed that they intended to refer the project to the Cape Cod Commission.

    Representing Niggel and her companies, Goeroe’s Goldens LLC and Stow Away LLC, attorney Ben Zehnder disagreed with an opinion from the commission that the new building’s area should be included in calculating the “disturbed area” of the development. If that number hits 40,000 square feet, referral to the Cape Cod Commission is automatic as a development of regional impact (DRI).

    Zehnder said Niggel had intentionally planned to locate 160 portable metal storage pods of various dimensions to cover 39,615 square feet, just below the 40,000-foot threshold, to avoid the mandatory referral.

    “I don’t think that’s a correct interpretation,” Zehnder said of the commission’s opinion. “That’s not an argument I’m going to prevail on in front of this board. That’s an argument we may prevail on in front of the Superior Court if, in fact, there’s a referral to the Cape Cod Commission based on those calculations — or we may elect to present this lower intensity proposal and then seek a declaratory judgment from a Superior Court about that mandatory DRI threshold.”

    With the building off the table, discussion focused on potential contamination of groundwater from hazardous liquids or petroleum products that might be stored in the units. The storage units would be located on a gravel surface.

    storage units
    The existing storage units on the Willy’s Gym property. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    The property, located in the Eastham Corridor Special District, is also in the groundwater protection overlay district, including the protection area for the town’s wells.

    “If the applicant wants to prove his property does not drain into the aquifer protection area, he’s more than free to do that with documentation,” said planning board chair Dan Coppelman. “I don’t believe he’ll be successful, but that’s what it does say in the rules.”

    Zehnder said leases would prohibit the storage of hazardous materials and petroleum products.

    “From what I’ve seen of self-storage facilities, nothing is regulated,” said Coppelman. “People go in and out as they wish. Nobody’s monitoring the situation.”

    Coppelman said he would ask for a monitoring program to ensure tenants are abiding by their leases.

    Zehnder said a program of inspections could be put into the leases but that it would be difficult to implement, as people put their own padlocks on their storage units. “You’re talking about us having a protocol for every key to every unit,” asked Zehnder.

    “I’m asking you to solve the problem,” replied Coppelman.

    “I don’t think there is a problem,” replied Zehnder. “We’re not allowed to store dead bodies in there either, but we’re not having a protocol of ‘Do not store dead bodies.’ ” He added that a recent Google search found no news in the last 30 years of hazardous waste being spilled from storage units on Cape Cod.

    The monitoring program could be a reporting system signed by the owners of the storage units annually, indicating there wasn’t any hazardous material in their units, noted Coppelman.

    “I will tell you, I am relentless on protecting this aquifer protection zone,” said Coppelman.

    The hearing was continued to the board’s July 21 meeting.

    ENFORCEMENT

    Willy’s Owner Fined $101,000 for Wage Law Violations

    Widow of tennis pro who died on the job will be compensated

    By

    EASTHAM — Barbara Niggel, the owner of Willy’s World Wellness & Conference Center, has been fined $101,466 by the state attorney general’s office for a litany of labor law violations.

    Attorney General Maura Healey’s Aug. 21 action came a year after Joe Abbott, the gym’s tennis pro, died on the job of a heart attack, a tragedy that prompted his longtime students and friends to stage a public protest against Niggel, who has for years been accused of repeatedly failing to pay her employees, contractors, and vendors.

    “It’s really sad, and it’s really gratifying,” said Ann Sigsbee, one of Abbott’s students, of the state’s ruling. “The outcry and pouring in of information from the community helped the attorney general seal the deal. The attorney general has said as much.”

    The fines, which are civil, not criminal, citations, are mostly to be paid to the state. But Niggel must give $18,436 to two employees as restitution for failing to make timely payment of wages from December 2018 to September 2019, according to the citation.

    Sigsbee said the bulk of that amount, $17,741, will go to Joe Abbott’s widow, Francine Abbott, of South Dennis. Another employee will get $695.

    Niggel, who has owned gyms since the 1980s in Orleans and Eastham, declined to comment.

    Abbott, 63, died on Aug. 7, 2019, while teaching classes and moving heavy bags of material to refurbish the outdoor tennis courts at the Eastham gym. After his death, his widow discovered that her husband had not been paid for about $20,000 of work, Francine Abbott told the Independent in March.

    Devoted students of the highly regarded tennis pro refused to go back to Willy’s. About 60 people have signed a letter to Niggel stating they won’t return until she pays Francine.

    It’s not clear if public attention to the dispute launched the attorney general’s action, but it certainly helped, Sigsbee said.

