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Town Clerk Andrew Raia, Bride and Groom Christine and Gerard Tully. Photo from Town of Huntington

Wedding bells rang again this year in Town Hall on Valentine’s Day, as Town Clerk Andrew Raia, chief Marriage Officer for the Town, presided over eight marriage ceremonies. “It is a privilege to unite these couples and share in the excitement and happiness of their special day,” said Raia.

The intimate ceremonies included a Town Board room decorated as a Valentine’s Day-themed wedding chapel, mood lighting, and traditional processional music. Each wedding ceremony included a rose and a cake presented by Town Clerk Raia and La Piazza Cucina Italiana & Wine Bar in Melville donated gift certificates to all of the happy couples.

 

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METRO photo

By Nancy Marr

During the pandemic, when we were reminded that farmworkers were working hard to provide food for the rest of us, farmworkers in Suffolk were working for long hours with no break, on farms where they had no running water or toilets, could not take time off to care for their children or family members who had COVID, were often not eligible for overtime and were often undernourished. Although they could be considered “essential workers” they had few resources. The people who work on our farms have long been at the bottom of the food chain. 

The first legislation that was passed was President Franklin Roosevelt’s National Labor Relations Act in 1935. It gave laborers the right to strike for better conditions, but it did not cover agricultural workers or anyone in domestic service. 

Recently, there has been new legislation to increase their rights, but it is not always effective because it may not be enforced. Also, many workers do not know what their rights are or fear that they will lose their jobs if they protest. 

In California, because of the efforts by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers, formed in 1971, the state passed the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975, giving farmworkers in California the right to unionize and negotiate for better wages and working conditions. 

In 2019, New York State passed the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, even though it was opposed by the New York State Farm Bureau. The bill sponsor, Senator Jessica Ramos, said, “The Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act has lingered in this body for twenty years, with seven sponsors on both sides of the aide. I have traveled to seven counties in New York, visited fourteen farms, talked to countless farmworkers, and held three hearings on this bill. There are 80-100,000 farmworkers that are the backbone of New York’s multi-billion-dollar agricultural industry.”  

The bill gave farmworkers the right to organize, and the right to bargain collectively but it did not give them the right to strike. The law also required farmers to provide Disability and Workers Compensation coverage, paid family leave, a day off each week, and overtime pay after sixty hours. (The current New York State budget may include help to farmers to pay the overtime pay.) The effectiveness of the law will depend on how much it is publicized.

This year, the first step toward unionization under the new law took place at the Pindar Vineyards in Peconic. The New York State Public Employment Relations Board officially certified Local 388, the union established by Pindar workers with the help of Angel Reyes Rivas, the Long Island Coordinator for the Rural and Migrant Ministry. Located in upstate New York, with an office in Riverhead, the Ministry is a statewide nonprofit organization that works with rural disenfranchised communities, helping them develop their own leadership. 

A group of workers on the East End has found a way through collective action to earn enough money to buy their own land. Last year, they formed the Long Island Farmworker Flower Cooperative with the help of organizers from the Rural and Migrant Ministry. Through the cooperative they support one another and can meet their economic and cultural needs through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. 

By learning agricultural management, including sales, finance, and accounting, and pooling their resources, they can become producers, buying land and greenhouses for their own flower production. They hope to be independent and be an example for other immigrant communities. To support their efforts, visit the Amandla Long Island Worker Education Center, 573 Roanoke Avenue, Riverhead (631-381-0498) or contact RuralMigrantMinistry.com. For more information, read Mark A. Torres’ Long Island Migrant Labor Camps: Dust for Blood, published in 2021.

Nancy Marr is Vice-President of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit www.lwv-suffolkcounty.org or call 631–862-6860.

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Elected officials and BID members gathered at the ribbon cutting for the clock tower. Photo by Raymond Janis

By Raymond Janis

Amid the honking horns and blaring engines of Tuesday afternoon traffic, Feb. 22, Town of Huntington officials and business leaders gathered to commemorate the opening of an electric clock tower in Huntington Station.

