The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook has dedicated its current exhibit, Two Centuries of Long Island Women Artists, 1800-2000, to the memory of arts patroness and community activist Cindy M. Smith, a Stony Brook resident and long-time supporter of local artists.
The sign placed near the exhibit entrance reads: “This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Cindy M. Smith, a strong advocate for the arts and historic preservation in our community.” Ms. Smith, a Smithtown native who died last month of leukemia, was a frequent visitor to the museum as well as local galleries and cultural events across Long Island.
“Cindy was a passionate advocate for the arts as well as historic preservation, and quality of life in general on the North Shore,” said Warren Strugatch, her husband. “She felt women artists faced greater obstacles to success than men, and had to work harder to achieve recognition. She would have been first on line to see the exhibition if she were still alive.”
The well-reviewed exhibition includes works by such iconic women artists as Lee Krasner and Elaine de Kooning, as well as such contemporaries as April Gornik, Audrey Flack, and Jennifer Bartlett. The exhibition continues through Sept. 4. For more information, visit www.longislandmuseum.org.
Cindy Smith, left, at a press conference in 2021 helped organize efforts against Gyrodyne’s development in St. James. In the above photo she is flanked by allies in the Stop Gyrodyne movement, Judy Ogden of Save Flowerfield and Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn. Photo from Warren Strugatch
Cindy M. Smith, a Stony Brook resident who helped organize community efforts against Gyrodyne’s development efforts in St. James, died Tuesday, Feb.15, in Manhattan. She was 61 and had leukemia.
Cindy Smith at the New York Botanical Garden. Photo from Warren Strugatch
A steadfast supporter of the arts, a dedicated environmentalist, and a proud advocate of the North Fork’s cultural heritage, Smith became a civic activist in order to protect the community’s quality of life, said her husband and business partner, Warren Strugatch.
“Cindy linked the Flowerfield project with increased traffic congestion,” Strugatch said. “The more she looked into the planning, the more she believed there was no planning. She hated politicians building a sewage treatment plant over Stony Brook Harbor and no one stopping them.”
To help civic leaders speak in a unified voice, Smith organized the Greater Stony Brook Action coalition in 2017. “The coalition came out of our conversations about Jane Jacobs and how she confronted Robert Moses in the 1960s,” said Strugatch. “Cindy enrolled eight civic organizations in the new coalition. Eight isn’t a huge number, but 30,000 is. That’s how many residents were enrolled in the civics, collectively. Now, politicians had to listen.”
Smith spoke exhaustively about how the planned development would snarl traffic up and down the North Shore. “Cindy understood that medical facilities are the worst traffic generators you can imagine,” said Strugatch. “Thousands of people come in and out at all hours. Cindy pressed the fact that traffic would be at perpetual standstill.”
Smith also researched sewage runoff, toxic sewage effluent, emergency vehicle access, and damage to historical continuity and quality of life.
“Cindy didn’t think the project was good for either Brookhaven or Smithtown,” said Strugatch. “She felt public opinion would turn when people learned the truth. That’s exactly what happened.”
James Bouklas, president of We Are Smithtown, said: “Stony Brook and Smithtown residents have lost a tough fighter and a true friend. She worked tirelessly to sound the alarm about how our water, traffic, and quality of life are in danger.”
Friends and allies describe Smith as a big supporter of the arts, which she often called an economic driver. While confronting Gyrodyne over its development plans, she applauded the company’s support for onsite arts programs such as the Atelier studio and the Brick ceramics studio. She was a regular at studio openings, often leaving with spur-of-the-moment purchases.
“Cindy and I became friends after running into each other at community art exhibitions, concerts and gallery openings,” said Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn. “Cindy was passionate about the arts and recognized the positive impact local artists have on enriching our community, our cultural experience and unique sense of place.”
Born in Smithtown in 1960, Smith was the daughter of Lawrence Smith Sr, who owned auto restoration shops, and Patricia (Slattery) Smith, a homemaker who eventually worked in the home mortgage industry. She and her younger brother Larry distributed Pennysavers after school in various neighborhoods, earning money their parents put toward college tuition.
Cindy Smith on her wedding day. Photo from Warren Strugatch
As a girl, Cindy attended Sweetbriar Elementary School andAvenue Junior High School. She graduated from newly constructed Smithtown West in 1979. Throughout high school she volunteered at the Smithtown Public Library and other community programs.