    The attorney general’s office found that Niggel failed to keep records of sick time earned, failed to make timely payment of wages, failed to furnish accurate records to the attorney general, misclassified workers as independent contractors, and violated the earned sick time law, according to Margaret Quackenbush, a spokesperson for Healey’s office.
    Sigsbee wondered if this latest finding will make a difference in Niggel’s behavior and the gym’s future. Niggel has had a Houdini-like resilience for years, having extricated herself and her business time and again from accusations and enforcement actions.

    In 2014 Niggel was indicted for failing to pay unemployment tax and had to pay the state $177,081 in restitution. In 2015, the electric company Eversource shut off her power because of a large unpaid bill. In 2018, the ceiling of the gym’s saltwater pool partially collapsed into the pool due to extreme moisture buildup and poor ventilation, according to the town building inspector’s report.

    She recently reopened the gym after it was closed by the Eastham building inspector, who found the gym violated fire codes, building codes, and electrical codes. Though her sprinkler system no longer worked, she hosted a large after-hours party in the gym in December 2019. When Eastham’s fire chief and the town administrator saw video of the party, circulated on social media, they shut down the gym and required the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems to be redone, along with the electrical and fire suppression systems.

    Those who signed the letter of protest to Niggel say they won’t actually go back to being customers at Willy’s until Francine has the cash in hand, Sigsbee said.

    “It’s not over yet,” she added. “Barbara can appeal.”

    DEBT OF GRATITUDE

    Friends of Willy’s Coach Press Niggel to Pay His Widow

    Remembrance and protest on the anniversary of Joe Abbott’s death

    By

    EASTHAM — About 50 people gathered outside Willy’s World Wellness & Conference Center on Aug. 7, marking one year since the death of tennis coach Joe Abbott, who collapsed at work on the gym’s tennis courts.

    They held signs remembering Abbott, but said they were also there in protest, because Willy’s owner, Barbara Niggel, has not paid Abbott’s widow the $20,000 Niggel allegedly owed Abbott when he died.

    “Be Kind, Be Decent, Willy’s Pay Joe What You Owe,” read the sign held by David Bernstein, a tennis player who started a GoFundMe campaign after Abbott, of South Dennis, died at age 63 of a heart attack on Aug. 7, 2019. The campaign raised about $40,000.

    Bernstein and other students of Abbott say they are not done trying to help Francine Abbott, Joe’s widow, as well as his six children and 12 grandchildren.

    Ms. Abbott did not want to comment about the money at the protest Friday, but said, “Everyone who is here is why Joe came to work in the morning. And they became my support system this past year. They were his family, and now, they are my family.”

    Students and friends held signs honoring tennis coach Joe Abbott in front of Willy’s Gym on the anniversary of his death. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    Niggel, through her attorney, Ed Kirk, has disputed Abbott’s claim. Kirk told the Independent in March, “If and to the extent it is demonstrated that Joe Abbott was owed any money at the time of his death, that amount will be paid. Given her long-standing relationship with Joe Abbott, my client would be of the opinion that Joe Abbott would not be happy with the allegations being made against my client at this time.”

    Bernstein said Abbott was very loyal to Niggel, who has a long history, documented by numerous small claims in Orleans District Court, of failing to pay contractors and employees, as well as violating building, health, and safety codes, which caused the town of Eastham to shut down the gym for months last December.

    Bernstein said Niggel is asking Francine to “jump through hoops” to document the money owed. He and Abbott’s other supporters say they won’t pay fees or use the newly reopened gym until the money is paid.

    Protestors also said they were upset about the way Abbott died, immediately after strenuous work to resurface the outdoor courts on a hot August day. They said Niggel had collected extra money from the tennis players to hire a professional contractor for the project.

    The day Abbott died, he had been hauling 80-pound bags of material to resurface the courts, said Betsie Lind of Eastham, a longtime student of Abbott’s. Lind said he then began her lesson, but promptly stopped, saying he was feeling too hot and needed to sit down.

    Lind said Abbott was sweating profusely. She tried to use the downstairs phone by the indoor tennis courts, but it did not work, so she dialed 911 on her cell phone.

    Lind remembered Abbott as more than a tennis instructor. “He was more like a life coach,” she said.

    Mary Gulrich, one of Abbott’s students from Eastham, added, “He treated each of us with dignity and respect and greeted us with hugs and joy.”

    “We are very saddened that it’s been a full year and we’re still waiting for Francine to be paid,” said Anne Sigsbee, another of Abbott’s students who joined the protest.

