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Stony Brook Square

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Jersey Mike’s Subs and others are ready to move into Stony Brook Square. Photo by Rita J. Egan

It’s been a few years in the making, and now a Stony Brook shopping center is ready for business.

Parviz Farahzad, owner of East Setauket-based Little Rock Construction, said Stony Brook Square, located on Route 25A near the Long Island Rail Road train station, is ready for tenants to move in. The developer said he is pleased with the way it turned out.

“I think this is going to be a big deal for the greater Stony Brook community and the university and hospital and that’s what we were waiting for,” he said, adding the shopping center’s location is ideal for those waiting at the train station too as they could walk over or easily pull in and out of the parking lot before heading to the train.

Development was stalled in the summer of 2018 when the Town of Brookhaven Planning Board issued a stop-work order after inspectors discovered field changes at the site. While the Planning Board approved some of the modifications, they requested one building be moved to its initially approved spot.

Farahzad said many businesses to be found in the shopping center will be service oriented.

“That’s what the market is about,” Farahzad said. “Clothing stores — and things like that — people don’t want to open them because people shop online.”

Dental365, Druthers Coffee, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Teachers Federal Credit Unit, Organic Krush, Arnor Crepes & Bubble Tea and a Mediterranean restaurant are ready to move in, according to Farahzad. There are a few storefronts that are still available, he said, and the developer is currently in talks with prospective tenants.

Al Goldstein, of Wading River, along with his business partners Seth Goldstein, Marvin Goldfarb and Mitch Cohen will be opening Jersey Mike’s Subs in the center within the next few months. The team already owns the hero franchises in Hauppauge, Deer Park and Port Jefferson Station.

Goldstein said with living in the surrounding area and having siblings who attended Stony Brook University in the past, he felt it would be an ideal location — with a mixture of customers from the neighborhood and university.

“It’s going to be a beautiful place to shop,” he said. “There are going to be a lot of nice stores, and the students are looking for a variety themselves.”

Kathryne Piazzola, of St. James, owns Druthers Coffee with her husband Kevin Phieffer, her son Zachary Russell and his husband Michael Buchholz, who are from Port Jefferson. Piazzola said the family hopes to open the coffee shop by early May.

As a former employee of Stony Brook University for 20 years, she said when they were looking for a location three years ago, she thought it would be an ideal spot.

“I was keenly aware of needing things within walking distance,” she said. “We just thought that this was going to be the perfect location, where it’s great for the community, while great for the university.”

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Setauket Fire Department Headquarters. File photo.

While the spring weather is signaling the near future completion of two anticipated Three Village construction sites along Route 25A, it also promises a vacant storefront on Route 347 will once again be filled.

Setauket firehouse

The Setauket Fire District will complete work on its firehouse at 190 Main St. in Setauket in the next few weeks. With completion in sight, the district will soon be choosing a date for the community grand-opening event that will most likely take place in the summer.

“We believe that our residents will view the new structure not just as a cornerstone at the crossroads of the Three Villages, but a restatement of our commitment to providing for the safety and well-being of our citizens,” said Jay Gardiner, chairman of the board of fire commissioners. “We are proud of the collaboration between the local groups and the fire department in creating a state-of-the-art facility that will allow us to continuously improve our fire and rescue services, while respecting the historic architecture and design which is the hallmark of our community.”

During the construction, residents have commented on the lights in the firehouse that have been left on at night. David Sterne, district manager, said the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and insurance regulations require lights be kept on in unsecured construction sites due to safety issues if someone were to break in. The district manager said the new firehouse has LED lights which use little electricity, but with doors and security access added this week, it will no longer be necessary to keep the lights on all night.

Stony Brook Square

The future Stony Brook Square shopping center on Route 25A across the street from the Stony Brook train station is set to be completed in the middle of this summer, according to developer Parviz Farahzad. Businesses such as Teachers Federal Credit Union, a coffeehouse, a Thai restaurant, a bubble tea place, Jersey Mike’s Subs and more are set to move in when the shopping center is completed.

Development was stalled last summer when the Town of Brookhaven Planning Board issued a stop-work order after significant field changes were discovered at the site by the town.

