Sbarro family pitch for new development sparks waterfront concerns in Port Washington

Gentle waves from Manhasset Bay lapped against the shore on a recent morning in Port Washington as seagulls chirped overhead. But people taking in the view could only go so far.

A sign affixed to a locked gate warned against walking onto the long dock: "NO TRESPASSING," it read, in bold red letters. "PRIVATE PROPERTY."

The walkway, abutting Knickerbocker Bay Club, has become a point of contention for some residents frustrated with development on Main Street. A planned redesign of the neighboring Inspiration Wharf, a self-contained business district on the waterfront, has stoked fear about further privatization. The area comprises strips of buildings with seaside storefronts that anchor it, and cobblestone walkways that run along the sides.

Some residents said they did not expect the Bay Club luxury condominiums  to block access to the waterfront after they replaced the 136-year-old Knickerbocker Yacht Club. Now, some community members are raising concerns about plans to turn Inspiration Wharf into a mixed-use development with nearly 40 townhouses and condos.

The development could lead to not only further privatization of the waterfront but more access restrictions, critics of the plan said.  The proposal is already having an effect on the wharf's 16 tenants, developers said, with only an ice cream shop guaranteed to remain. Some shops have already packed up, with closure signs on the windows.

"We want it to stay public and not [have the] gates closed, and we want good signage to invite the residents," Shahnaz Autz, president of the Mitchell Farms Neighborhood Association, which covers the residential area adjacent to the wharf, said in an interview. "This is our community's waterfront." 

There have been long-standing fears among some residents of increased waterfront privatization, but they have reached a new level since the North Hempstead Town Board changed its waterfront code last year to be more developer-friendly.

In Port Washington, the waterfront breathes life into the suburban community, and any whiff of development causes a stir. A Facebook group, Port Washington Development Watch, where members share information and commiserate about potential construction, has more than 2,900 members. There has been similar pushback to potential development in neighboring Manorhaven, where the Manhasset Isle neighborhood also overlooks Manhasset Bay. 

The Town of North Hempstead will hold a public hearing on July 14 to consider the plan from Manhasset Bay Real Estate LLC, which is run by Gennaro Sbarro and his son Gianni, members of the family behind the eponymously named national pizza chain. 

The Sbarros, who also own three more properties on Main Street — Louie's Prime Steak & Seafood, the former La Parma on the Bay and Campbell's Carpet — said they have no plans to limit public access to Inspiration Wharf. Instead, Gianni Sbarro said in an interview, the family's plan is to build a boardwalk. It would connect to the bay walk in neighboring Port Washington North, along Shore Road, that leads to Louie's and Inspiration Wharf.

He noted the Sbarro family has lived in Port Washington for five generations.

"It's very important to us, not only for what we can do for the community, but for the reputation that we hope to maintain," he said. "There is no privatization. We’re actually making it public, and we’re doing that with redevelopment or revitalization of this site."

For now, the wharf resembles a ghost town — a business district in limbo, with a slew of empty storefronts looking out onto the placid bay.

North Hempstead Town officials declined to comment about the proposal. 

Andy Shaffer, 66, who runs the Facebook group, said Port Washington "gets its character from being a waterfront community, and it's not a waterfront community if it can only be enjoyed by a few people. 

"As a waterfront community, that needs to be there for all of us," Shaffer said in an interview.

Privatization fears

Autz and other residents said they are distrustful of the developers and the town. Last year, North Hempstead changed its waterfront code to allow more flexibility for developers, despite community resistance.

The previous version of the code had included floor-based requirements for mixed-use developments: The bottom floor needed to include "retail, office, hotel/boatel and/or restaurant space," and the top levels had to have "residential units."

The town board voted unanimously to eliminate the floor-specific requirements, leading some to believe a potential developer would satisfy the "commercial" requirement with a private marina — an approved use — like the Knickerbocker. Representatives for the Knickerbocker could not be reached for comment.