    Along with private lessons, Abbott coached several teams, including a men’s team that went on in February to win a U.S. Tennis Association national championship in Florida.

    INVESTIGATION

    Willy’s Gym Owner Is Accused of Identity Fraud

    Barbara Niggel is said to have agreed to pay for dropping of charge

    By

    EASTHAM — Virginia Reynolds was working in the summer of 2018 at Bayside Consignment, a now-defunct shop on Route 6, when, she says, Barbara Niggel, the owner of the building, came into the store and asked Reynolds for help.

    Niggel, the owner of Willy’s World gym, told Reynolds that she feared she would lose her business, and asked Reynolds if she would co-sign a loan.

    The two women have known each other since the 1980s, when they played together in a women’s softball league in Orleans. Reynolds says she was aware of Niggel’s reputation for questionable business practices and unpaid wages and loans. (See “Willy’s Makes Progress, but Snags Remain,” the Independent, March 12, 2020.) Like many others, however, Reynolds fell victim, she now says, to the martial arts master’s charm and guile.

    Reynolds says that Niggel now owes her $90,000 — the unpaid remainder of the $100,000 Niggel promised to pay in exchange for Reynolds dropping criminal charges of identity fraud against her. Through one of her many lawyers, Edward W. Kirk of Osterville, Niggel denies the charges.

    Niggel is preparing to reopen Willy’s, which building and fire inspectors shuttered for health and safety violations on Dec. 12. These included holding an after-hours party in December, even though the gym was under a special “fire watch” condition because the sprinkler and fire alarm systems were not working.

    Niggel has now, according to town officials and emails she has sent to gym members, repaired the heating and air-conditioning system and met all requirements to comply with building and fire codes.

    Tipped Off by Credit Denial

    On that day in mid-August 2018, Reynolds says, she told Niggel she would think about her request to co-sign a loan. Niggel then asked for her Social Security number in order to check her credit, Reynolds later told Eastham Police Officer Andi Williams.

    She gave her the number.

    “I was working for [Niggel] under the table, and I had to give her my Social Security number at some point anyway, so I gave it to her right then,” Reynolds told the Independent.

    A few weeks later Reynolds received letters from three different banks, informing her that they had denied her credit on a loan application — not for a business loan, but to buy a Land Rover.

    Reynolds discovered that her name, signature, and Social Security number appeared on a credit application at Land Rover of Cape Cod. Next to her personal information was the other co-signer: Harrison Niggel, Barbara Niggel’s son.

    Reynolds called the police.

    According to Officer Williams’s report, Land Rover of Cape Cod Manager Ken Cooper told police that Barbara and Harrison Niggel went to the dealership on Aug. 31, 2018 to inquire about a new car. When they filled out a loan application, Niggel told the car salesman that  “Ms. Reynolds was Mr. Niggel’s aunt and that she had agreed to be the co-signer.”

    According to the police report, Cooper told Officer Williams that Reynolds “gave verbal confirmation [on the phone] that she was agreeing to co-sign.”

    But then Cooper added that “this was probably a lie and that someone else was pretending to be Ms. Reynolds on the phone,” according to the police report.

    On Aug. 31, Niggel wrote a check for a down payment to Land Rover Cape Cod on the account of “Stowaway LLC,” one of her businesses. The check was never cashed because credit was denied. Reynolds told the Independent that she believes the car was intended for the use of Ben Niggel, Harrison’s brother, who is currently an undergraduate at Harvard and was just elected to a three-year term on the Eastham Elementary School Committee.

    At this point, the report shows, Officer Williams authorized a summons ordering Harrison Niggel to appear in court to face a charge of identity fraud.

    According to court records, the person summonsed on the fraud charge was Barbara Niggel, not her son. There is no explanation in the record for the change in respondent.

    A $100,000 Deal

    Before the charge resulted in an arraignment, Reynolds says, she received a call from Niggel, who offered her a deal: Niggel would pay Reynolds $100,000 if she agreed not to press charges against her or her son.

    Reynolds demanded a written contract, so Niggel and Matt Bober, a Chatham attorney, produced one stating Niggel would pay Reynolds $2,000 a month for more than four years, for a total of $100,000, if she would not bring criminal charges.

    They signed the settlement agreement at Orleans District Court, Reynolds says.

    “I received five payments and that was it,” says Reynolds, who now works at Walmart in Falmouth. “I got $10,000 and I was supposed to get $100,000. Her lawyer had me buffaloed; I was just using the district attorney. Once she signed the contract, I thought that was good as gold, but I guess you can break a contract.”

