CLOSE
Tags Posts tagged with "Town of Smithtown"

Town of Smithtown

by -
0 2015
Nesconset Civic Association members protested outside the site of the proposed 7-Eleven March 31. Photo from Facebook

A proposed 7-Eleven on the southeast corner of Smithtown Boulevard and Nichols Road has a Nesconset civic group up in arms.

Nesconset Civic Association, a recently formed community organization, is fearful that construction of yet another 7-Eleven will negatively affect traffic safety in their neighborhood during rush hour, especially as there is already another one a short way down the road.

Civic members attended the Town of Smithtown board meeting April 10 to voice their opinions.

Bob Souto, a board member of the Nesconset Civic Association, said he and his group collected 400 signatures through an online petition from residents who opposed the proposed 2,500-square-foot convenience store. The site in question was formerly home to Capital One bank, across from Nesconset Christian Church.

“My neighbors don’t want this, are troubled by this, and say they didn’t vote for this,” Souto said. “Our roads are designed 50, 60 years ago. This new business doesn’t add more cars to road, but it does change traffic patterns. It causes safety, pollution and congestion issues.”

He also asked the board to call a moratorium on all new development in Nesconset.

“It’s time to step back, moratorium’s a good word, and prepare a comprehensive master plan for all five hamlets.”
— Amy Fortunato

The project is being spearheaded by Bay Shore-based developer J. Nazarro Partnership. Nazarro could not be reached for comment before this publication’s press time.

“Historically, Smithtown’s town codes were written to protect the interests and investments of the Smithtown residents at the time of their codifications,” Nesconset resident Amy Fortunato said. “It’s time to step back, moratorium’s a good word, and prepare a comprehensive master plan for all five hamlets.”

Smithtown spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo said that in order for the town to declare a moratorium on development in Nesconset, it would have to institute a townwide building ban. However, the Town of Smithtown has several villages and hamlets, including Lake Grove, Nissequogue and Village of the Branch which would be free to make their own decisions.

Civic members also said they felt that the town board has too quickly allowed the development to go through the approval process.

“You have tainted the process by prematurely coming to a conclusion and have left the town vulnerable to a legal challenge.”
— Marie Gruick

“You have tainted the process by prematurely coming to a conclusion and have left the town vulnerable to a legal challenge,“ said Marie Gruick, of Nesconset.

Garguilo said that the town’s hands are tied because the developers have the legal authority to build on the property. Town officials cannot deny a site plan solely based on its intended use. She said the town could be subject to an unwinnable lawsuit if they tried to halt it.

“If something is zoned where it requires no variance or exceptions or anything like that, by law the town has to approve it unless they are asking for a special exception or something it isn’t zoned for,” Garguilo said. “All that we would be left with is a big bill that comes out of taxpayers’ pockets.”

Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said that the board will arrange for all of the traffic counts and accident studies to be made available to the residents who are concerned about traffic. He also said that the county still has to approve plans to create a new curb cut onto Smithtown Boulevard.

The Nesconset Civic Association, which is not associated with either the existing Nesconset-Sachem Civic Association or Nesconset Neighbors United, will be holding a meeting April 19 at 7 p.m. The location is the Nesconset branch of The Smithtown Library at 148 Smithtown Blvd.

by -
0 2300
Smithtown Town Hall. File photo by Rachel Shapiro

Smithtown Town officials plan to go blue next week to celebrate April as national autism awareness month.

The Town of Smithtown will hold a Light the Town Blue ceremony April 9 at 5:30 p.m. in front of town hall, located at 99 W. Main St. The event will feature Autism Speaks advocate Kathleen Lanese, along with her husband, Rick, and sons, Kevin and Brendan.

“I’m so proud that Smithtown will yet again, join with towns and cities across the globe in support of autism awareness this month,” said Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R). “We as a society must do more to bring attention and understanding to this increasingly more common neurological condition, affecting development in our children.”

Throughout April, giant blue puzzle pieces and blue lights will mark major landmarks throughout the town including: the statue of Whisper the Bull at the intersection of West Main Street/Route 25 and Route 25A, town hall, and the Town of Smithtown Parks and Highway Department grounds on East Main Street in Kings Park.

