North Hempstead hires law firm to defend approval for Inspiration Wharf plan

North Hempstead has hired outside counsel to represent it in a lawsuit filed by residents challenging its approval of a mixed-use development overlooking Manhasset Bay.

The town board on Tuesday voted 6-0 to approve the hiring of the Uniondale-based law firm Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano for $265 per hour. 

The dispute centers around Inspiration Wharf, a mini business district with cobblestone walkways that overlooks the waterfront and is adjacent to Town Dock.

Residents have expressed concern that the mixed-use development, which calls for 38 units of housing, would limit public access to the waterfront.

The firm will defend the town in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Port Washington residents last month that claims the town's approval of an overhaul of Inspiration Wharf was illegal and did not properly account for environmental impacts.

"Given the size and complexity of the complaint, we believe it is in the Town’s best interest to have attorneys with extensive experience in zoning, land use and municipal litigation working alongside the Town’s legal team," town spokesman Umberto Mignardi said in a statement.

Jacob Zoghlin, the residents' Rochester-based attorney, declined comment.

Michael Sahn, of Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano, declined to comment.

The town had not responded to the lawsuit as of Wednesday morning. 

The 117-page lawsuit, filed by the Mitchell Farms Neighborhood Association, which consists of residents in the surrounding area, says the town erred in declaring a negative environmental declaration. In doing so, North Hempstead declined to conduct a more extensive environmental review.

The declaration came before the project had been accepted into the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program, which promises tax breaks to developers that treat contaminated properties.

The developer, Manhasset Bay Real Estate LLC, is operated by father-son duo Gennaro and Gianni Sbarro. Gennaro is an owner of Louie's Prime Steak & Seafood, adjacent to the wharf, as well as several more restaurants as part of the Rothmann's Group. The Sbarro family was behind the eponymous global pizza chain, which was founded in 1956 by Carmela and Gennaro Sbarro as a salumeria in Brooklyn. Decades later, the Sbarro family sold the global chain to a private equity firm in 2007.

North Hempstead "failed to take a hard look at potentially significant adverse environmental impacts identified in the Full Environmental Assessment Form," the complaint states.

Despite residents' fears that the project could lead to privatization, town documents show the agreement requires the creation of a promenade to be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Mitchell Farms Neighborhood Association is seeking injunctions banning work from being done at the site; annulment of North Hempstead's negative environmental declaration and the annulment of all approvals related to the project. It is also seeking compensation for attorneys fees.

Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano represented the town in a lawsuit filed by the Hillside Islamic Center challenging the town's decision to block the New Hyde Park mosque's proposed expansion. North Hempstead later agreed to approve the mosque's plan.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.