    This is hardly the first time that people have accused Barbara Niggel of failing to honor a financial agreement. There have been 26 claims filed against her in Orleans District Court since 2007. They came from contractors who had not been paid for their work, vendors not reimbursed for their products, and employees or business partners who had not been compensated as per agreement. Identity fraud was the only criminal charge.

    Reynolds says she must now hire a lawyer to collect the money she is owed.

    “I need $3,000 to hire an attorney,” she says. “I never should have gone on her word. I’ve known her since the 1980s, and she has not changed. I took her word and trusted her signature,” she says, adding that she now understands the signature was worthless.

    Asked to comment for this article, Niggel’s lawyer Edward Kirk stated that his client “denies the allegations.” He would not confirm the existence of a settlement agreement between Niggel and Reynolds, but wrote, “If there were such an agreement…, it is apparent from the allegations contained in your correspondence with me and with Attorney Matthew Bober that Ms. Reynolds is clearly in violation of such an agreement.”

    Attorney Bober did not respond to email or telephone messages seeking comment.

    WORKING OUT THE KINKS

    Willy’s Gym Gets Closer to Reopening

    Niggel says facility is up to code; outdoor courts to open first

    By

    EASTHAM — Willy’s Gym claims it is now eligible to reopen when all gyms and fitness centers are permitted to do so under phase three of Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan. Barbara Niggel, the owner of Willy’s, said in a June 11 email to members that the gym has met all the necessary requirements.

    “I am happy to say that the facility has met all Federal, State and Local codes for a commercial business,” Niggel wrote in the email. “We are eager to move forward in a healthy, fun and relaxed environment with our members and guests and the community we love. The past months have been difficult, but my commitment to the club has never wavered. I sincerely hope that you will return with an open and positive mind.”

    A final inspection by the town’s health, fire, and building depts. was scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, according to Building Commissioner Tom Wingard. But neither Wingard nor Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe responded to multiple requests to confirm that the gym had passed inspection.

    Niggel’s emails since June 10 suggest that the gym did pass. Phase three is set to begin as early as June 29, as long as pandemic indicators support the move.

    “Once the Governor gives the ‘green light,’ which is expected in Phase 3, we will begin the opening of the indoor facilities as allowed,” Niggel wrote in the June 11 email. “This is a fluid situation, and we will continue to make on-going adjustments as necessary, and quickly.”

    Willy’s was shut down prior to the Covid-19 crisis, on Dec. 12, 2019, due to numerous health and safety violations, after Wingard posted a notice on the building. Videos on social media revealed that, at a holiday party held inside Willy’s on Dec. 7, an exit door was blocked by exercise equipment that had been pushed to the wall.

    Niggel said she planned to open the outdoor tennis courts at the facility before the gym itself, as outdoor recreation is currently permitted under phase two guidelines. In a June 14 email, she said the courts were scheduled to open “in a matter of days.”

    Those interested in playing tennis must register online. A maximum of four players will be allowed per court at a cost of $40 per hour or $60 for an hour and a half, which can be split by the players. Nonmembers must pay an additional $10.

    Players on the outdoor courts must supply their own masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, balls, towels, water, and tennis equipment, according to Niggel. The courts will be brushed by a Willy’s staff member after use. Players are asked not to touch any club equipment.

    Niggel listed a number of improvements the gym has made, including a new fire panel, new fire sprinkler system, updated plumbing and electrical systems, and a new emergency exit added to the functional training facility.

    “We appreciate your flexibility and patience with this ever-changing situation,” Niggel wrote to her email list. “It is our goal to make necessary adjustments in a timely manner while supplying you with clear guidelines.”

    UPDATE

    Willy’s Looks to Reopen

    This week’s final inspection is the last hurdle

    By

    EASTHAM — A final inspection by the town’s health, fire, and building depts., scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, could lead to the reopening of Willy’s World and Conference Center, which is owned and operated by Barbara Niggel.

    Eastham Building Commissioner Tom Wingard told the Independent that if the gym cleared this final hurdle, it would receive certificates of inspection and authenticity, and be able to reopen when Gov. Charlie Baker allows gyms to do so.

    Gyms and fitness centers are set to reopen in phase three of the state’s reopening plan, according to mass.gov.

    “All the work that we requested and needed to have done has been done,” Wingard said last week. It’s just a matter of completing the inspection that remains as the final stage. We’re hopeful,” he said.