Councilman Tom Lohmann (R) and Joe Arico, Smithtown park maintenance director, helped to revive the tradition that started in April 2015. Lohmann will be distributing blue light bulbs to residents on a first-come, first-serve basis, out of his office this week and during the ceremony.

by -
0 3301
Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim has approached Gryodyne LLC about a shared sewer plant on Flowerfield property in St. James. Photo by Heidi Sutton

Smithtown’s Town supervisor has approached a developerabout creating a shared sewer plant to service downtown St. James.

Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said he’s asked Gyrodyne LLC whether it would consider building a shared sewer treatment plant large enough to handle wastewater for the Lake Avenue business district on Flowerfield. The Flowerfield property off Route 25A in St. James is often used to host community festivals and contains freshwater wetlands that feed into Mill Pond in Stony Brook, Stony Brook Harbor and on into Long Island Sound.

“They said they would be amicable to having a conversation about it,” Wehrheim said.

“[Gyrodyne] said they would be amicable to having a conversation about it.”
— Ed Wehrheim

Gyrodyne has an application pending before Smithtown Planning Board to subdivide the 62 acres of Flowerfield property in St. James 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. After substantial traffic concerns were raised at a Nov. 15, 2017, public hearing, the town has ordered Gyrodyne to complete a full environmental study of its proposal.

If the environmental study comes back clean, the supervisor said he believes this could pose a great opportunity for the town.

“They have ample property to build the sewage plant,” Wehrheim said. “Even after building the plant, their plans include keeping 30 acres of property undeveloped.”

He noted that the 4.5 acres set aside by Gyrodyne for a sewage treatment facility are not adjacent to any residential neighborhood. Wehrheim said he is also interested in seeing if the developer would be open to future discussions on providing sewers for Smithtown’s business district.

“Without sewering, we can’t do any kind of revitalization,” he said.

Paul Lamb, chairman of Gyrodyne’s board, confirmed that Wehrheim had reached out to the company, but declined any further comment until after his March 30 board meeting.

The town has approved $4.6 million in its 2018 capital budget program to fund St. James downtown business district improvements. This includes $2.4 million to tear open Lake Avenue to replace the town’s aging water mains.

“Without sewering, we can’t do any kind of revitalization.”
— Ed Wehrheim

Wehrheim said the Lake Avenue construction originally slated to start this May could potentially be delayed until 2019. The supervisor said he anticipates the town board will vote at its next meeting on hiring H2M architects to complete a study to determine if installing dry sewer lines would be economically feasible at this time, given the town’s plans for a sewer treatment plant are not solidified. The study, if approved, would take several months to complete and cost about $24,000, according to Wehrheim.

“What we are trying to eliminate is the excavation of the road for water mains, then rebuilding the road, sidewalks, curbs — about $2.6 million in restoration work — to find out a year later we have to cut the brand new roads back up,” he said. “It’s wasteful.”

If negotiations fail, town officials would be forced to return to their original plans which have a starting price tag of $65 million to sewer and build a plant for the Smithtown business district, according to Wehrheim.

Town officials are currently waiting for the state to pass an action that would authorize the town’s use of land proposed for Kings Park’s sewer treatment plant, according to Wehrheim. He hopes to have state approval as early as June.

by -
0 6007
Liu Fengying and Ma Zi Juan were arrested during a massage parlor raid in Smithtown. Photos from SCPD

Suffolk County police arrested two women during a raid at a massage parlor in Smithtown March 8.

In response to numerous community complaints, Suffolk County police 4th Precinct crime section officers, Suffolk County police detectives, and the Town of Smithtown fire marshal conducted an investigation into illegal activities at the Cecilia Spa, located at 139 East Main St., at approximately 3 p.m.

During the investigation conducted by the Town of Smithtown fire marshal, numerous violations were discovered, and summonses were issued for each.

Ma Zi Juan, 35, of Flushing, and Liu Fengying, 40, of Lindenhurst, were both arrested and charged with alleged prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession, a Class E felony under the New York State education law.

by -
0 1735

Smithtown United Civic Association calls for further review; town promises to consider environmental study

The approximate location for a proposed 120-foot cellphone tower at 300 West Main Street. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh

A proposal for a 120-foot cellphone tower off West Main Street in Smithtown is getting bad reception from some residents.