As an undergrad, Smith attended Hofstra University where she studied marketing and communications. She interned at the Smithtown News under editor Vicky Katz, who later taught at Stony Brook University. “Everything she knew about communications, she attributed to Vicky,” Strugatch said.
After graduating Hofstra, she took the first of a series of small company marketing jobs. Blockbuster Entertainment hired her in 1985 as Northeast marketing director. Her experience promoting the 50th anniversary videocassette release of “The Wizard of Oz” provided her favorite career story.
Responsible for getting major media coverage of the anniversary release, Smith led a tour of midtown Manhattan for several actors who’d played Munchkins in the film. At nearly six feet tall, Smith towered over her charges. The appearance at Carnegie Deli produced major media coverage.
When Blockbuster’s growth slowed down, Smith was hired by the EGC Group, a marketing and advertising firm. As a vice president she handled accounts of Brother International, Häagen-Dazs, the International Flower Bulb Center, the Long Island Aquarium, and the Oyster Festival. “Everything I do is about customer experience,” she once said.
After EGC, Smith partnered with her husband, Warren Strugatch, creating a consulting organization called Inflection Point Associates. The company helped clients improve efficiency, increase sales and profitability, and create scalable growth solutions. The company also provided event management and marketing services to clients across the Northeast.
In recent years, Smith served as vice president of Select Long Island, a pro bono effort to raise Long Island’s stature among corporate location advisors. She helped organize a groundbreaking economic development meeting bringing together Long Island’s top economic development officials in April 2019.
Smith purchased a rambling home in Stony Brook 20 years ago and, with her father’s assistance, converted the purchased house into a residential showplace photographed by décor magazines. She and her husband hosted many small gatherings of local artists, musicians, and arts administrators. Many featured Smith’s extensive collection of Christopher Radko holiday ornaments and 11-foot Christmas trees.
Ned Puchner, executive director of Gallery North in Setauket, recalled how Smith “helped welcome me and my family into this community. She made me feel supported as both the new director and as a person trying to find his place” here.
In addition to Strugatch, Smith is survived by her brother Larry, an industrial executive; his wife, Dawn Smith, and their daughters, Lauryn and Kathryn.
Another cultural leader, Neil Watson, executive director of the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook, described Smith as a familiar face at openings and educational programs. “Cindy was a person full of grace and deep humanity,” he said. “She had a sense of caring and knowing that shined through.She was also whip-smart. We have lost a wonderful part of this arts community.”
Hospitalized in late September, Smith received treatment for leukemia at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine’s oncology program. Her husband said he held her hand just before she died, unquestionably seeing the grace of God in her forgiving face — three times. Hours later, she died as her husband retold her Munchkins-in-Manhattan story to a trio of visiting doctors.
“I got to the end, and she breathed her last,” Strugatch said. “She finally went over the rainbow. Cindy always had exquisite timing.”
Cindy M. Smith was buried Saturday, Feb. 19, and services were held at Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown. In addition to friends and family members, speakers included state Assemblyman Steve Englebright and Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn.
Cindy will be remembered for dedicated service preserving our community’s quality of life,” said Englebright. “She was a great civic leader. The work she did to hold the line on overdevelopment means a lot.”
Strugatch said: “Cindy was a very gentle soul and an extraordinarily kind person. But she was a firebrand when it came to defending her community.”
James Bouklas, president of We Are Smithtown, leads a protest against Gyrodyne March 2. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Civic groups from two neighboring townships joined forces March 2 to advocate for additional studies of a development along Route 25A.
George Hoffman, 1st vice president of the Three Village Civic Association, and others call for an independent environmental study of the property. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Members of the civic group We Are Smithtown organized a rally on the corner of Mills Pond Road and Route 25A in St. James to protest the proposed Gyrodyne property development at the site. The group was joined by representatives from the Greater Stony Brook Action Coalition, Three Village Civic Association, Town of Brookhaven Citizens Advisory Committee for Route 25A, Setauket Harbor Task Force and Smithtown activist Amy Fortunato.
The company is hoping to build an assisted living home, hotel, medical offices and sewage treatment plant on the property.
