The sale of the old Bill’s Harbor Inn property was completed last week despite Manorhaven’s waterfront moratorium, according to Justin Aronoff, a partner in a group of businesspersons who bought the property.
Arnonoff did not provide any further detail of the sale, but the property at 16 Bowman’s Point Road was listed at $400,000.
Arnonoff, the owner of Center Cuts, a restaurant in Roslyn, told village officials he and his partners intend to build a restaurant on the property.
The new owners currently cannot build on the property because the moratorium prohibits any development or construction on waterfront properties.
The moratorium was first passed in June and then extended for six months at January’s board of trustees meeting.
The property has been a topic of discussion in recent months after the village passed the moratorium. Residents were concerned over the future of the property and whether the zoning would be changed and it would be developed into condominiums.
The price of the property dropped significantly, decreasing from around $1 million to $400,000, said Susan Andreiev, the property’s real estate agent.
“People wanted to buy the property and develop a residential property, but that can’t happen under village code,” Andreiev said last month. “When the price was higher, we were getting calls because people thought it was a much bigger property, too.”
According to Nassau County land records, the previous owner, Nancy Steinberg, bought the property for $675,000 in 2004.
The house has decayed overtime and most of the exterior has been covered up with plywood.
Village of Manorhaven Mayor Jim Avena last month said the existing building needs to be torn down because it is structurally unsound and unsafe.
Chris Bain, president of the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society, said he remembers going to Bill’s Harbor Inn when he was young and that it was his father’s favorite fish restaurant.
“It probably only had about 10 to 15 tables, but the scallops were fabulous,” Bain said. “It was right by the water and had a nice home feel to it, and the owner was always there.”
Marla Freeman, a vice president at the historical society, said the Inn was a “down-to-earth type of place” that she went to with her parents.
“It’s right on the water and it should be picturesque if the new owners do something with it,” she said.