BID president Frank Cosentino at the clock tower ribbon cutting. Photo by Raymond Janis

The Huntington Station Business Improvement District donated the clock tower to the town. Located at the intersection of New York Avenue and Pulaski Road, the donation includes the clock, landscaping and pavements. 

“The mission of the BID is to add security, beautification and promotion within the area,” said BID president Frank Cosentino. “This is one of many other big improvements we’d like to do.”

The BID comprises business owners throughout Huntington Station and has made several important investments in the area. However, Cosentino said this donation represents a shift in the BID’s activities toward permanent beautification initiatives.

“We do Christmas lights that go up and come down, flower baskets that come up and go down,” he said. “Everything we’ve always done in the past have been fleeting improvements that come down. We decided to start moving to more permanent beautification projects. The town helped us with the property, and we purchased the clock and all the improvements.” 

Cosentino has owned a hardware store in Huntington Station since 1985. He said his involvement with the BID is a way to give back to the place that has provided him a living for all those years. According to him, projects such as these will contribute to the deeply rooted historical and cultural traditions of the community.

“Huntington Station reminds me of growing up in Astoria,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit neighborhood with a lot of families. It has always been a much more stable area than you might think. I can name 50 to 100 customers that have been in the area since 1985.”

Elected officials joined the BID on Tuesday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the clock tower. Town Supervisor Ed Smyth (R) viewed the donation as a harbinger of brighter days ahead for Huntington Station.

“The Huntington Station BID’s generous donation adds to the charm and character of this busy corner of downtown Huntington Station,” Smyth said. “This new clock tower serves as a symbol of our local investment in business and in the revitalization of Huntington Station.”

The Times of Huntington reported in December that the town had finalized an agreement with Suffolk County to finance sewer expansion into Huntington Station. According to Smyth, the Huntington Station Hub Sewer Infrastructure Project will enable substantially greater capital investment into the community.

“While you are officially keeping time with this new clock tower, true economic revitalization in the downtown Huntington Station area is now possible,” he said. “We will never be closer to rectifying past failures of urban renewal [than] with our investment in Huntington Station, particularly with the sewer line that is coming.”

Town Councilman Sal Ferro (R) echoed the sentiment. He said expanded sewer infrastructure will stimulate economic activity and commercial development. 

“The sewer line coming down [Route] 110 is going to be another part of this revitalization,” he said. “This clock tower represents such an important part. It’s a symbol of what’s to come.”

Ferro recalled working as a carpenter’s apprentice in Huntington Station over four decades ago. He considered the clock tower a beacon of the community’s storied past and promising future, a product of collaborative efforts between business groups and local government.

“I love the combination of work between the BID and the chamber [of commerce] and the government,” he said. “This is a vibrant corner, such an important part of Huntington Station. To see this clock tower and the landscaping here makes me so proud coming back here 40 years later.”

Town Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D) remembered the BID as a tiny organization just getting off the ground. She recalled walking the streets of Huntington Station in 2003 to encourage business leaders to join the BID. Nearly two decades later, a clock tower at the heart of Huntington Station marks a new chapter for the BID in its mission to beautify the area. 

“This BID has really done a lot of wonderful things,” she said. “This is a wonderful gift, a gift that we will all continue to enjoy for years.” 

While Huntington is known for its historic and prosperous village, public investment into Huntington Station has often lagged. The clock tower and sewer extension point to a change of course.

“Huntington Station is one of the many vital organs in our system,” said Jillian Guthman, town receiver of taxes. “Regardless of if you are on the south end or north end of our town, Huntington Station is a place that you spend a lot of time. A clock such as this is really fitting of the beauty of this community and is a reflection of the investment that is so needed.”

Like so many towns throughout Suffolk County, expanded sewer infrastructure is a major priority for Huntington. According to Smyth, the impact of this sewer investment will be felt for decades.

“The clock is useful, but it is also symbolic,” Smyth said. “[The sewer extension] is the next big step. It is going to be a generational investment in Huntington Station.”

According to Ferro, policymakers and private developers must be proactive. As the sewer extension project gets underway, he said the community must prepare itself for higher levels of activity.

“Huntington Station is open for business,” he said. “We do have a sewer line coming and that means projects need to be thought about now for tomorrow.”