James Bouklas, president of We Are Smithtown, said all in attendance opposed the development and were concerned about possible toxins in the soil of the former helicopter manufacturer’s land, along with a list of other concerns.
He and other protesters called on the Town of Smithtown and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to take action and conduct an independent and rigorous forensic environmental study.
He described the potential development as “akin to building a new Smith Haven Mall on this rural, country stretch of Route 25A.”
The civic group president gave examples of former aviation manufacturers such as Lawrence Aviation and Grumman that he said, “operated behind a huge wall, often in secrecy, and in the end, they all left a legacy of pollution and toxic plumes.”
“Here is what we do know,” he added. “Gyrodyne was a defense manufacturer in those pre-Earth Day years of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s when America wasn’t exactly careful about what went in the ground.”
The civic president also expressed concern that through the decades auto repair and photography businesses have operated on the Gyrodyne grounds as well as above-ground vehicle storage among others that may have released chemicals into the soil. The property is a short distance from Stony Brook Harbor.
“What goes into our groundwater quickly winds up as our drinking water,” he said. “There is no margin for error.”
In addition to environmental concerns, Bouklas cited traffic congestion on both 25A and Stony Brook Road.
Justin Bryant, who grew up in Smithtown and now lives in Stony Brook, said he too is concerned about chemicals in the ground at Gyrodyne, saying it’s been too long since a forensic environmental analysis was done.
“It’s important to remember where about 2,000 feet behind you a Superfund site, regulated by the [Environmental Protection Agency],” he said. “This site is on the national priorities list, which means it’s a site most at risk to the people who live in the area.”
“What goes into our groundwater quickly winds up as our drinking water. There is no margin for error.”
— James Bouklas
According to the EPA, there is a groundwater contamination site in the villages of Nissequogue and Head of the Harbor. Since the pollution was discovered in 1997, the agency has been monitoring the area’s ground and surface water.
Herb Mones, chair of the Three Village Civic Association land use committee and a 30-year resident of Stony Brook, said the historic corridor should be protected and preserved and any development should be done in a reasonable and sensible way to protect the surrounding communities.
George Hoffman, 1st vice president of the Three Village Civic Association, was co-chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Route 25A, where the Town of Brookhaven met with residents to gather their thoughts about what needed improvement on the corridor.
“You can’t save one part of the highway without saving the entire highway,” he said. “This is a really historic corridor.”
He pointed to an environmental study done more than 10 years ago, when the State University of New York bought 250 acres of Gyrodyne property, that found several chemicals in the soil. However, both Hoffman and others at the rally said the chemicals did not show up in the recent environmental study Gyrodyne paid for in the location of the potential subdivision.
“We’re really suspicious of how one part of the property could have had a lot of chemicals in it, where this part of the property now has apparently been given a clean bill of health,” he said.
Cindy Smith, chair of the Greater Stony Brook Action Coalition/United Communities Against Gyrodyne, held the first protest against the Gyrodyne development on the steps of Smithtown’s Town Hall Nov. 2017. After the March 2 press conference, she said she is pleased with the bond that has been formed with “like-minded civic groups in Smithtown and Brookhaven.”
As a member of Friends of Stony Brook Road, she has helped addressed the impact of the overcapacity street.
“We knew that the additional traffic from the proposed Gyrodyne development would cause even more quality-of-life and safety issues on our road, not to mention the increased financial burden to Brookhaven residents,” she said, adding she is also concerned about water quality, historical impact, increased taxes and more.
Smith said the organizations have given both town residents voice, and Greater Stony Brook Action Coalition/United Communities Against Gyrodyne has worked with environmentalists, including Carl Safina, Dick Amper of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society and John Turner conservation chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society.
Smithtown spokesperson Nicole Garguilo said in a statement that the Town has been vigilant in following New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act requirement and law,
“It would be negligent, not to mention a dangerous, unethical precedent to ask the hard-working taxpayers of our community to foot a $500,000 (minimum) bill for a private property owners’ Environmental Impact Statement. Especially, when the EIS process requires the Town’s planning, engineering and environmental professionals to thoroughly review and verify the analysis,” Gargulio said.
A representative from Gyrodyne could not be reached for a comment about the protest or environmental study.
