The buildings at 415 and 413 Main St. in Port Washington, home to La Parma restaurant and Campbell’s Carpet, are under new ownership.
In December, the property was sold by Frank Nuzzolese to Dr. Alan Yao, a gastroenterologist with offices in Flushing and Huntington. Both La Parma and Campbell’s have signed leases with the new owner, keeping them at their current location for the near future.
Nuzzolese, who resides in Florida, said it was time to let go of the property. By selling to Yao, he said, he was leaving it in good hands.
“I can’t stress enough that he’s a real gentleman, a really nice man,” he said.
Days before Yao closed on the sale, the Town of North Hempstead approved a moratorium on development along Manhasset Bay at the behest of Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio. No new development in the stretch along Manhasset Bay from Dolphin Green to the Town Dock, an area that includes the newly purchased property, would be approved during the moratorium. The moratorium is set to expire at the end of June.
Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth denied that the sale, or any rumored sale, spurred the moratorium.
“It’s just a sense of, we see that development is in the future, many of the properties are older properties so it would make sense that people are looking to repurpose them,” she said. “So we want to make sure that we have a plan that will benefit our residents and town and work to [property owners’] advantage as well.”
Christopher Shannon, a legislative aide to De Giorgio, said the town is not immediately aware of private sales.
De Giorgio said when the moratorium was announced that she was aware there was an interest in development along the water but did not name any specific properties.
“I am aware that there is interest in developing the waterfront, and I have some concerns with the effectiveness of the town’s current waterfront business district (B-W) zoning and its ability to ensure a vibrant community-centered waterfront, that is open and accessible to the public,” she said.
Jianliang Yang, who assists Yao in handling properties, said he was unsure if Yao planned to develop it further.
“I have no idea at this time,” he said. “It is not going to be a medical office.”
Efforts to reach Dr. Yao were unavailing.
The desire to limit development stems from the Knickerbocker, a three-story condominium in the adjacent lot that has spurred outrage among local residents who said the project blocked views of the bay.
Following Bosworth’s state of the town speech last week, both she and De Giorgio said they were planning on meeting with property owners in the area affected by the moratorium and had already met with some. But they would not specify if they had met with Yao or any owner in particular.
“We had a meeting, there were many business owners there, and as the process evolves I think more people will come out publicly about how they feel,” Bosworth said.
