How Council Candidates Would Revitalize Downtown Port Washington

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — If there's one thing most people agree on, it's that successful and prosperous businesses are vital to any vibrant and thriving town. In Port Washington, Republican Town of North Hempstead council member Dina De Giorgio and her Democratic opponent Mariann Dalimonte told Patch separately this week they both believed as such.

But as town officials wrote in a 2017 revitalization proposal, the shine of the downtown area, once a bustling and walkable maritime village, has somewhat faded. Decades-old antique shops have closed, the latest victim being Stam Gallery on Main Street. Storefronts remain vacant for weeks or months at a time.

"While many view Main Street as the central gathering location of the Peninsula, challenges for the downtown area include a limited mix of retail, empty storefronts, congestion, shortage of parking, and lack of well-designed pedestrian orientation," officials wrote at the time.

At the time, officials said improved walkability through troublesome and busy intersections would help draw visitors. A distinct entrance welcoming visitors was also highlighted, as well as building facade upgrades, consistent signs, and more benches that would allow visitors to linger.

Unlike other election issues, restoring downtown Port Washington is an issue near and dear to residents' hearts, even coming up in a recent candidate debate. As such, Patch asked De Giorgio and Dalimonte how they'd revitalize the area.

Here's what they said.

Dina De Giorgio

De Giorgio highlighted several ways she has tried to bolster Port Washington's downtown area, such as spearheading efforts to create promotional materials and coupon-filled reusable bags with local themes, adding worker- and merchant-designated parking, and helping business owners obtain expedited approvals from the Building Department.

The council member acknowledged Port Washington has vacant storefronts, but noted so does every community across the country. De Giorgio emphasized Main Street is "more vibrant" and has seen more businesses open and thrive while she has been in office.

See also: North Hempstead Town Council Candidates: Meet Dina De Giorgio

"Overall, I have been not just responsive, but proactive, and in my third term I look forward to expanding my work here," she said.

De Giorgio highlighted that she talked to and worked with waterfront businesses via the Waterfront Advisory that depend on a boating culture. This includes marinas and yacht clubs.

"They distributed our materials and provided some 10,000 names and addresses for a mailing to boaters," she said.

The bay constable also distributed reusable "Welcome To Port Washington" bags to visiting boaters that she had encouraged the Business Improvement District to buy two years ago. The bags, which were filled with coupons and other offers to restaurants and shops at the harbor, were quite popular.

"Matt Meyran, who operates the Harbor Water Taxi, reported that boaters loved the bags and their contents," she said. "I'm now working with the Waterfront Advisory Committee to expand the program, using work done in Northport and in Newport, Rhode Island as models. I’ll be reaching out to the business community to increase their participation."

Among her other accomplishments: initiating a project to rebuild sidewalks, installing new drainage and repaving roads; and partnering with local groups for planting and beautification projects. She also supported creating a mobile parking app, which the town is launching in December.

Mariann Dalimonte

Democratic challenger Mariann Dalimonte, who currently serves as the executive director of the Port Washington Business Improvement District, told Patch she led efforts to launch Port Washington's popular "Restaurant Week."

"That idea came from me," she said. "That was an idea to bring people from other towns into Port Washington and also to get residents in the community to support local restaurants instead of going out of town."

See also: North Hempstead Town Council Candidates: Meet Mariann Dalimonte

Dalimonte detailed three ideas to revitalize downtown: show off Port Washington and pitch it to prospective homeowners and business owners; streamline the building department; and organize roundtable discussions with community members, politicians and business owners to identify what ails businesses and brainstorm solutions to cure those ailments.

In her spare time, she has been putting together PowerPoint-style presentation slides with fellow board member Bill Gordon that can be printed out and given to real estate agents and business owners in nearby communities. The slides aim to attract prospective homeowners with statistics and promotional material for Port Washington.

"We want to meet with local real estate agents and ask 'How can we help you? We have this PowerPoint presentation,'" Dalimonte said.

It would also be used to pitch to business owners in nearby towns that looking to expand.

Dalimonte also wants to work closely with — and within — the Town of North Hempstead's Building Department to see what, if anything, can be done to reduce the red tape involved in opening new businesses.

"I want to learn the building department from a residential and commercial standpoint," she said.

Port Washington has enormous potential for businesses, Dalimonte said, but she feels there's a disconnect as to why they aren't thriving. She wants to bring community members, landlords, business owners and elected officials, sit them down and iron out what's happening from all different perspectives.

"Not only have those honest discussions, but work toward building consensus and spotting the solutions," she said.