Then, in December, the Sbarros purchased the wharf for $8.7 million from Ventura Marina Management Corp., reigniting those fears. 

Mariann Dalimonte, the councilwoman representing Port Washington, said in an interview  she wants to "make sure the community has access to the waterfront."

She noted the area behind the wharf had resembled a "junkyard" before the Sbarros took over, with a smattering of old food trucks, landscaping trucks and abandoned boats. The new owners have cleared the area by removing abandoned boats, debris, junk and garbage, a spokeswoman for the developers, Lauren Wax, said in an email. 

Ventura Marina Management could not be reached for comment. 

'The community needs this'

This is not the first time the area has been reimagined.

In the early 1990s, Malcolm Tillim bought the former boatyard, intending to recreate the waterfront energy of Bowen's Wharf in Newport, Rhode Island, with cobblestone streets, water taxis and little shops, according to his daughter, Rhonda Shepardson, co-owner of the ice cream shop Sweet Treats on the Wharf.

Inspiration Wharf reopened in 1994, with Sweet Treats on the Wharf the star attraction, a series of "neo-Victorian storefronts" that were "open until 11 p.m. on weekends," according to Newsday archives. 

Since Tillim sold the property in 1996, Shepardson said, small businesses have struggled to stay afloat during the chillier seasons. But she said she believes in the Sbarros' plan.

"Their vision is pretty similar to what my father's vision was," she said. "I think the community needs this."

Residents "come to us, and they take a stroll, but it's been hard to do that with the condition of what the property's been," she said.

Doug Shepardson, Rhonda's husband, helped build the wharf as a laborer. The space has "never really materialized the way it should," he said in an interview. "It worked wonderfully the first year, but then came the winter and nobody could survive."

'Lifestyle scene'

Gianni Sbarro said plans for the site are still being considered, but the hope is to have about 37 or 38 units of housing, as well as a Mediterranean restaurant. Sweet Treats on the Wharf will remain, but with a twist: Gennaro Sbarro envisions it becoming a year-round establishment, with paninis and espresso for sale, too, he said. 

Long Islanders have long been opposed to the building of more housing, especially on waterfronts. Last year, Manorhaven passed a one-year moratorium on building in its residential zones to slow the pace of development there. But some residents insisted the moratorium should have been extended to the village's "enterprise zone," which includes Manhasset Isle, a historic fishing neighborhood. 

The Sbarros view the project as an attempt to bring more excitement to Port Washington, where residents in search of a fun night follow a familiar script: They "pop around to the same half a dozen, dozen restaurants" before ending the night at Sweet Treats, Gianni Sbarro said.

"The lifestyle scene on Long Island really hasn't been tapped, in our opinion, the way it should have, especially on the waterfront," he said. 

'Enjoy your ice cream!'

There were few signs of life on a recent morning at the wharf. Much of the businesses that had long called the property home — a chiropractor, a Chinese restaurant, a gym — were empty, with cardboard covering the windows.

"We have moved," read a handwritten sign at Hair Studio. "Enjoy your ice cream!"

Wax said in an email it was still undecided which businesses would remain.

In addition to Sweet Treats, Port Tiki, a private cruise company, and the Angler Fleet, a fishing charter boat, will remain through this summer, Gianni Sbarro said. But Port Tiki and Angler Fleet's futures are uncertain past then, he added.

He said he and his father met with the tenants before they bought the wharf to provide a heads-up on what was coming. After the sale, some tenants left right away, while others asked to stay until construction began. On a recent morning, beFit Therapy was open for business. 

"We were glad to see all of the tenants left with grace," Sbarro said. "The site is ready to be either cleaned up, meaning go under construction, take on cosmetic changes if necessary. It's ready to go for its next phase."

What that phase means for residents who moved to Port Washington in part because of the waterfront remains uncertain.

For now, a gnarled stretch of gravel that crunches underfoot hardly resembles Tillim's dream. A dock that leads to the water is blocked off, with a sign: "Customers and Boat Owners Only."