    Willy’s was temporarily shut down on Dec. 12, 2019, because of numerous health and safety violations.

    Wingard’s notice posted outside the gym then read: “The structure has been inspected and is unsafe to occupy as described below: life safety concerns, numerous violations, including work without permits, failure to maintain equipment, etc.”

    The Independent reported in January that four weeks before Wingard’s action, on Nov. 14, the fire dept. came to Willy’s after a gym member told an employee there was smoke in a back hallway by the locker room, according to Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe. Fire officials found light smoke in a utility room and a strong electrical smell, along with an improperly vented gas heater in the sauna-hot tub area and multiple electric space heaters all over the building. They ordered them removed.

    It was also reported that a holiday party was held inside Willy’s on Dec. 7. Videos of the party on social media revealed an exit door blocked by exercise equipment pushed to the wall.

    Since the gym’s closing, Niggel has sent numerous emails to its members informing them of progress toward compliance with the town’s orders.

    In a March 25 email to members Niggel listed 20 improvements that had been made to the gym, including a new sprinkler system, new fire panel, new LED lighting in tennis and turf areas, and new heating and air conditioning throughout the building.

    “I’ve heard it’s been great work done,” Wingard said.

    “During the months Willy’s was closed, I have worked diligently to produce the best club on the Cape,” Niggel wrote in a May 19 email to members. “The club has been totally overhauled with new lights and newly resurfaced and painted courts for tennis and pickleball, new gym equipment, etc. (we will send a full list under separate cover) and many safety and health features. I have composed a manual that explicitly details the new guidelines to be implemented. At a later date, you will receive this under separate cover. The club is now a reality! But the ‘new reality’ is that I cannot open as soon as expected.”

    BUSINESS

    Niggel’s Storage Saga Continues

    Her application for a special permit is withdrawn after planning board poll

    By

    EASTHAM — After an informal poll of the planning board revealed that four of six voting members — one short of the needed supermajority — would approve Barbara Niggel’s application for a special permit to build five storage buildings adjacent to Willy’s Gym, the application was withdrawn.

    Attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel and her companies Goeroe’s Goldens and Stow Away, performed the maneuver at the board’s May 20 meeting in order to preserve the right to come back with a new request. If the board had taken a formal vote that went against the applicant, the case could not be reopened for two years.

    Zehnder’s request to withdraw the proposal “without prejudice” was granted.

    A supermajority is required from the planning board for site plan special permit approval under town bylaws. The planning board has seven voting members, which means five would constitute a supermajority.

    Even though there were only six members voting at the meeting, the project still needed five yes votes for supermajority approval, according to Town Planner Paul Lagg.

    Niggel’s special permit application to construct five 14-foot-tall storage buildings at 4730 Route 6, the site of Willy’s Gym and four existing storage buildings, all of which Niggel owns, has come before the planning board and zoning board of appeals a number of times since the beginning of the year. The ZBA unanimously rejected the application on April 2.

    The location of the project is in the Eastham Corridor Special District (ECSD). Creation of that district was approved at town meeting in 2019. Its purpose is “to enhance and protect the character of Eastham’s commercial areas, encourage mixed-use development, support and enhance the economy in North Eastham, improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety and access along the Route 6 corridor, minimize traffic conflicts and improve access management throughout the District, expand opportunities for creation of affordable housing, and adopt best management practices to manage nutrients discharged through storm water within the district.”

    The construction of storage buildings in this district requires a special permit, and the planning board is the permit granting authority. A special permit is also required from the ZBA because the project would result in an intensification of the existing nonconforming storage use on a mixed-use property.

    Art Autorino, chair of the planning board, was one of the four members in favor of the project.

    “I think it’s a good use of the property,” Autorino said. “It’s not really being utilized right now. I think it brings more revenue to the town, it brings more employees to the town, and I don’t think it’s a burden on the neighbors.”

    Niggel’s original was to build six storage buildings containing 180 units. She modified it to involve five buildings with fewer than 180 units, but did not specify the exact number. Zehnder said that Niggel paid $10,000 to conduct a market feasibility study to show there is a need for more storage units in that area of town.

    The two board members who said they would vote against the proposal, Lauren Barker and Joe Manas, had differing reasons. Manas said he wasn’t comfortable with the possibility that hazardous substances might leak from the storage units into groundwater.

    The project also falls within the town’s Groundwater Protection District. This is an overlay district superimposed on other zoning districts and applies to all new construction, reconstruction, or expansion of existing buildings and new or expanded uses, according to town bylaws.

