By Cynthia Koons
The Bayside restaurateur who was planning to build a waterfront eatery on Fort Totten said Monday the project, which drew criticism from the neighboring community because it included a catering hall, was on hold. “A lot of things have to be done utility-wise to bring things to the site,” said Dominick Bruccoleri, owner of Papazzio restaurant and 39 East in Bayside and operator of Douglaston Manor in Douglaston.
“I believe there's a possibility that things are going to go ahead,” he said. “There are quite a few issues that need to be dealt with before things could happen, so right now things are on hold on our end.”
More than a year ago the city solicited bids for the waterfront restaurant project at Fort Totten, a former military installation built during the Civil War on the shoreline of Little Bay. In early 2003, Bay Terrace residents voiced objections to the idea of a catering hall in the park.
U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) said Monday the restaurant project would be delayed until all the details were worked out. That same day Ackerman announced a pending federal contribution of $4.12 million toward parking and traffic at the entrance of the park.
This funding, along with more than $700,000 contributed by state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), the borough president and the mayor offices three weeks ago, marked the beginning of a comprehensive overhaul of the park to make it accessible to the public.
Bruccoleri said he and the city Parks Department agreed that it was not appropriate to move ahead with the restaurant project at this time.
“It was a mutual thing because they knew they had a lot of work to do and we knew we had a lot of work to do,” Bruccoleri said. Safety, parking and environmental concerns are just three issues he said still needed to be addressed.
The Parks Department could not be reached for comment.
Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) said he and Padavan asked the Parks Department to delay plans for a restaurant in Fort Totten until the traffic situation was mitigated.
He was happy to hear that Bruccoleri was reviewing his proposal for the site.
“While a restaurant complements this sort of park, a catering hall – in the opinion of the people – does not,” Avella said.
In a Community Board 11 meeting in January 2003, Bay Terrace residents said they feared a catering space would further complicate traffic problems in the area. The entrance to Fort Totten faces the 212th and Cross Island Expressway interchange.
The restaurateur said plans for a catering space were largely blown out of proportion when residents protested his project.
He also said one of the primary obstacles to proceeding with the restaurant was the transference of the property.
As the planned restorations are completed, the Parks Department is supposed to assume responsibility for the expansive greenway along the Little Bay waterfront.
Bruccoleri said that while the project may be tied up at the moment, he still believes he will open a waterfront restaurant on Totten property.
“I don't think it's ever going to fade away,” he said. “It's like anything else. When there are several changes that need to be made, you have to really rethink what the original (plan) was.”
Reach reporter Cynthia Koons by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 141.