The antenna, proposed by Deer Park-based Elite Towers, would be installed at 300 West Main St., behind the Mobile gas station across from a Stop & Shop plaza. Elite Tower said its aim is to strengthen the service for AT&T and Verizon customers in the town.

The company claims the tower, for which a special permit application was originally filed in 2015, would help eliminate a cellular “dead zone” in the vicinity, where weak signals are expected and phone calls are considered dangerously unreliable, according to its proposal. Any calls made to 911 and other emergency responders have run the risk of being bounced across the Long Island Sound and being rerouted to Connecticut.

Greg Alvarez, an attorney representing Elite Towers, asked town council members to approve a special exception permit to place a public telecommunications facility on the site at the Jan. 25 town board meeting. Alvarez said that in the future, the pole could also be utilized by other mobile carriers. Following the presentation, members from Smithtown United Civic Association called for a further review of the cellphone tower.

“We have to acknowledge there’s clearly a gap in cellphone coverage in the area, but we’re just questioning the magnitude of what they’re looking to construct.”
— Tim Small

“We have significant concerns about the impact on the character of the town,” civic president Tim Small said, after a meeting with Alvarez and Elite Towers Feb. 27.

Small said reducing the overall height of the cellphone tower was among the main topics of discussion, but did not debate the need for one.

“This is such a huge structure,” he said. “We have to acknowledge there’s clearly a gap in cellphone coverage in the area, but we’re just questioning the magnitude of what they’re looking to construct. Why not cut it down from 120 feet to 60 feet?”

Small said he understands that the taller the tower is, the better the cell service is in “dark spots” in town. But the civic president  believes the centralized technology they’re using can and should be reduced to minimize the impact.

“We had some questions concerning density and some of the numbers they’re using for impacted customers and areas that they couldn’t answer,” he said. “So they’re going to go back and look at some of their analysis, how it was done, so they can better communicate to us how those numbers were created.

Elite Towers shared graphical displays alleging that the 120-foot tower would benefit approximately 9,000 customers and more than 500 area businesses, according to Small.

“There’s still a lot more work that needs to be done here before it’s approved,” he said. “We’re still opposed to the tower as it currently stands.”

During a Feb. 22 town board meeting, Smithtown resident Jonathan Arzt said he was worried the structure would become the first thing people see when entering town.

“My opinion is that Smithtown should not look more like an industrial park,” Arzt said. “We want to attract visitors and new residents here but I don’t think a 120-foot cell tower is the kind of revitalization vision that we have for this town in the future.”

Al Gengler, of St. James, said he lives down the road from a cell tower in Head of the Harbor and, yet, his cell signal is weak when he’s inside his house.

“My opinion is that Smithtown should not look more like an industrial park.”
— Jonathan Arzt

“I think a lot of people have the wool being pulled over their eyes that this is the answer — I don’t think it’s the answer,” Gengler said. “You can go lots of places and there could be a gigantic tower, but if you’re in the valley, you’re not going to get a signal.”

He asked the town board to provide data backing up the tower’s effectiveness.

“I don’t know where to get that information as it’s not readily available online,” Gengler said. “It would be nice to be able to look at that data and the specifics, rather than [rely] on hearsay.”

Following the meeting, Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said that an environmental impact survey will be conducted “to determine if there will be any negative effects of the cell tower on the health of both our residents and the wildlife.” He further added that, “The attorney for the company has asked us to give them a month before we vote on the impact survey.”

The town has also received calls from other companies with alternative solutions to improving cellphone service that, they claim has no impact on the environment, according to town spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo. She said the town board will hear all parties and explore all options they are presented with.

One Smithtown resident, Diane Caroll, voiced her support of the proposed tower during the meeting, saying she’s had enough of living in a town where she can’t get cell service.

Corey Geske, of Smithtown, said it would “represent a death knell” for the area, in an email read to the board. He raised concerns over potential cancer risks from living near transmission tower sites and high-tension wires, urging the board to vote against it.

“To approve such a tower across from Stop & Shop, a chief destination for Kings Park and Smithtown residents when shopping for a loaf of bread, is to put the general population at risk for their health,” Geske wrote.

by -
0 3322

Town's 2018 capital budget of $9.5 million features Lake Avenue revitalization in St. James

A plan for what Lake Avenue would look like post-revitalization. Photos from the Lake Avenue renovation capital project report, prepared by the Smithtown Planning Department

By Kevin Redding

With the adoption of more than $30 million in  capital plans Tuesday, Smithtown officials hope to be looking at a robust future.

