'He told me directly he's looking for an apartment to rent,' Thomas McCarthy, a former City Council president, had said at the time. Testa has never responded to requests for comment about the sale of his restaurant, but in December some friends and allies of his insisted he would relocate his residence within Bridgeport to remain a voter here and Democratic Party chief. Testa had for years claimed an apartment over the catering facility as his primary residence, even though he also owns a home on Bridge Road in Monroe by Lake Zoar. Meanwhile, when he sold Testo's, Testa also lost his voting address, raising questions about his future running Bridgeport's Democrats and having a significant amount of influence over Mayor Joe Ganim's administration. This has alarmed critics who noticed some recent activity on the site and who all along thought the public would eventually have a say on such a large project to, if not stop it, at least reduce the size.

Now, with Lakhotia the official property owner, Guedes is aiming to demolish Testo's and break ground in the coming weeks. 1, 2022 that would have reduced the apartment structure's four-story height.Īnd Guedes and city officials last week said that since the plans met those pre-2022 zoning regulations, they required a basic sign-off by zoning staff with no involvement of the zoning commission or a public hearing. That zoning approval was granted in early 2022. Then in late 2021 Guedes, on behalf of Testa and Giacobe, drafted and submitted plans for the 177 units to City Hall's building and zoning offices before new zoning rules took effect Jan. In 2013 Testa, despite some opposition, managed to secure a zoning change that allowed for the apartment complex to be built. In fact, their only chance of stopping it may have come and gone a decade ago. Since then, neighborhood elected officials, activists and residents were shocked to learn that Lakhotia's project, designed by local contractor John Guedes several months before Lokhotia bought Testo's, would not require a public hearing before the zoning commission.

Mario testing