As this community awaits the arrival of its sewer extension, the clock could be said to be ticking.

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Community leaders still await land use codes for Route 25A in Setauket after a visioning report was approved by the town in 2017. File photo by Rita J. Egan

In 2016, the Route 25A Citizen Advisory Committee, consisting of community leaders and elected officials, was formed to envision a better Route 25A in the Three Village area.

At the end of 2017, the Brookhaven Town Board adopted the visioning report, resulting from those meetings. The report included recommendations to create a safer roadway with quality buildings, improve pedestrian and bicycle-friendly activities and preserve historic and natural open spaces along the corridor. The next step was for the town to begin developing land use codes based on the findings in the report. The land use planning phase would be the most significant as the new zoning codes developed would help guide the future development of businesses and affect the community for years to come.

George Hoffman, president of the Three Village Civic Association who co-chaired the advisory committee, said there have been hurdles along the way. These obstacles have included the pandemic shutdowns, members of the town Planning Board retiring and former town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) running for and winning her bid as New York State Supreme Court justice. Cartright also had difficulties securing funds for a planning consultant to help write the codes, which would have cost $200,000, according to Hoffman, while she was in office.

Hoffman said there is new hope that the land use planning process will begin as he and Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) will meet with the new planning commissioner at the beginning of March.

Hoffman said the earlier community meetings included the town hiring a planning company to help organize the focus groups and to write the report that was a result of the meetings. The members discussed a variety of subjects, including whether to allow mixed-use development, which many felt wouldn’t be the right  fit for the area.

The civic president said it has been a frustrating journey, especially as a similar process has been conducted in Councilman Dan Panico’s (R-Manorville) district and has been completed.

Hoffman said community leaders and elected officials had a consensus over what was needed. 

“I don’t think it was a radical change, but there were areas we were concerned about, “ he said.

Among those areas are the southeast corner of Nicolls Road and Route 25A where buildings have different architecture and signage and the area around East Setauket Pond Park, which lies on the western side of Se-Port Delicatessen on Route 25A. Many also expressed concern regarding the former Baptist church in Stony Brook, west of Stony Brook Road.

“Right now developers are driving what the development will be on 25A and not the community and the town,” he said. “That’s why you want the land use plan.”

Kornreich said he believes there are opportunities “to add amenities that are of the quality that people would expect in a community like this.”

He added in addition to taking the recommendations made by the visioning committee and adapting to land use codes, there are other strategies, too.

He said one opportunity is talking to property owners along 25A in the Three Village area.

“I started sitting down with the property owners in that corridor to see if we can find ways to bring them together to see if we can work together, maybe by them combining their properties and looking at things in a more imaginative way,” he said, adding it may lead to more dramatic and impactful solutions.

“Part of it is just simply using the existing rules that we have now to try to encourage people to redevelop their properties,” the councilmember said.

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As of Feb. 10, New Yorkers are no longer mandated to wear masks in most public places, even though some business owners may still require customers to wear one. Photo from METRO

By Amanda Olsen

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) administration has allowed the mask-or-vaccinate mandate for public spaces to lapse as of Feb. 10, effectively leaving masking decisions to local officials and business owners. Masks are still required in health care facilities, on public transportation, in correctional facilities and in shelters. Masks are also still required in schools for the time being, with a reevaluation planned some time in early March, after the winter break.

Leaders in health care, business and labor fields were generally supportive of Hochul’s decision. Gary LaBarbera, president of Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, said in a statement. “The mask mandate has helped keep New York’s working men and women safe and healthy during the most uncertain and volatile moments of the public health crisis. The easing of indoor mask mandates for businesses is a positive sign in New York’s recovery, as it’s a direct result of COVID-19 cases dropping across the state and, hopefully, the pandemic itself receding.” 

New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said in a statement. “In light of the announcement today, we thank the governor for ensuring employers still have responsibilities under state statute, including the Public Employee Safety and Health Act and the New York HERO Act, which remain in effect. These laws establish safety protocols to protect workers and the public. Moving forward, in the absence of the mask mandate, employers must continue to work with their employees to make sure appropriate protections are in place.”