At the Suffolk County Legislature’s March 3 general meeting, a vote for a comprehensive planning study for the corridor was tabled until March 17.
Sidewalks being installed on Stony Brook Road near the university and the Research and Development Park. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Residents, community groups and elected officials gathered at William Sidney Mount Elementary School auditorium Sept. 16 to discuss pertinent issues in the Town of Brookhaven at an event hosted by the Stony Brook Concerned Homeowners Ltd and Friends of Stony Brook Road.
Topics discussed at the meeting were the progress on Stony Brook Road, the latest on the Gyrodyne Property and student rentals.
The latest on Stony Brook Road
Lee Krauer, president of the Friends of Stony Brook Road, said the group is frustrated with Town of Brookhaven highway superintendent, Dan Losquadro (R), and the work being done on the road.
“We have requested so many meetings with him [Losquadro] to discuss the issues that we need to discuss,” she said. “He came to the meeting last year and told everyone there that we would have sand and concrete on the medians. Does anybody see it?”
Krauer said according to Losquadro the reason behind not having the concrete medians is because the Highway Department doesn’t have enough money in the budget for them.
She also expressed frustration with Stony Brook University.
“The university involvement is nil, they don’t care about Stony Brook Road,” Krauer said.
Currently, Stony Brook Road is undergoing a $1.9 million makeover that will see repairs and work done on sidewalks, drainage systems, turning lanes and traffic signals among others. Work is scheduled to be completed by the middle of October.
The Gyrodyne property situation
The fate of the Gyrodyne property has been a concern for many residents, since the developers announced plans in 2017 to subdivide the 62 acres of land in St. James, also known as Flowerfields, to construct a 150-room hotel with a restaurant and day spa, two medical office buildings and a 220-unit assisted living complex with its own sewage treatment facility.
Many in the area have raised concerns about the amount of traffic that would empty out onto Route 25A and Stony Brook Road if an additional exit was made accessible on the east side.
Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said he would consider legal action if site plans are approved for the Gyrodyne development. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Cindy Smith, of the Greater Stony Brook Action Coalition, spoke on the status of the Gyrodyne development.
“There will be tremendous traffic on 25A and development has the potential to dump traffic on Stony Brook Road,” she said.
Smith said despite the parcel being on Town of Smithtown property the traffic burden will be felt by Brookhaven residents.
Smithtown “would reap the tax property revenue while Brookhaven foots the bill, and we have to deal with the quality of issues like traffic, noise, dust and safety issues,” she said.
Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said he opposes additional development on that parcel.
“We are doing all we can to see if the county would be willing to purchase some of that land,” he said. “This could have a tremendous impact on the community, I am opposed to opening up the roads between Gyrodyne and the university.”
Romaine said it would have dire consequences on Stony Brook Road.
“I am prepared to seek legal action as town supervisor to prevent roads from being opened,” he said.
Student boarding houses/rentals
Off-campus student boarding houses have been an issue for Three Village residents, though in recent years with help from the town and SBU the amount of these houses that pop up in the community has been curbed.
A home on Stony Brook Road was condemned after the Town of Brookhaven found the homeowner had the garage and basement illegally converted into apartments that housed Stony Brook University students. Photo from Town of Brookhaven
Bruce Sander, of Stony Brook Concerned Citizens, said the organization is glad at seeing this success but reiterated more can be done.
He said some of the blame still falls on the university for not adequately providing enough student housing on campus, especially for first-year students.
Sander also mentioned that international students and others don’t want to pay for the school’s meal plan, which is considered too expensive, and have found a way around living on campus.
“The university needs to increase housing on campus,” he said.
An idea previously brought by Romaine would have SBU require all non-commuter students who are freshmen to be mandated to live on campus.
For more information about the Stony Brook residents organizations, visit:
County Legislator Kara Hahn and Stony Brook resident Cindy Smith at a Nov. 10 press conference to propose a county initiative for Flowerfield in St. James. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Local legislators are paying attention when it comes to the concerns of Stony Brook residents regarding the proposed development of a land parcel in St. James.
