Bayville extends lease of Bridge Marine

A family run marina that sits on Bayville-owned property can lease the site for another five years with no increase in rent, village officials said.

Bridge Marine on Ludlam Avenue would also be responsible for only half the property taxes Nassau County might levy on the site after an assessment, officials agreed at Monday's board meeting. Bayville would pay the other half, officials said.

The property currently is not on the county tax roll.

The terms are meant to encourage the business, also called Bridge Marina and Bridge Marine Sales, to stay on the property and maintain it as a waterfront recreation area until a village marina can be realized, said Bayville Mayor Douglas G. Watson.

Bridge's owner Richard Valicenti has been a responsible tenant, the mayor said. "He knows how sensitive the environment is and he pays us," Watson said. "If we had written that he had to pay the full taxes, he might leave."

Bridge's rent will continue to be $127,867 annually for a lease beginning in May 2012 and ending in April 2017.

Bridge, which has been operating on the site for 35 years, sold the property to Bayville in 1998 and since has been leasing it from the village.

"It's been advantageous to us," Bridge sales manager Jason Rauch said of the relationship. "The customers and the Village of Bayville have been very good to us over the years."

Rauch described Bridge as a "full-service marina" with boat and parts sales, boat and kayak rentals and a clam bar.

Bridge's operation is consistent with the property's intended use, Bayville officials said.

"They're keeping it from being developed as anything else," said Maria Alfano-Hardy, the village clerk treasurer.