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Brookhaven planning board

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Pictured above, the PJSTCA executive board. File photo by Raymond Janis

The Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association gathered at Comsewogue Public Library on Tuesday, Nov. 15, for its monthly general meeting.

Representing the Comsewogue School District, students Kylie and Max delivered a string of reports on various upcoming events within the district. Kylie referred to the high school’s recent annual Trick-or-Treat Street as “a huge success.” 

Max reported parent-teacher conferences would take place on Monday, Nov. 21, from 5 to 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 23, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Community members are welcome to attend Spanish Heritage Night on Dec. 9 from 7-9 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.

Ed Garboski, president of PJSTCA, announced that the area had received a grant for streetlights along Route 112. Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) facilitated the funding, according to the civic’s leadership. 

These funds, combined with money made available to the community through the new Nissan dealership, should cover lights for the entire strip. The body passed a resolution to draft a letter thanking the councilmember and his staff for their efforts to illuminate the corridor.

PJSTCA vice president Sal Pitti announced a recent “huge arrest” related to catalytic converter theft, a crime trend throughout the region. Pitti reported that law enforcement arrested 21 individuals in a multistate initiative, charging 13, two of whom were from Suffolk County.

“This was a Department of Justice operation that was done with multiple agencies across multiple states,” he said. “Mind you, this does not mean it stops. They got a lot of people that we assume are the main people, but they might not be.” He added, “Arrests are being made on it, but we don’t know where it will go from there.”

Garboski discussed spring plans for the community garden near the middle school. “If anyone has ideas, wants to volunteer or help get it moving for the spring, please let us know,” he said.

The members also discussed a 5-acre, 40-unit planned retirement community to be developed on the corner of Terryville and Old Town roads. Civic member Lou Antoniello, who was involved in the 2008 Comsewogue Hamlet Comprehensive Plan, described the historical background behind this local development discussion.

“Back in 2008, the people who owned that [parcel] were the people who owned the shopping center adjacent to it,” he said. “During the hamlet study, they made it known that they wanted to build a shopping center next to the one they already owned.” He added, “The people who lived in that community said they didn’t want it.”

Through a series of compromises made during the time of the hamlet study, the community and the property owners agreed upon zoning that property for a small retirement community. Since then, the Town of Brookhaven has rezoned that land to PRC Residence District.

Civic member Ira Costell suggested the community take a greater interest in that development as the process works through the Brookhaven Planning Board.

“That owner has an as-of-use right to develop that property in that fashion,” he said. “It’s going to be important that we pay attention to the site plan review process at the Planning Board level to decide if we want to influence how that development proceeds.”

Later this month, the civic’s executive team will meet with town officials and Planning Board members. Asking the members how to represent the interests of the community, Pitti offered that it would be wise if he and others pressed the town to limit all new development to residential rather than commercial.

Garboski and Pitti announced during the October meeting they had recently sold their homes, triggering a reshuffling of the civic’s top two posts. [See story, “Port Jefferson Station/Terryville civic … shake-up at the helm.”]

Inquiring about the coming transition process for the civic leadership, Costell proposed beginning those procedures now. 

“Perhaps we can start to talk about a transition group or committee that can join in on some of these conversations and shape where things go in the next several months,” he said. “I think we really need to have a coalition that we can build here so that we can move forward given the changing tenor of the times here.”

Responding, Pitti suggested that he and Garboski intend to finish this year as usual and begin working with possible successors starting in 2023. However, he stated that bringing other members to the upcoming meeting on the Terryville Road PRC development would be unwise.

Costell’s concerns centered less around any one meeting and more around the overall transition process. “I’m trying to indicate that we don’t want to throw somebody into the deep end of the pool next year,” he said. “I’m looking for a principle, an idea, for how we can incorporate some of the people who want to shape this community beyond your time here.”

Finding some common ground, Garboski said members must decide who will fill these top positions given the demands and constraints. “Amongst yourselves, first figure out who wants to take this over,” he said.

Resolving the matter, Costell offered that the organization is working toward a resolution. “You’re making the perfect point that some sort of transition is an ideal circumstance,” he said. “If you’re comfortable with how that’s happening, and the group is as well, that’s fine by me.”

The civic will reconvene Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m

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

Construction can resume at a future shopping center.

At the Dec. 17 Town of Brookhaven Planning Board general meeting, the board members handed down a split decision for Stony Brook Square, a shopping center under construction across from the Stony Brook train station on Route 25A. In the summer, Little Rock Construction and its president Parviz Farahzad received a stop-work order after significant field changes were discovered by the town. The changes made to the approved construction plans included widening of a driveway, two buildings’ locations shifting a few feet and the addition of 19 parking stalls at the rear of the 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.