On the local level, some people are comfortable leaving masking up to the individual, including Anthony Bongiovanni, of Rocky Point Jewelers.

“If you feel for your personal safety, you should wear one, by all means,” he said.

However, not every business is ready to leave masks behind. Richard Smith, from Buttercup’s Dairy Store in Port Jefferson Station, is keeping some masking rules in place. “We’re still requiring employees to wear masks. We don’t require customers [to do so].”

Others are continuing to follow federal guidelines, regardless of what is happening at the state level. Paul Vigliante, of Branch Funeral Homes in Miller Place and Smithtown, said that he intends to follow “whatever the CDC guidelines are” at the time.

Some business owners expressed mixed feelings about leaving masking up to the individual, since policing customer behavior has been challenging even with the mandate in place. Smith said that they have “had to call the police a couple of times” but overall “95% of people have been respectful.” 

Not all businesses had difficulty. Bongiovanni said, “There was never a problem.” Vigliante also had no issues: “Everyone was very respectful … we were very fortunate throughout.”

Each new phase of the COVID pandemic brings its own set of challenges for both business owners and individuals. Everyone is feeling some degree of pandemic weariness.

“Everybody’s sick of it,” Smith said. “Just a lot of frustration.”

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Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich

On Feb. 7, Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich announced that the Town has relocated the glass recycling bins from the parking lot across from the Three Village Inn in Stony Brook to the Setauket Fire Department at 394 Nicolls Road in East Setauket. 

This new location will offer greater convenience for Town of Brookhaven residents to recycle their glass. Only glass bottles and jars are accepted and they do not need to be separated by color. Glass collected from the Town’s twelve drop-off locations is crushed and used to replace sand in construction, saving natural resources and reducing waste.

“This project was completed thanks to the efficient teamwork of both the Setauket Fire Department and the Waste Management Team from the Town of Brookhaven. Thank you to everyone involved in making our community cleaner and greener,” said Councilmember Kornreich. “I encourage everyone to make full use of this resource for the well-being of both our community and the environment.

Other Town of Brookhaven glass recycling bins are located at:

Brookhaven Town Hall One Independence Hill, Farmingville, NY 11738
Brookhaven Landfill 350 Horseblock Road, Brookhaven, NY 11719
Manorville Compost Facility Papermill Road, Manorville, NY 11949
Holtsville Ecology Center 249 Buckley Road,  Holtsville, NY 11742
Rose Caracappa Sr. Center 739 Route 25A, Mt. Sinai, NY 11766
New Village Recreation Center 20 Wireless Road, Centereach, NY 11720
Henrietta Acampora Recreation Center 39 Montauk Highway, Blue Point, NY 11715
Mastic Recreation Center15 Herkimer Street, Mastic, NY 11950
Fireman’s Field 25 Middle Country Road, Ridge, NY 11961
Comsewogue Library 170 Terryville Road, Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776
Center Moriches Library 235 Main St. Center Moriches, NY 11934

For more information, call 631-451-6963.

 

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Photo from Town of Smithtown
Photo from Town of Smithtown
Photo from Town of Smithtown

The Town of Smithtown successfully distributed over 2000 at-home Covid test kits to the most vulnerable population within the township. On Wednesday, Feb. 9, Town staff picked up 2,552 test kits from Suffolk County at the Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services. On Thursday, Feb. 10, Smithtown Officials delivered approximately 2000 tests to seniors and at-risk individuals within the community, and at the Senior Center. On Monday morning, Feb. 14, the Department of Public Safety orchestrated a distribution event, where residents could collect their at-home tests outside of the Maple Avenue building.

“I’m extremely grateful to our partners in government at Suffolk County for arranging the much needed supply to be distributed to our residents, especially those who need it most. Our community members who are retired or living on a fixed income have certainly felt the cost of inflation, and this pandemic, in ways that have severely reduced quality of life. No one should have to sacrifice nutrition or grocery budgets to purchase PPE like face masks and covid tests. We owe it to our most vulnerable to provide the resources necessary to keep everyone healthy. While I hope the latest wave of the omicron variant was the last peak of Covid-19; these test kits will go a long way towards keeping people safe while cases are on the decline,” said Supervisor Ed Wehrheim.

