ROCKAWAY PARK — The partial owner of a long-vacant retail stretch on Beach 116th Street told local business owners she's working on a plan for the space — but that nothing can happen until she determines the fate of her senior home that many blame for panhandlers on the block.
Esther Konig — who owns a share of property on the beach block near the boardwalk, including the Park Inn adult home for psychiatric patients as well as and the former Sandbar watering hole — spoke about the future of the space at a meeting of the Beach 116th Street Partnership last week.
"It's not going to stay empty forever," she said.
She warned that many negotiations are contingent on what happens with the Park Inn, whose lease is up next month.
"The reason nothing is happening with the storefronts is because we couldn't get a handle on what was happening with the [Park Inn]" she explained, adding that the facility could become more focused on health care, which would change its current use as an adult home for psychiatric patients.
Konig and other relatives who own the land have been approached by countless developers looking to buy and revitalize the space — and they've presented plans that include "a boutique-type hotel," cafes, two-story retail or art galleries.
"Suffice it to say, we want it to be something beautiful to attract people from the neighborhood and people from beyond," she said.
After decades of decline, there have been attempts to revitalize Beach 116th Street, including a storefront renovation program after Hurricane Sandy. The business partnership has also tried to jumpstart change.
And with more investment throughout Rockaway — including $91 million to redevelop downtown Far Rockaway further east and plans for a new real estate development on Beach 116th Street — many feel the time is right.
"Everybody here is just frustrated and angry and it got me to the point that I saw no light at the end of the tunnel," Elizabeth Hanna, who recently sold her family's business, Brown's Hardware, said.
"I see light now," Hanna added.
After the meeting, Konig said she should have an answer on what will happen within the next three months, adding that she "wants to see good things happen."
"I understand the complexities of the neighborhood, and I'm the one who really cares about the neighborhood," she said.
