Infamous LIC Waterfront Restaurant Listed For Auction By City

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A Long Island City waterfront restaurant that played host to countless weddings but later became ensnared in a corruption scandal could be yours, if you wish to bid for it in a city auction.

The floating barge at the end of 44th Drive had been home until 2015 to Water's Edge. An online auction, posted on Nov. 3, says bids for the derelict restaurant must start at $15,000 — though the buyer must be willing to "remove the barge safely within 15 days of purchase," the city's Department of Citywide Administrative Services wrote.

The auction was first reported Tuesday by THE CITY.

Since it opened in 1980, Water's Edge had become a popular spot for weddings and events thanks to its classy ambiance and unbeatable views of the Manhattan skyline.

But by the early 2010s, restaurant owner Harendra Singh faced claims by the city that he owed upwards of $1 million in unpaid rent for the city-owned barge, among other expenses, according to multiple reports.

Hoping to win friendlier faces in City Hall, Singh hosted two campaign fundraisers for Bill de Blasio, then the city's public advocate, in 2011 and 2013. Those events cost de Blasio's mayoral campaign nothing, amounting to an illegal gift — until Singh fabricated bills for the events years later amid an investigation by the city's Campaign Finance Board.

In a 2018 court appearance, Singh testified that he had hosted the free events "in exchange of help, you know, at Water's Edge, getting the lease extended and getting the pier issue resolved," the Daily News reported at the time.

Indeed, de Blasio's underlings pressured city officials to help Singh in the lease dispute, according to reports. Singh said he persuaded the city to help pay for the renovation of a pier near Water's Edge, though he was unable to salvage his restaurant, which closed in 2015 after his arrest.

Meanwhile, Singh also testified that he explicitly told de Blasio about an illegal scheme to raise money for the mayor's political allies using fake donors to skirt contribution limits. De Blasio was never charged, while Singh is still awaiting sentencing for his bribery conviction, THE CITY reported this week.

The city evicted Water's Edge from its two-story barge in 2020, according to records included in the auction listing.

Two years later, the barge's condition is "POOR," the listing states. Indeed, listing photos show the restaurant's interior strewn with tables and chairs and spray-painted with graffiti, while its exterior is coated with rust and peeling paint.

Bids must be sent in by Dec. 13, the city says — but nobody has submitted one so far.