Smithtown Town Board approved its 2018 capital budget of $9.5 million — $8.8 million is bonded — and a proposed 2019-22 capital plan — totaling $20.8 million.

The majority of the 2018 capital budget funds St. James downtown business district improvements, with $4.6 million in bonds set aside for the revitalization of Lake Avenue, of which $2.4 million will fund water main replacement.

2018 Capital Budget

For 2018, town officials have set aside funding to completely revise the town code — $300,000 — and update the town’s master plan on a budget of $500,000. Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said these will serve as “blueprints for all downtown revitalization throughout Smithtown.”

“We cannot move forward without modernizing the town codes, zoning and planning. It is the first big step in making downtown revitalization a reality.”
— Ed Wehrheim

“Without these two items, downtown revitalization is merely a concept,” Wehrheim said. “We cannot move forward without modernizing the town codes, zoning and planning. It is the first big step in making downtown revitalization a reality.”

Wehrheim said the town’s existing master plan was written in-house at least 10 years ago.

Bouncing off the success of a recent market analysis study by an outside urban planner of what was needed to revitalize downtown Kings Park — that broke down the pros and cons of different sections of the hamlet — the town will issue a request for proposals to bring in a new set of eyes to evaluate and suggest improvements to the existing plan.

“The master plan is essentially going to be that, but times 10 or 20,” town spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo said. “It’s geared toward figuring out where the town is going to be decades down the line and the focus of progress for this new administration. It’s really the start of making this town more small business friendly and civic minded.”

Once the results of the evaluation are collected, Wehrheim and other council members will pick and choose what improvements work best for Smithtown.

“We want to hear what they think we need to move forward in the business districts and the rest of the town going into the future,” Wehrheim said.

While discussing the recodification plans, Councilman Thomas McCarthy (R) said, “This is going to bring things into the 21st century.”

““There are so many things, and this is just the beginning”
— Tom McCarthy

“It’s going to streamline things and help residents, help small businesses,” McCarthy said. “It’s been decades now and there’s no reason to make people have to — as I like to say — ‘spit blood’ just to get a permit. Right now they have to go to the board of zoning appeals and planning boards for things approved 95 to 100 percent of the time.”

2019-22 Capital Plan 

Among its planned projects for 2019-22, the town will look to fund $2.2 million in improvements at various town parks: Flynn Memorial Park in Commack to turn it into a premiere Long Island sports park; $500,000 in renovations to Gaynor Park in St. James that include new tennis and basketball courts, a playground with improved surfacing, installation of refurbished, handicap-accessible bathrooms; and new surfacing in the waterpark at Veterans Memorial Park in St. James.

The town also plans to add steps leading to the gazebo at Nesconset Chamber of Commerce, install LED lighting in Maple Avenue Park in Smithtown, repave and landscape the Bellemeade Avenue parking area and replace its deteriorating showmobile. New highway equipment will be purchased, including yard generators for Smithtown and Kings Park.

“There are so many things, and this is just the beginning,” McCarthy said.

by -
0 364
The Kindness for the Keely Family mailbox is traveling through Smithtown. Photo from St. James Elementary School PTA

This February, the St. James and greater Smithtown community is focused on sharing words of love and support to help one family through a difficult time.

One by one, cards and small care packages are finding their way to a pink and white mailbox, painted with the words “Kindness for the Keely family.” Each Friday, this mailbox, created by St. James Elementary Parent-Teacher Association, will be delivered to the family of Paige Keely.

Paige Keeley. Photo from St. James Funeral Home

The 6-year-old Paige —  nicknamed “Paigey Bean” — was a first-grader at St. James Elementary School who died of a rare brain condition Jan. 8. Her parents, Tom and Gina Keely, are active members of the St. James community and have two other children, Maeve and Ronan.

“A big concern for all of us is once everything dies down and the dust settles, that the Keelys still feel supported by the community,” said Celina Murphy, president of St. James Elementary PTA. “No one’s forgotten them, we’re all still here.”

Pink ribbons can be spotted across the Smithtown Central School District tied to signs, poles, trees and even in high school cheerleaders’ hair in memory of Paige in the days after her death.

