PRESS POINTS

Apartments may replace restaurant

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The space that once was home to the short-lived Caffe Buon Gusto near Manhattan College could soon make way for a 16-unit apartment building.

Nando “Nasser” Ghorchian,  who owned the restaurant and the land, filed permits in July to build upward at 4576 Manhattan College Parkway. Ghorchian is proposing a six-story structure to replace the existing single-story restaurant, according to a filing with the city’s buildings department, which will include 4,700 square feet of commercial space, 11,000 square feet of residential space, and 4,200 square feet of community space.

Ghorchian bought the property through his Roya 329 LLC in 2016 for $2 million, according to city property records. It was purchased with a chance to build a six-story building in its place as of right, according to a sales listing at the time.

Ghorchian opened the restaurant there in 2018 — the third of three restaurants in the city bearing the Caffe Buon Gusto name — but closed less than a year later.

 

New additions to Press team

Steven McCoy has joined The Riverdale Press as a new inside sales account executive.

McCoy spent many years in commercial real estate, with experience in all aspects of the business. Some of his past associations include major industry firms like Cushman & Wakefield, Helmsley Spear, and Sumitomo Real Estate Sales.

McCoy can be reached at smccoy@riverdalepress.com, or at (718) 543-6065, Ext. 371.

Christina Rasmussen has joined The Press as a fall intern working in the newspaper’s editorial department.

Rasmussen is a senior at the College of Mount Saint Vincent studying communication and writing. She is a Boston native, and is fresh off a summer internship with Gatehouse Media’s Wicked Local, where she wrote for newspapers on the Northshore of Boston.

Last fall, Rasmussen studied abroad at St. Mary’s University in London. At The Mount, she is a member of student government as well as Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Honor Society.

She also works in the school’s alumni relations office.

 

Scammers claim they will turn off utilities

The state’s Division of Consumer Protection is warning about a scam where people call claiming to represent an electric, gas or water company, asking for customer information like account numbers, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.

The scammers, according to the state agency, typically request payment for alleged past-due bills. They have even come out to homes in some cases, especially in areas where English is less prevalent, primarily speaking in Spanish or Chinese.

Consumer Protection recommends anyone getting a call from a utility service to hang up, look up the number for the utility, and call directly.

Also, never give out or confirm personal information, especially utility account numbers and credit card numbers. And remember that utility companies don’t shut off utilities via the telephone, and generally give multiple disconnect warnings before actually shutting off service.

The state’s assistance helpline is available at (800) 697-1220.

Caffe Buon Gusto, Manhattan College, Nando 'Nasser' Ghorchian, Roya 329 LLC, Michael Hinman, Steven McCoy, Cushman & Wakefield, Helmsley Spear, Sumitomo Real Estate Sales, Christina Rasmussen, College of Mount Saint Vincent, Gatehouse Media, Wicked Local, St. Mary's University,

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