By Aidan Johnson
A lithium battery storage facility will not be built on property owned by real estate agent Ray Manzoni near Mount Sinai-Coram Road and Route 25A.
The Brookhaven Town Board will not consider a proposal to change the zoning in the proposed area from “J Business District, Transitional Business Zone” to “L Industrial 1, Light Industrial Zone,” according to a June 5 press release from the Town of Brookhaven.
In the press release, town Supervisor Dan Panico (R) stated that after attending the latest Mount Sinai Civic Association meeting, “people preferred the current zoning and/or the possibility of the redevelopment of the parcel into a use more compatible with the zoning.”
He also stated there is “significant confusion regarding the New York State climate action goals and implementation of these battery energy storage systems.”
In an interview after the June 6 Town Board meeting, Panico said more public education on how the state government’s climate action laws work was necessary.
“I find throughout the town, a lot of people are not aware of what it entails going forward, the costs associated with the enactment, procuring the equipment,” he said.
“People have questions with regard to the sustainability of the electrical grid itself, but I think a lot more needs to be done as we move toward implementing the goals,” he added.
Other matters
During the Brookhaven Town Board meeting, which fell on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, U.S. veterans were honored when Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency Director Marcelle Leis and Deputy Director James Brennan displayed an American flag that was flown at Memorial Day services at the Long Island National Cemetery, Calverton National Cemetery, Stony Brook Veterans Home and the Babylon Grade School.
The flag can currently be found at the county’s H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge.
The Town Board also honored Aman Mistry and Siddhant Desai, two Stony Brook University scholarship medicine program students who, along with creating the Scholarship Medicine Society — which partakes in community outreach efforts in health care — hosted an innovation challenge that saw 60 students participate in brainstorming innovative solutions in respect of the lack of access and equity in health care, supported by faculty mentorship.
Additionally, three eighth graders from Center Moriches, Addison Raupp, Kristin Luna, and Adrianna Loesch, were honored after raising $8,000 for banners on street lights that display the names of hometown veterans.
The Town Board presented a proclamation recognizing and commemorating June as Pride Month in the Town of Brookhaven.
The board also passed an amendment to a code that previously allowed residents to own up to six chickens on any parcel of land. The new code permits residents to own up to 12 chickens on land larger than 20,000 square feet. However, only six chickens are permitted on land 20,000 square feet or smaller, and no roosters are allowed. There will also be a 10-foot setback from the property line for the chickens.