Business owners reached out to show their support. Commack resident Nicole Helfman, owner of Creative Cutz Design, made 350 vinyl decals for the school district so they could be put up in car windows and glass storefronts.

“For anyone who has kids, knows kids or is a teacher, it just hits home,” Helfman said. “People want to help out.”

Now, PTA members are passing a mailbox between buildings to collect donations of sympathy cards, gift cards, restaurant certificates, small care packages and other well wishes from community members for the Keely family. It will be at Nesaquake Middle School through Feb. 9, followed by Smithtown High School West from Feb. 12 to 16.

“The outpouring has been tremendous from the community both within the district and community at large,” said Mary Grace Lynch, principal of St. James Elementary School. “Within the district, the teachers, staff and administration have been incredibly supportive of the Keely family.”

Those who wish to send a sympathy card or donation, but do not have children in the school, can mail packages clearly marked “Kindness for Keely” to St. James Elementary School at 580 Lake Ave., St. James, NY 11780.

Lynch said the school will be constructing a butterfly garden in memory of Paige at the family’s request, once they are ready. The principal said she is confident with the number of Scout troops, high school teams and clubs who have reached out asking how to honor Paige’s memory. There will be no shortage of hands and support to construct the garden.

“That little girl has impacted so many, many people in her six short years of life,” Lynch said. “She’s had a profound and lasting effect on the community.”

The Kindness for Keely mailbox will be at: Accompsett Elementary School, Feb. 26 to March 3; Tackan Elementary, March 5 to 9; Mills Pond Elementary, March 12 to 16; Smithtown Elementary, March 19 to 23; Dogwood Elementary, March 26 to 30; High School East, April 9 to 13;  Mount Pleasant Elementary; April 16 to 20; Accompsett Middle School, April 23 to 27; and Great Hollow Middle School, April 30 to May 4.

by -
0 240

Dredging crew rescues five town employees from frigid waters after boat capsized

Gibson & Cushman dredgers Keith Ramsey and Che Daniels accept proclamations for helping rescuing five Town of Smithtown employees including Joseph Link, on right. Photo by Kevin Redding.

By Kevin Redding

A Bay Shore-based dredging crew sprung into action while working on the Nissequogue River in December when a boat capsized, hurling five Town of Smithtown employees into the frigid waters. For their heroic efforts, the seven-man crew, responding medical professionals and first responders, were honored by Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) during a special ceremony at town hall Jan. 30.

“A first responder’s primary duty is to protect all others before self,” Wehrheim said before presenting plaques to the heroes. “But, when unforeseen conditions put the lives of first responders at risk, who protects them?”

“I was just trying to keep my head above the surface.”

— Joseph Link

It started out as a routine day for three bay constables and two parks employees as they steered their vessel around the head of the river Dec. 12 removing buoys. While attempting to pull a seventh buoy from the water, however, a rogue wave came crashing in from Long Island Sound. It flooded the boat, overturning it in a matter of seconds. All five employees struggled to swim the 40-feet to shore against the rough current.

“I couldn’t get anywhere, the waters were way too strong,” said Joseph Link, of one of the rescued employees. Link said he wasn’t wearing a life jacket at the time as it obstructed his work. “I was just trying to keep my head above the surface.”

Sgt. Charles Malloy, a senior bay constable, said he faced different dangers when he was knocked overboard.

“I was swimming away from the rear of the boat because the motors were still engaged and the propellers were still spinning and within arm’s reach,” Malloy said.

Luckily, members from Gibson & Cushman Dredging Company were about 500 yards away when the accident occurred, setting up equipment by the river’s bluff. Once they saw the boat capsize, the crew acted quickly.

“We just grabbed some lines or whatever else we could find and started throwing them out to pull them toward us,” said dredger Keith Ramsey.

They yanked four of the five stranded employees onto their boat. One member, Dan Landauer, managed to swim back to shore on his own.

“It was just our reaction,” said dredger Che Daniels. “We saw that people were in the water. The water was cold, like 40 degrees [Fahrenheit]. The wind was blowing. We were just doing what we would do for anybody on our crew if something were to happen like that.”

Upon reaching the shore, Kings Park volunteer firefighters and Kings Park EMS responders rushed to the scene. Two men were treated for hypothermia and exposure. All were transported to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center and out of the hospital within an hour without any lasting injuries.