    Barker took issue with the feasibility study conducted by consulting company Self Storage 101.

    “I don’t see a clear market need from that study,” she said. “We talked about jobs in terms of economic benefit previously, but I’m seeing now in the budget information that those are $26,000-a-year jobs, which does not seem like a very good paying job.”

    The special permit criteria include the planning board’s evaluation of the adverse effects of the proposed use and whether they outweigh its potential benefits to the neighborhood.

    Barker said she didn’t think the economic benefit was enough to outweigh a loss of neighborhood character. Numerous abutters of the proposed project have complained in the last few months about trash at the four storage buildings Niggel currently operates, as well as concerns that groundwater at the site could be affected by hazardous materials.

    Zehnder argued that the market study did show an unmet need for the storage buildings in town.

    “If this need weren’t there for storage units, Barbara wouldn’t be spending all this money to build them — it’s really that simple,” he said. The market study compared the proposed operation to Wellfleet Sun Self Storage, but did not include Magnum Moving and Storage in Eastham.

    Attorney David Reid, representing Steve Magliano of Magnum Moving and Storage, said his client does not believe the use is appropriate for the proposed site.

    “My client’s business is located only a half mile away,” Reid said. “They have over 30,000 square feet of storage capacity, and they tell me that they’re only about two-thirds full.”

    Zehnder said the proposed operation is different from Magliano’s business.

    “This is not a warehousing application,” he said. “This is where individual retail customers come in in small vehicles. That’s a very different use.”

    The project application can be brought before the planning board again, while the ZBA’s rejection would have to be appealed by the applicant to move forward.

    BUSINESS

    Willy’s Makes Progress, but Snags Remain

    A trail of lawsuits and complaints clouds gym’s past and future

    By

    EASTHAM — It appears that Willy’s World Wellness & Conference Center, closed since Dec. 12 because of serious health and safety code violations, could reopen in a matter of weeks, according to Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe and a structural engineer hired by Willy’s owner Barbara Niggel.

    PUBLIC SAFETY

    Willy’s Gym Closed for ‘Numerous Violations’

    The timetable for reopening the fitness center is uncertain

    By

    EASTHAM —Willy’s World Wellness and Conference Center on Route 6 was temporarily shut down on Dec. 12 after Eastham Building Commissioner Thomas Wingard found the facility “unsafe.”

    Willy's Gym
    Eastham Building Commissioner Thomas Wingard found Willy’s Gym “unsafe” last week. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    Wingard’s notice, posted outside the gym, reads: “The structure has been inspected and is unsafe to occupy as described below: life safety concerns, numerous violations, including work without permits, failure to maintain equipment, etc.”

    Wingard declined this week to go into detail about the violations he found.

    Barbara Niggel, owner of Willy’s, said the facility experienced a “fire event” and she is doing what is necessary to reopen. She did not say when that would happen.

    “We’re replacing the fire suppression system,” Niggel said. “That was what was damaged in the fire event.”

    Wingard said a Chapter 34 building analysis of the facility is required. That means the entire building must be evaluated to ensure safety.

    “The systems are so non-functioning that it is beyond my scope to determine the needs,” Wingard said. “An architect or engineer needs to inspect the situation.”

    The analysis is a standard requirement for new buildings or businesses. It is also required for existing buildings after a fire.

    A regular Willy’s visitor who was at the fitness center on Dec. 12 told the Independent, “I was on one of the elliptical machines — there was a repair guy working on a socket across from the machine I was on. Whatever he was doing was causing electrical sparks to fly.” The visitor, who declined to give her name, said the same thing happened when the worker moved to a different electrical socket.

    Niggel said the gym had been working since March 2018 on connecting to town water and connecting a new fire system.

    “We wanted to redo our system,” she said. “The town has been wonderful and great to work with.”

    Niggel said she will need to hire someone to conduct the analysis once the new fire system is installed. She said a contractor is in place for that work.

    “We’re doing everything we can to get our members back in here,” she said.

    Niggel said she has received an outpouring of community support since the gym closed and wants to reassure members they will be back in the gym soon.

    The gym offers a fitness center, classes, a six-lane indoor swimming pool, indoor rock wall, indoor turf, and indoor and outdoor tennis courts. The pool is used by the Nauset High swim teams.

    Niggel bought the Norseman Athletic Club in 2002 converted it into Willy’s World. In December 2015 the gym was temporarily shut down for nonpayment of its electric bill. The year before that, Niggel was indicted for failure to pay $242,000 in unemployment tax.

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