The At-Home Covid-19 Antigen test kit (made in the USA) which includes two tests per box, were delivered to senior living communities throughout the township, at the Senior Center and at Public Safety. Supervisor Wehrheim’s office worked alongside Legislators Kennedy and Trotta to ensure locations were not replicated with the Legislators drop off locations and distribution events, to maximize the reach. When supplies ran out late on Monday morning at Public Safety, Legislator Robert Trotta generously allotted additional kits for the remaining residents.

Suffolk County will continue to work with the Town of Smithtown to provide additional Covid-19 related resources & PPE supplies for anyone in need. Residents who may be homebound, or are unable to obtain at-home test kits may email the Supervisors office at [email protected] with requests. For additional information on future at-home test kit distribution events within the township, residents can download the Town of Smithtown Mobile App, available for free on Google Play and the App Store.

Did You Know?

Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of four (4) free at-home tests through the US Postal Service. You can obtain a free at-home test kit by visiting covidtests.gov or by calling 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).

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Pictured: Ken Kutner (standing left) of the Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management; Legislator Stephanie Bontempi (standing center) and Legislator Rob Trotta (standing right) during the presentation’s opening remarks.

Legislators Stephanie Bontempi (Centerport) and Rob Trotta (Fort Salonga) recently held an emergency preparedness program that was open to the community at the Northport Public Library.  The training was led by Ken Kutner of the Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management.  Kutner has an extensive background in the field, most notably via his decades of service in the East Northport Fire Department in addition to his work with the County.

Some of the topics covered were the weather outlook for the region in 2022, putting together basic preparedness lists for homes and automobiles, ways to stay informed during emergencies and how to volunteer with emergency organizations.  Some people in attendance were unaware of what it takes to be prepared for a variety of potential emergencies.  Similarly, others were happy to learn that so many free resources are available to stay informed, such as handy emergency-related cell phone apps.

“This training is really a must for everybody, even for those who think they are already sufficiently prepared for what life throws our way.  I was surprised to learn that I need to take some steps to improve my family’s ability to be ready and have more peace of mind.  It’s never too early to get these things in order,” said Bontempi.  “If someone has not attended a program like this, seeking one out in the near future is highly recommended,” added Bontempi.

Those who are interested in learning more about the resources and opportunities mentioned above should visit: https://suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/FRES.

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Kings Park’s downtown district, above during Summer Nights in the Park: Monday on Main last July, will soon see the addition of sewers. Photo by Rita J. Egan

By Raymond Janis

Attorneys representing the Kings Park Community Association and the Long Island Pine Barrens Society have filed a $198 million lawsuit against Suffolk County over a sewer fund they claim was unlawfully depleted.

The Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund was originated as part of the Suffolk County Drinking Water Protection Program, which was established in 1987. The program addressed ballooning sewer rates and volatility across sewer districts using a 0.25% sales tax to subsidize ratepayers and cap rate increases at 3%. After a 2020 voter referendum, the county reformulated the rate structure in Suffolk County Sewer District #6 – Kings Park, increasing rates by 452%, according to Michael Rosato, president of the community association.

In explanation, Peter Scully, deputy county executive for administration, said in a phone interview, “The prior rate structure was inequitable and would have disadvantaged residential property owners in the sewer district. The changes rectified that and made sure sewer ratepayers generating significantly more sewage paid their fair share.”

In a letter sent to Sewer District #6 homeowners Dec. 7, 2020, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) had justified raising sewer rates to mitigate wide discrepancies in operating costs across Suffolk.

“Property owners in the district have been undercharged for years, and revenues collected do not come close to covering operating expenses,” Bellone said in the letter. “The average Suffolk County sewer ratepayer paid $585 in sewer charges this year,” adding, “By comparison, the average homeowner in Sewer District #6 was billed $78.74.”

Rosato, who is also a part-time aide in the office of county Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), claimed Bellone illegally raised rates in Sewer District #6 beyond the 3% threshold, violating the terms of the program.