In addition to three planning board meetings in the last few months, representatives from Little Rock Construction met with the Three Village Civic Association in October to discuss the field changes. In 2017, the developer had met with the civic association and residents during Route 25A visioning meetings and discussed community members concerns regarding the shopping center on the state roadway.

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

— Tim Shea

At the Dec. 17 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 denied the revised building location of a second building, which was constructed a few feet back from its original planned location, and construction of 19 previously land-banked parking spaces. The denial means the developer must construct the structure, identified as building 5, at the location originally approved by the board, which will bring it in line with building 1. The recommendation states the land-banking of the 19 parking spaces, which will be adjacent to the northern property boundary, require a minimum of a double row of evergreen plantings 7 feet high and 5 feet in diameter.

In the last few months, members of the civic association have been vocal in their opposition to field changes at the construction site.

“It’s fortunate that the town planning board understood the importance of the original site plan — a plan that was mutually agreed upon by the town, the community and the developer,” said Herb Mones, land-use committee chairperson for the civic association. “The Planning Board decision mandates the adherence to most aspects of this original plan and is an important reminder to developers to follow the rules.”

Civic association vice president George Hoffman echoed Mones’ sentiments.

“We are pleased that the town’s planning board stuck to its guns and rejected Mr. Farahzad’s request to modify his site plan after he was found to have made significant changes that were not in conformance to the site plan that was a product of discussions with the civic association.”

Farahzad declined to comment on the planning board’s decisions.

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Stop & Shop is planning to paint the East Setauket store gray and change the bottle redemption center from the front to the back. Photo from Town of Brookhaven

A supermarket chain’s requests of the Town of Brookhaven Planning Board are creating concerns in East Setauket from a historical and environmental perspective.

“We’re really concerned that this kind of dark color is going to contrast with the historic district, and it won’t be in conformity with a lot of the architecture of the other buildings.”

— George Hoffman

Peggy Kelly, of Kelly’s Expediting Corp., representing Stop & Shop, attended the Oct. 15 planning board meeting asking for a facade color change to three Stop & Shop stores in Brookhaven — Medford, Farmingville and East Setauket — and switching the location of the East Setauket bottle redemption area from the front of the store to the back.

The color change would mean the facade of the Route 25A store in East Setauket would go from sandstone to gray. Kelly said the facade will change at eight Brookhaven stores, and it has already been altered in 21 locations in Suffolk County.

“Currently Stop & Shop is going through a refreshing,” Kelly said. “What they’re trying to do is develop an image which to the customer — the consumer — is going to [be] more fresh, green and a more healthy look.”

George Hoffman, first vice president of the Three Village Civic Association, was on hand for the planning board meeting and said the civic was opposed to the new color scheme that would be painted over the current beige sandstone for the majority of the building. He said the gray the representatives from the civic group were shown seemed to be a dark slate and not a light shade and would stand out. The applicant is also applying to paint the rest of the shopping center gray.

“We’re really concerned that this kind of dark color is going to contrast with the historic district, and it won’t be in conformity with a lot of the architecture of the other buildings,” Hoffman said.

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) submitted a letter to the planning board stating that the proposed color change would be contrary to the historic character of the community.

“A dark gray facade would stand out in our retail area and draw attention in a manner that would work against architectural cohesion and continuity,” Englebright wrote.

Hoffman said the civic also had an issue with the changing of the bottle redemption center location since it will be harder to get to.

“A dark gray facade would stand out in our retail area and draw attention in a manner that would work against architectural cohesion and continuity.”

— Steve Englebright

“There’s a small little alleyway — well driveway — that leads to the back,” Hoffman said. “You have to pass by the truck loading zone and the trash compactor and now they’re going to put it in the back parking lot. At a time when we should be encouraging recycling you don’t want to make it harder for people to bring back their bottles.”

Englebright in his letter said the current bottle return location in the front of the store is in an ideal spot as it’s convenient and accessible to customers walking from the parking lot. He wrote that he believes changing the location to the rear of the store would lead to a reduction in recycling since Stop & Shop is the only supermarket in the Setauket/East Setauket area.

Kelly said the bottle redemption center being moved to the back would give customers a larger space and prevent congestion in front of the store. She said if the board didn’t agree to the change, the location could remain in the front.

Kelly added East Setauket was the only location with a question about the color change. All other Brookhaven civic associations or council members who have reached out to their communities have approved the new color scheme.

The board tabled the decision until the next planning board meeting Nov. 5 and asked that Stop & Shop representatives meet with the Three Village Civic Association.

Both the chain and civic are open to the suggestion, and Hoffman said they will meet before the end of the month.

“We are aware of civic concerns regarding a possible color change and bottle deposit relocation at our Setauket store,” said Steve Kienzle, senior vice president of market operations and sales for Stop & Shop. “We are reviewing all options so that we can bring the situation to a resolution.”

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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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