At the Dec. 17 planning board general meeting, the board members approved some modifications, including the location of the most western structure, known as building 1, toward the front of the shopping center being shifted a few feet from the original plan, widening of the curb cut onto Route 25A and driveway access from 24 to 30 feet. The board at the same time denied the revised building location of a second building, which was constructed a few feet back from its original planned position. The denial called for the developer to construct the structure, identified as building 5, at the location initially approved by the board, which will bring it in line with building 1.

“I disagreed with the decision, but I respected the decision,” Farahzad said, adding that the change won’t cause any further delays.

Former Waldbaum’s

The vacated Waldbaum’s building in Brooktown Plaza on Route 347, Stony Brook, will soon be a prime spot for those seeking exercise instead of groceries. Waldbaum’s was located at the site for decades.

Becky Zirlen, senior public relations manager with Planet Fitness, said the chain will open a new 18,000 square-foot location in the shopping center by the end of the year.

She said the gym will offer the latest cardio and strength equipment, also free fitness training. There will be a “black card” spa which will include hydromassage beds, massage chairs and tanning beds/booths for Planet Fitness black card members.

Joseph Scimone, managing member of Lighthouse Realty Partners from Valley Stream which manages the site owned by Serota Properties, said in addition to Planet Fitness, the discount home furnishings store HomeSense, which is owned by TJX Companies and operates Marshalls and T.J. Maxx, will also lease 27,250 square feet of the former Waldbaum’s space. TJX marketing specialist Hannah Bramhall said the company “has not announced a new store in the Stony Brook area.”

Scimone said there is approximately 12,000 square feet of the former Waldbaum’s store left to be leased.

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Town of Brookhaven Planning Board will conduct a full site review of Stony Brook Square before representatives come before them again Dec. 17. Photo by Rita J. Egan

The Town of Brookhaven Planning Board has once again tabled a decision regarding the future of a Stony Brook shopping center.

“It went under construction, and it turned out it wasn’t going to work and raised traffic and safety issues.”

— Tim Shea

Representatives for Stony Brook Square LLC, the developer of the shopping center across from the train station on Route 25A, are scheduled to return in front of the board Dec. 17. In September, the Planning Board issued a stop work order as a result of field changes from the approved construction plans including widening of a driveway, two buildings’ locations shifting by a few feet, and the addition of 19 parking stalls at the rear of the property.

At the Sept. 17 Planning Board meeting, board members suggested Stony Brook Square’s president Parviz Farahzad and his representatives meet with the Three Village Civic Association to discuss local residents’ concerns. This meeting took place Oct. 15.

The civic association has opposed the field changes and Farahzad’s decision to not install a low-nitrogen septic system on the commercial property.

Farahzad’s attorney, Hauppauge-based Tim Shea, said at the Nov. 5 Planning Board meeting that even though numerous professionals and town officials had previously reviewed the site plans, once construction got underway the new engineer and general contractor realized changes needed to be made.

“It went under construction, and it turned out it wasn’t going to work and raised traffic and safety issues,” Shea said.

Michael Williams, of R&W Engineers, who was brought on board after construction began, said commercial trucks were having difficulty entering the site, often jumping the curb. The original plans called for the entranceway to the center to be 24-feet wide. He said field changes widened the driveway to 30 feet, which was approved by New York State Department of Transportation. Due to this change, one building’s footprint was moved 6 feet to the west and the shift affected another building which was also moved.

Three Village Civic Association board members George Hoffman, 1st vice president; Laurie Vetere, 2nd vice president; and Herb Mones, land use committee chair, attended the Nov. 5 Planning Board meeting.

Hoffman said when residents discussed the development with Farahzad at 25A visioning meetings, the developer agreed that the buildings by being closer to 25A would lend a downtown feel and help to slow down traffic.

“We’re really concerned about the walkability of our community.”

— George Hoffman

“We’re really concerned about the walkability of our community,” Hoffman said. “This was not designed for trucks coming in and out.”

Vetere spoke out on the loss of land banking to 19 additional parking stalls. She said residents whose properties abuts the shopping center in the rear should have been notified of the proposed changes in advance of previous Planning Board meetings. Vetere encouraged the board members to hear from those neighbors before making their decision. The civic association supports land banking instead of the 19 spots because it will insulate the nearby neighbors from the noise of slamming car doors, chirping alarms and nighttime conversations in the lot.

She said if any leniency is shown to the developer in regard to these field changes, the board should ask him to install the low-nitrogen septic system as originally approved, which reduces a percentage of nitrogen in waste water. In a previous interview with TBR News Media, Farahzad said he was hesitant to install a system that he feels is still too new for commercial use.

