Ocean City Wins Court Case Over Boardwalk Building

OCEAN CITY — An historic Ocean City property near the Inlet could soon be coming down after a Worcester County Circuit Court judge last month opined it was encroaching on the town’s property on the east side of the Boardwalk.

The iconic building on the east side of the Boardwalk at South Division Street has been home to different businesses and enterprises since at least 1910 and for the last several decades has been home to a Dumser’s Dairyland ice cream parlor. It is one of just a couple of buildings that sit on the east side of the Boardwalk.

The ownership of the land on which the historic building sits was called into question last year after a 50-year agreement reached between the heirs of the original owner, Nathan Rapoport, and the town of Ocean City in 1966 expired. The building is owned by Nathans Associates, which includes the heirs of Nathan Rapoport, and has been leased to Dumsers for several decades.

In 1966, Nathans reached an agreement with the town to tear down the existing structure and erect a new larger building with a commercial interest, now Dumsers, on the Boardwalk level with living quarters above on a second level. When the 1966 agreement expired last year, the Town of Ocean City asserted its ownership rights of the property and requested Nathans Associates vacate the premises. Nathans Associates then filed suit in Worcester County Circuit Court asserting the Town of Ocean City had essentially abandoned its ownership of the parcel by allowing the structure on the site for over a century.

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