“In 2020 Bellone put a very misleading referendum on the ballot that he felt allowed him not to pay that fund back and to continue taking money out of it to pay for operating expenses,” Rosato said in a phone interview. “After raiding $198 million out of the fund, he raised Kings Park sewer rates 452%.”

The Pine Barrens Society is a named plaintiff in the lawsuit and has sued Suffolk County repeatedly since 2011 over this sewer fund. According to Rosato, the county demonstrates a pattern of budgetary mismanagement, sewer fund meddling and legal stonewalling.

“In 2011, County Executive [Steve] Levy [D] took $29 million out of that sewer stabilization fund to cover budget holes,” Rosato said. “He was sued by the Pine Barrens Society and the Pine Barrens Society won that lawsuit. Bellone became county executive soon afterward and he subsequently took $171 million out of that fund for operating expenses.”

In the current lawsuit, the Pine Barrens Society challenges Proposition Two, which was the 2020 referendum that authorized the county to use the sewer fund to effectively avoid service cuts and layoffs. Paul Sabatino, co-counsel representing the Pine Barrens Society, said the referendum had no legal basis.

“Proposition Two, when you cut through all the smoke, does two things. It unilaterally repudiates the judgement for $29 million and it unilaterally repudiates the balance of the [$171 million] payment.” Sabatino said in a phone interview. “A county cannot pass a charter law that unilaterally reverses a judicial decree and it cannot adopt a charter law that unilaterally repudiates a settlement agreement. Whether you do it with or without the voters, there is no authority.”

Scully disagreed with this legal reasoning. He said the Pine Barrens Society insisted in prior litigation that voter approval is paramount but is now reversing course completely.

“What’s going on here, ironically, is that the Pine Barrens Society is taking the position that voter approval should be disregarded and that the voters’ approval of Proposition Two in 2020 should be overturned,” Scully said. “I’ve been involved in government for 37 years and this is probably the most bizarre lawsuit I’ve ever seen.”

County voters approved Proposition Two by a margin of 54% to 46%. However, county Legislator Trotta said voters did not understand the intent of the ballot measure.

“The law is very clear about how a referendum has to be put on the ballot,” he said in a phone interview. “It has to be clear and concise, but most people had no idea what they were voting for. Politicians pride themselves on using uninformed voters and manipulating them.”

Scully contended that Trotta and the Pine Barrens Society conducted a lengthy media campaign against Proposition Two in 2020, but voters approved the ballot measure anyway.

“In the weeks prior to the referendum, Legislator Trotta and others were very vocal in bringing their concerns to the attention of the public through the media,” Scully said. “The voters appeared to summarily reject those concerns. People seemed to understand clearly what they were voting on. They voted for financial stability and they spoke with a very clear voice.”

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a major initiative to bring sewers into downtown Kings Park. The sewer stabilization fund and the downtown extension are fiscally unrelated, sourced from separate revenue streams. Scully said that while construction can move forward as planned, the modified rate structure will impact the business district when the project is complete.

“The project can move forward but the rate structure continues to be at risk,” Scully said. “Had the Legislature not modified the rate structure, residential customers in the sewer district would end up in some instances paying higher rates than businesses that generate significantly more sewage.”

Trotta accused the administration of intentionally muddling these two distinct sewer issues to confuse community members and generate fear that the extension project may be derailed.

“They’re totally unrelated,” he said. “What this administration tries to do is tie them together to scare people. They use scare tactics.”

Acknowledging that the two issues remain separate for now, Sabatino implied that the legal principle at stake could affect the downtown sewer extension in the future.

“The legal principle of this lawsuit is important because if they believe they have the ability now to unilaterally evade the 3% cap for Kings Park, then what will stop them from doing that for the extension five years from now?” Sabatino said.

Sabatino argued that fixed-rate increases and rigid percentages were put in place to prevent county officials from depleting the fund at will. He said this lawsuit will determine whether or not those officials remain bound by these requirements.

“If you don’t tie up the hands of elected officials, over time when they see a large pot of money it’s going to be gone,” he said. “You have to tie their hands and do it in a way that is truly effective. It’s the law of political human nature.”