“It would be a nice legacy for him to leave to the community,” Vetere said.

Shea said his client is likely willing to consent to keeping the land banking. As for the distance of the buildings from Route 25A, he said while the few feet won’t be noticeable to someone walking, it will matter to a truck driver who will be able to enter and exit safely.

Three residents in attendance asked that the Planning Board allows the developer to continue construction as soon as possible. One was Poquott resident Seth Goldstein who has already signed a lease to open a Jersey Mike’s Subs in the shopping center. He said he felt the expansion of the entranceway was a positive change.

“There is a need for that access and egress for trucks to go in and out of that location,” Goldstein said, adding he felt that the walkability is actually improved by the buildings’ new positions.

The board’s decision was held until Dec. 17 despite Shea asking for an earlier hearing. Vincent Pascale, Planning Board chairman, said the board will require two weeks or more for a full site plan review and to go through prior testimony.

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Construction can resume on the site of the future Stony Brook Square shopping center. Photo by Rita J. Egan

The future of a Stony Brook shopping center has been put on hold until the Town of Brookhaven’s Planning Board members get some answers.

At the town’s Sept. 17 planning meeting, representatives for Little Rock Construction and its president Parviz Farahzad were seeking approval for modifications that were made to site plans to Stony Brook Square, a shopping center under construction across from the Stony Brook train station on Route 25A. A stop work order was issued after town inspectors discovered discrepancies between the site plans and what has already been completed on the construction site.

“It’s so hard to believe that these kinds of major changes would be made to the site plan without any type of authorization or approval.”

— Herb Mones

Among the modifications were the changing of two building locations, handicap accessible parking, cross access and grading.

Farahzad’s attorney, Hauppauge-based Tim Shea, contacted Three Village Civic Association representatives Herb Mones, chair of the association’s land use committee, and George Hoffman, 1st vice president of the association, Sept. 24 to go over the modifications, according to Mones.

“It’s so hard to believe that these kinds of major changes would be made to the site plan without any type of authorization or approval,” Mones said in a phone interview, adding in the past the town, civic association and community members provided input for the location’s plans.

Mones said a major objection from members of the civic association is the entryway changing from the initially approved 24 feet to 30. This adjustment means the largest building on the property is shifted 5 feet to the west from the original plans and closer to the historic home on the 3-acre site that Mones said during 25A visioning community meetings residents felt was essential to preserve and feature in the project.

At the Sept. 17 meeting, Farahzad’s engineer Michael Williams said his office was contacted earlier this year by the applicant to review claims by the site contractor that there were issues with Americans with Disabilities Act compliance in front of the building. He said the cross slope through the handicap accessible parking and access aisle was too steep pursuant to federal regulations. To alleviate the issue of the ADA ramp’s cross slope, the elevation of the site closest to the driveway entrance was changed, and the site was flattened, which increased the size of the entranceway.

Mones said the civic association also has issues with an area that was designated for land banking now being used for 19 parking spots. He explained that land banking allows for an area to be landscaped until it is proven a business owner needs it for parking.

He said while he appreciates the town was alerted to the changes and put a stop work order on the construction, he believes it still poses problems.

“Is it going to send a message out to developers that you can willy-nilly make changes in the approved site plan and then ask for forgiveness?”

— Herb Mones

“I think the town has a challenge before them,” Mones said. “Is it going to send a message out to developers that you can willy-nilly make changes in the approved site plan and then ask for forgiveness?”

Mones said representatives from the civic association would be attending the Oct. 1 Planning Board meeting.

“We think that the town should adhere to the site plan that was developed, and since the project is far from being completed, it shouldn’t be difficult for [the developer] to adhere to the site plan that they originally planned on with the town, with the town planners and with the community,” Mones said.

The Planning Board members put their decision on hold until the Oct. 1 meeting, and Farahzad was advised to bring updated site plans Oct. 1 and to consult with the Three Village Civic Association about the modifications.

“I would like to see a plan that shows what’s existing — not proposed — and what we had previously approved and what has changed,” said assistant town attorney Beth Reilly at the Sept. 17 meeting. “Because when you look at this it looks like nothing is out there, but that’s not what our inspectors found when they did a stop work order on this job. I feel like the plans still don’t match what we’re being told.”

Farahzad did not respond to requests for comment.

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