Sands Point prime for film and TV crews

Wanted: An isolated "decrepit mansion."

A home with a large water fountain -- preferably indoors.

And a building resembling a courthouse in downtown Mineola.

Since the Gold Coast village of Sands Point opened its doors to film and TV crews earlier this year, location scouts have been calling with a variety of specific requests, said village clerk Randy Bond.

The residential village, located at the tip of the Port Washington peninsula, approved in December and amended in February a law that allows filming on its private property and public land.

So far this spring, Bond said, television crews from the USA comedy "Royal Pains" and HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" have filmed in the village.

The waterfront Hempstead House at the Sands Point Preserve was ideal for a shoot for "Boardwalk Empire," which takes place in Atlantic City during Prohibition, production designer Bill Groom said in an interview.

"It's just a beautiful house -- it's one of those extravagant places that were all along the North Shore of Long Island there," Groom said. "It retains all of that detail," he said, citing ornate plaster ceilings and walnut panels on the library walls.

The show is filming its second season, set in 1921. Steve Buscemi won a Golden Globe in January for his portrayal of Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, a political fixer and gangster who controls the flow of illegal liquor.

The unfurnished interior of Hempstead House, which enjoyed its heyday in the 1920s, served as the home of a wealthy friend of Nucky's mentor. "It's perfect for that," Groom said, describing the mansion as "room on room -- it doesn't stop."

The crew did not have to do restoration work or painting since "it's very well preserved," Groom said. However, he added, workers did have to remove modern additions such as fire alarms.

Bond said if residents are approached about using their homes and they grant their permission, the location scout for the production would have to obtain a village permit. The fees are $1,000 for the first day of filming and $750 for additional days, she said.

The village has posted requests from location scouts on its website but leaves it up to residents to respond.

For instance, on the website was a note that next month crews working on the HBO Films TV movie about the murder trial of legendary rock and roll producer Phil Spector, starring Al Pacino, are hunting for a courthouse similar to a Nassau courthouse.

In November, scouts for an action film are looking for a house in the woods, preferably "a decrepit mansion with no surrounding houses."