At a Nov. 10 press conference held on the steps of Smithtown Town Hall, it was announced that Suffolk County Legislators Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) introduced a bill in the Legislature asking the county to begin the process of purchasing more than 40 acres of property currently owned by Gyrodyne LLC. The first step is an appraisal of the land, which runs along Route 25A and borders Stony Brook Road and Mill Pond Road. The goal is to preserve the open space, known locally as Flowerfield, while continuing to lease the few older buildings to small businesses and artists currently renting.
The announcement was made a few days before a public hearing regarding the Gyrodyne subdivision proposal at the Smithtown Town Planning Board’s Nov. 15 meeting. On Nov. 13, the bill was approved during the county Legislature’s Environment, Planning & Agriculture committee meeting and will be voted on in the general meeting Nov. 21.
“We are for smart, sustainable development, and this isn’t sustainable in the area it happens to be in.”
— Cindy Smith
Cindy Smith, founder of the Greater Stony Brook Action Coalition, thanked Hahn, Trotta, state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) for their support. Smith founded the coalition after the Suffolk County Planning Commission approved the conceptual subdivision of the 62 acres of land owned by Gyrodyne at an Aug. 2 meeting. The proposed plan includes a 150-room hotel, two medical office buildings and two assisted living facilities. There is also the possibility of opening a street behind University Heights Drive that would lead to Stony Brook Road.
“We know already what it’s like when development is done and things happen in your backyard,” Smith said of why she was hosting the press conference. “All of a sudden there’s a tremendous amount of traffic.”
The Stony Brook resident said she doesn’t want to see the same thingoccur in Smithtown, or see things get worse in her area. Due to increased traffic over the years from Stony Brook University and the Wireless Center, which borders the Gyrodyne property, she said residents along Stony Brook Road, where she lives, have witnessed 18-wheelers using the street, drivers littering and historical characteristics in the area disappearing. During rush hour, Smith said emergency vehicles have difficulty traveling down the street.
The coalition founder said no traffic studies or environmental assessments have been conducted by the county and there has been no estimate of the impact on the local infrastructure.
“We’re not against development,” Smith said. “We are for smart, sustainable development, and this isn’t sustainable in the area it happens to be in.”
“This is not the proper use of this parcel, and we would like to see it preserved.”
— Kara Hahn
Hahn, chairwoman of the Environment, Planning & Agriculture Committee, said if the land is developed it could harm local bays and waterways, and agreed it would overburden roads and increase the dangers of traveling in the area. The hazards of 25A and Stony Brook Road are something she is acutely aware of after being involved in a head-on collision at the intersection in April 2001.
“This is not the proper use of this parcel, and we would like to see it preserved,” Hahn said, adding that she asked Trotta if she could take the lead on the bill because she felt it was critical to her district.
Cartright, who was in attendance to represent the Town of Brookhaven and spearheaded 25A-visioning meetings in the Three Village area during the last year and a half, said the main concern of Stony Brook residents was traffic congestion in the area, especially at the juncture of 25A and Stony Brook Road.
“Today there is an alternative that is being presented by our county Legislature and that is to preserve this vital open space,” she said. “And we stand in support of the preservation of this land.”
Englebright said he wrote a letter to the New York State Department of Transportation asking it to deny any application for curb cuts on 25A. He said the town needs to change the zoning in Smithtown. While it made sense for the property to be zoned for business when Gyrodyne tested helicopter blades, the assemblyman said it should no longer apply to the residential area.
“If this proposal is allowed to go forward it will paralyze the communities of Stony Brook and St. James,” Englebright said, adding it would bring mid-Manhattan-style traffic to the area. “It will be like driving a stake into the heart of St. James.”
Gyrodyne could not be reached for comments by press time.
Map shows the original conceptual plans of developing the Gyrodyne /Flowerfield property in St. James. Image from Suffolk County
Some Brookhaven residents and Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) are concerned about the potential negative impact development of a St. James property might have on Stony Brook Road.
On Aug. 2, the Suffolk County Planning Committee approved the conceptual subdivision of a 62-acre parcel of land in St. James owned by Gyrodyne, LLC. The property, known locally as Flowerfield, borders Route 25A and Stony Brook Road, and the plan includes approval for a 150-room hotel, two medical office buildings and two assisted living facilities.
One of the suggestions given at the August meeting to relieve possible traffic issues on Route 25A was to use a road that crosses over train tracks on the land parcel, passes through private property and utilizes a road owned by Stony Brook University where drivers would then be led to Stony Brook Road.
