Auction at former Bridgeview Yacht Club in Island Park nets deals, memories
The former Bridgeview Yacht Club in Island Park sold off everything from the dance floor to the chandeliers during an auction Tuesday before the venue is converted into apartments.
The former yacht club and catering hall will be demolished starting next month to build 117 market-rate apartments, according to the auction house and the developer’s application to the Hempstead Industrial Development Agency, which granted tax incentives for the project.
The property is owned by developer John Vitale, who is building the apartments under his company, Ocean Avenue Marina. The apartments are being built on Waterfront Boulevard, facing Reynolds Channel at the site of the Bridgeview Yacht Club and Loft wedding venue, according to the application.
On Tuesday, about 100 potential bidders gathered in a tent at the yacht club seeking to bid on everything from $1 baking sheets to other cooking wares, furniture and the tent itself, used by the venue to host weddings and parties for nearly 30 years.
With 563 separate lots in the auction, there was something for everyone. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
The hourslong auction included 563 separate lots, for bids between a few dollars to more than $10,000, said Gerard Trimboli, president of the Long Island-based American Auctions Liquidations Appraisals Inc.
“We’re going to sell it to the bare walls. Everything inside the place, all the kitchen equipment, furnishings, small wares, pretty much something for everybody,” Trimboli said before leading the auction Tuesday. “There are people that had their events here, and it’s memorable for them. They’d like to own a piece of it. There are such things as paintings and small things that people like that can take home.”
Other items for sale included marble tables, wall sconces, lamps, stoves, gas fireplaces, rugs, leather furniture and bottles of liquor. All payment was due Tuesday and all items must be picked up by 4 p.m. Friday, Trimboli said.
“Thank you all for weathering the cold and we wish you good luck,” Trimboli said before bidding opened on a pair of shop vacuums, baking pans and landscaping tools.
Chandeliers were some of the many items available. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Norah Kelleher, who owns Dox Bar and Kitchen in Island Park, was looking at a sliding barn door up for auction in the smaller adjacent venue space, The Loft, which opened in 2017.
“We got married in the yacht club next door 23 years ago, so it’s a little sad and it’s a little piece of history,” she said. “We’re the last bar on the water here. It’s sad but we need it and I’m not against it. But now all the waterfront places are gone. Nobody wants the bars in their backyard.”
The yacht club development is planned near another apartment complex built on the water by Vitale at the site of the former Paddy McGee’s and Coyote Grill that were destroyed during Superstorm Sandy.
Donna Sullivan was looking through kitchen wares for her Brooklyn catering company. She said she had memories of having relatives’ law school parties, birthday parties and weddings at the venue.
“It’s sad, but I understand the opportunity to switch it out,” Sullivan said. “I’m excited to possibly find some good buys.”
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
Source link
