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Briarcliff

The Briarcliff building at 18 Tower Hill Road in Shoreham, was formerly the Briarcliff Elementary School until it closed in 2014. File photo by Kevin Redding

Residents have found their choices have narrowed regarding the historic Briarcliff property.

At a meeting at Shoreham-Wading River High School April 11, board members sat at multiple tables with groups of community members to engage in discussions on whether to keep or sell the 10.54-acre property. 

“How much do you want to do to maintain it?” Shoreham resident Lisa Geraghty asked.

Briarcliff Elementary School closed its doors in 2014. Since then, the district has had to pay for ongoing operating costs — currently $95,000 annually.

“If you were to talk about any appraisal figures that might have been provided, it undermines the opportunity of what the potential sale is.”

— Glen Arcuri

The district originally came up with several ideas for the future use of the building, like having BOCES lease it, relocating the central office there or establishing prekindergarten classes in the space. Eastern Suffolk BOCES has officially stated it does not need to lease a building, and the district said there is no immediate need to relocate its central office. After residents spoke at the March 27 meeting, it was also decided that pre-K was a rejected addition to the proposed budget.

At prior meetings when the future of the Briarcliff property was brought up, community members came forward with ideas to create special education, STEM or art programs there or relocate the North Shore Public Library to the site to expand space at the high school. The additional space is not needed, and the other options were also turned down, according to the district. 

“Part of the issue is the North Shore Public Library is not just Shoreham-Wading River’s library, so it needs to be visible for other people in the local community,” school trustee Erin Hunt said.

If the district were to sell it, the actual value of the property cannot accurately be determined, according to Glen Arcuri, assistant superintendent for finance and operations.

“At this time as the appraisal company said, there’s no [comparison] to a 10.9-acre property in the Village of Shoreham that you’re really able to compare to, so they could give you a price based on square footage or acreage, but the real question is going to be on the buyer,” Arcuri said. “Understand from a district perspective, if you were to talk about any appraisal figures that might have been provided, it undermines the opportunity of what the potential sale is.”

Shoreham-Wading River school district officials pair off with community members to have roundtable discussions about the future of the Briarcliff building April 11. Photo by Kyle Barr

Some residents fear the zoning of the town would change if the building were sold.

“I think these ideas should conform to the current zoning on the property,” Shoreham resident and developer Larry Kogel said. “I don’t see why they couldn’t come up with a value for the board as a worst-case scenario, because anything else would require petitions of zonings or change of zonings that would probably not fly with the residents in the community.”

There is opportunity to lease the property, according to the district, but that would incur new costs from
maintenance and realtors, and would take time for capital costs to be recovered.

There is also the option to attain a historical landmark status for the property, but that may create restrictions for owners, and historical designation grants are highly competitive.

Shoreham resident and member of the board of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, Dave Madigan,
was among those who said he would rather have the building remain in the district’s hands.

“As a community member I would rather just see the building remain in storage for a better day, until you find a user who would want to lease the property as a school or preschool,” Madigan said. “Something
may come up where somebody may want to use it as a private school. Who knows what the future brings?”

Superintendent Gerard Poole said discussions will continue at future board meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for April 18 in the Prodell Middle School auditorium at 7 p.m.

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The Briarcliff building at 18 Tower Hill Road in Shoreham, was formerly the Briarcliff Elementary School until it closed in 2014. File photo by Kevin Redding

By Kevin Redding

During a second public forum held by Shoreham-Wading River’s board of education Tuesday night, a grieving mother pleaded with administrators to “be brave, step out of the box and take a chance” by turning the beloved-but-shuttered school on Tower Hill Road in Shoreham building into a refuge for students that need one.

“We can do something really big here,” said Grace Shea McCarthy, the mother of Remy Kallie Jeanne McCarthy, who, as a 15-year-old freshman at the high school, took her own life Nov. 2, 2016. “My daughter was a very capable, talented, skilled person who, over time, had lost connection with her school and her peers. We need to do more to help these kids sooner.”

McCarthy, an employee at Brookhaven National Lab, asked the board to support a joint proposal by North Shore Youth Council and Tesla Science Center for student-oriented programs and services in the portable units at Briarcliff Elementary School, which was built in 1907 and closed permanently in 2014 as part of the district’s restructuring plan.

She explained that North Shore Youth Council — a Rocky Point-based nonprofit active in communities and school districts throughout the area, including Shoreham-Wading River, Mount Sinai and Miller Place — would be able to host cost-efficient after-school tutoring, recreation, social skill development and summer programs in the space; and provide students of varying ages with professional counseling in the areas of substance abuse, social isolation and depression.

“As a parent watching my child go through this district, I can absolutely tell you this school needs more of these programs,” she said. “We are going through a suicide epidemic — our students need opportunities to build their confidence through buddy systems.”

McCarthy said partnering these students with science and technology programs at the Tesla Science Center would be “incredibly beneficial,” and serve to reignite the passion for science among youth in the community. She addressed the annual costs of $95,000, plus any additional unexpected costs, to operate the school. Board members and residents expressed concerns over the pricey upkeep during the first public discussion about the property last month. Some proposed that the property be sold off to eliminate the costs.

“When I look at that amount of money to maintain such a spectacular building, such a historical landmark in our backyard, I believe we need to fight to keep it,” she said. “It’s not something we should just give away. To have that knocked down to have condos put up or something, that would be a crime.”

Residents spoke up in favor of the proposal.

David Madigan, a Tesla Science Center board member and a former Briarcliff student, urged the board last month to file covenants on the property so the building could never be taken down.

“This way, you can maintain the ownership of the building for future use and defray the costs,” Madigan said.

While Dennis Ryan, a Shoreham resident, said leasing the building was a good idea if the right group came along, he asked the district to not sell, but demolish the school, getting rid of all the extra upkeep costs and turn the 10-acre property into a park for the community.

“We talk about the budget and trying to get a nest egg — the value is in the land itself,” Ryan said. “Hold onto the property. We don’t need the money at this point. If something happens 10 to 15 years down the line and we need that money, then we know we’ll have it.”

At the top of the forum, Superintendent Gerard Poole presented the district’s evaluation and consideration of some of the ideas residents had during the first forum Jan. 9. These included selling the property, moving the two-floor North Shore Public Library that is attached to the high school to Briarcliff,
attaining historical landmark status and redeveloping the building as a residence for seniors.

Board president Robert Rose assured that the district will not be rushing into any
decision, continuing to weigh the options while promising to hold more public forums.

“We want to take our time and make the right decision,” Rose said.