After Gyrodyne received approval from the county, resident Cindy Smith founded the Coalition of Greater Stony Brook Action Committee in the hopes of mobilizing local civic groups and providing a voice for the thousands of permanent residents in the village. Smith, along with local residents and Romaine, attended the planning committee’s Oct. 4 meeting to express their concerns to the members.
During an August meeting of the Suffolk County Planning Committee, it was suggested to use a currently closed street which leads to Stony Brook Road if development in St. James leads to increase traffic on Route 25A. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Smith said she took exception to the planning committee not seeking input from the surrounding communities. While adeveloper has not been named and the Gyrodyne property is not yet on the Smithtown planning board’s agenda, she said she is concerned that no traffic studies or environmental assessments have been conducted and there has been no estimate of the impact on the local infrastructure. In regards to traffic, the commission in their resolution suggested the future applicant consider a bike share program to help reduce short distance motor traffic.
Romaine said he attended the Oct. 4 county planning committee meeting after receiving inadequate notification of the August meeting. He said the town only received 48 hours notice, and it lacked an environmental assessment form, a project description and usage of the property.
The supervisor said with Nicolls and Stony Brook roads being the only two ways to access Stony Brook University, quality of life has been impacted negatively in the area, especially on Stony Brook and Oxhead roads, due to traffic. He added the university also owns property that borders the Gyrodyne land on the east. On the grounds is the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology where new buildings are being erected, which could cause even more traffic in the area from the center’s employees.
“We don’t need additional traffic from the Gyrodyne development pouring onto Stony Brook Road,” Romaine said. “We will strongly oppose that and we will explore all of our legal options to do exactly that.”
Smith, who is a member of Friends of Stony Brook Road, which works to address traffic and speeding issues on the street, said due to the university being state property, they do not need to follow local planning procedures or receive approval. She said she believes the lack of a master plan has created a problem and said she feels the Gyrodyne project lacks the same foresight.
“It’s really a quality of life issue — it’s safety,” she said. “It’s another town’s economic boom and Brookhaven’s financial demise because all the traffic will be on Brookhaven roads.”
Stony Brook Road residents deal with cars backed up on the street during rushed hour traffic and are concerned about the Gyrodyne project increasing the problem. Photo by Jonathan Kornreich
Smith, who lives on Stony Brook Road and works from home as a business consultant, said another issue is that the property borders 25A, which is a historic corridor, and she is concerned its value as such will be jeopardized. She said the goal of the coalition is not to impede development but to demand a better master plan when it comes to properties such as Gyrodyne’s and the areas that surround it.
“If we are going to develop it, and it’s certainly the right of that landowner to do that, let’s do it smartly,” she said. “Let’s do it with sustainability, and let’s do it with community input and let the other local officials from the Town of Brookhaven understand what’s going on and let them have a say in it, too. Because it’s going to affect the Town of Brookhaven, even though it’s in the township of Smithtown.”
Romaine said he is also concerned with added traffic on Route 25A, pointing to the intersection of the state thoroughfare with Stony Brook Road where bends in the road cause limited sight issues. He said both are beyond their capacity.
“In my view we have too much traffic and congestion now, and I want to make sure we don’t have any additional,” Romaine said.
George Hoffman, co-chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Route 25A, which conducted visioning meetings for residents in the Three Village area earlier this year, was also in attendance at the Oct. 4 meeting. He echoed Smith’s sentiments that there should have been more input from the community. He said he hopes Smith is successful in getting others involved in the coalition.
“Maybe this is the issue that gets us all at the same table to start working in a uniformed way where we start to talk,” Hoffman said. “I really think we need that.”
Romaine also sent a letter Sept. 20 to Smithtown Planning Board Chairman Conrad Chayes expressing his concerns and recommendations. He said while the county did not require a traffic study and only recommended one, he has faith that Smithtown will mandate it. When it comes to developments such as Gyrodyne, the supervisor said he is willing to work with the state, county and other towns.
“To think that people can blindly put traffic out on Stony Brook Road without us putting up a fight, they are going to be sadly mistaken,” he said. “Brookhaven is definitely going to fight this.”
Requests for comments from representatives of Gyrodyne were not returned by press time.