Scully said the Pine Barrens Society has lost credibility due to this lawsuit.

 

“It’s really kind of sad what has happened with regard to the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, which is no longer a credible voice for environmental protection in Suffolk County,” he said.

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Gov. Kathy Hochul. File photo by Julianne Mosher

Local elected officials are joining forces to tell Albany that their towns and villages will not lose zoning control.

During her State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) spoke of creating more affordable housing options. When the 2022 State of the State book was released, the proposed plan, found on pages 130 through 131, stated that it would require all towns and villages in New York state to allow accessory apartments, which in turn would effectively eliminate single-family zoning laws.

The proposed plan spurred Town of Brookhaven officials to call a press conference Feb. 3, while others have spoken out via statements. The proposed legislation would require municipalities to allow one accessory dwelling unit using backyard cottages, attics, garages and basements. The plan is one that the State of the State describes as providing “an affordable multigenerational housing option that helps families live closer together.”

While local municipalities would still have a say in minimum and maximum size requirements, local zoning authorities would not be able to prevent reasonable new construction, the governor said.

Huntington 

In the Town of Huntington, accessory apartments may be allowed when someone listed on the deed resides at the dwelling. The living space cannot be less than 300 square feet or more than 650 square feet and must have two bedrooms or less. The accessory apartment must be attached to the home.

Supervisor Ed Smyth (R) is against Hochul’s plan.

“This is an election year overreach by the governor that no one in their right mind should support,” Smyth said. “It has bipartisan opposition at all levels of government for good reason: It would eliminate local control of development and hand it off to extremists in Albany.”

At press time, Huntington announced they would be part of a county press conference on Feb. 10 to comment further on the issue.

Smithtown

In the Town of Smithtown legal accessory apartments with a valid mother/daughter permit from the Building Department are the only ones permitted with limited exceptions including older two-family homes that were grandfathered in. Rules differ in the town’s villages.

Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said in a statement he fears stripping local zoning control “would only result in a mass exodus.”

“The harsh reality is that Long Island, especially Suffolk County, lacks the modern infrastructure to handle the population increase which this proposal would create,” the supervisor said. “The environmental impacts alone should terrify every Long Islander. We have outdated wastewater systems underground, roads in major need of repair, archaic stormwater infrastructure and in the near future will have nowhere to put our trash. These are the issues that require resolution from the state, not removing local zoning control. This proposal will create a strain on the school system, increased property taxes, amplify traffic and burden local resources which are already stressed. Furthermore, people move out to the suburbs because the perception of the American Dream is still that quaint neighborhood home, picket fence and all, where they can raise a family. As public servants, it’s our duty to preserve and protect that dream.”

In Head of the Harbor, Mayor Doug Dahlgard echoed the sentiments.

“Taking away local zoning control with a broad brush is not acceptable and will be met by opposition claiming the character of our communities will change for the worse,” the mayor said. “Starting a conversation about how to allow generations of a family to stay together on Long Island, on the other hand, makes sense.”

Wehrheim agreed that the issue of affordable housing needs to be discussed and would welcome a task force consisting of local, county and state officials using proven studies and incorporating successful methods that could create affordable housing options in appropriate areas such as a downtown business neighborhood near a train station.

Congressmen support local officials

Town officials have received moral support from their congressmen. U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY3) in a press release criticized Hochul. Suozzi will run in the Democratic primary for governor in June against Hochul

“Governor Hochul’s radical proposal would take away zoning control from municipal governments, erode local government authority and end single-family housing across New York,” Suozzi said. “Hochul’s plan to eliminate home rule is not what we need. I support affordable housing, building up around downtown train stations and helping the homeless. I oppose eliminating home rule and ending single-family housing.”

The presumptive Republican nominee for New York State governor, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) said in a joint statement with Brookhaven officials that Hochul “isn’t focused on real solutions.”

“This blatant attack on suburban communities will end single-family housing as we know it, strip local control away from the New Yorkers who live there, tank the value of their homes, overcrowd their previously quiet streets, and on top of it all, not do anything to solve our affordable housing problem,” Zeldin said.

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