“We were just doing what we would do for anybody on our crew if something were to happen like that.”

— Che Daniels

Paul Taglienti, director of emergency medical service at St. Catherine’s, was honored during the ceremony. He said his staff’s job had been about 95 percent done for them. “This was a circumstance where I think everything was done pretty much ideally,” Taglienti said. “They were rescued very quickly and we just kept an eye on them to make sure everyone was OK.”

Wehrheim was joined by town council members Lisa Inzerillo (R) and Tom McCarthy (R), to present proclamations to all seven members of Gibson & Cushman — Daniel Engel, Daniels, Michael Lake, Jordy Johnson, Joseph Johnson, Ramsey and Peter Wadelton — although only Ramsey and Daniels were on hand to accept them. 

“I was glad when I heard they helped out, but I also would expect that from them,” said Matthew Grant, supervisor of the dredging crew’s project. “If something happens, we help out. Not many people are out on the water at that time of year, so it was a good thing we were there.”

Those rescued echoed the sentiment.

“If it wasn’t for the dredge crew — use your imagination,” Malloy said. “The outcome would’ve been far more tragic.”

Landauer also expressed his gratitude.

“There wasn’t a hiccup in anything they did, they saw us and boom — they jumped right on it,” he said. “I hope they never have to do it again, but I’m very glad that they were there that day.”

by -
0 370
Smithtown United Civic Association member Mark Mancini. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh

By Sara-Megan Walsh

A conceptual plan for revitalizing downtown Smithtown has community support, but faces a number of serious challenges.

Smithtown United Civic Association debuted its proposal for western Main Street’s revitalization Jan. 25 before the Smithtown Town Board to find solid community backing. Yet, elected officials and business leaders note there are serious challenges to its implementation.

Mark Mancini, a Smithtown resident and architect, presented Smithtown United’s conceptual design for Main Street which focuses on the preservation of the Smithtown school district’s New York Avenue administrative building and its fields. Public outcry halted plans to demolish the building for a 251-unit apartment complex in 2017.

“It became pretty clear that we have to take steps first as a community to make something happen on Main Street that we all can deal with,” Mancini said. “We are going to develop no matter what you might think or what you may want. Everything changes.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) assigned $20 million from the state budget for the installation of sewer mains in Smithtown, which Mancini said brings opportunity for development that residents need to have their say.

The first step in the civic association’s plan is to preserve the New York Avenue building and its property as open green space.

“I consider it a diamond in the rough in the Smithtown downtown Main Street area,” said Bob Hughes, one of the 10 members of Smithtown United. “I would like to see it as a downtown central park, to make it a destination.”

Pasquale LaManna, president of the Smithtown Kickers Soccer Club board, said he backed the proposal as it preserves the fields for recreational use. LaManna said the Smithtown Kickers is the third largest soccer club on Long Island with more than 2,000 children who play at New York Avenue.

“It’s extremely vital for us to have the green space,” he said.

Smithtown United calls for Smithtown elected officials to purchase the New York Avenue building from the Smithtown school district and use it to consolidate all town departments and services in one location.

Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said negotiations between the town and school district over the potential sale of the New York Avenue property had broken down in late 2017, after an appraisal determined a fair market price would be $6.8 million. The supervisor was hopeful that these negotiations could be picked up in the future.

“If the community in that area is amicable to having those discussions about developing the property, I think the school board would get back engaged,” Wehrheim said.

Other key components of the revitalization plan call for the construction of mixed-use retail stores with apartments above on the south side of Main Street with transit-oriented housing alongside the Smithtown Long Island Rail Road station.

Jack Kulka, a real estate developer and founder of Hauppauge Industrial Association, strongly supported the construction of apartments in a new “mixed imaginative zoning” code.

“If you are serious about revitalizing downtown Smithtown, you are going to have to increase the density of population in downtown Smithtown,” he said. “You need to have creativity. I think the concept, which is very important, of having residential next to the train station … has to come to Smithtown.”

Kulka stressed that Smithtown United’s plan would not work if town officials didn’t utilize the $20 million set aside by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to install sewers in Smithtown. Wehrheim agreed on the importance of sewers, stating that it is moving forward, but said he has also scheduled meetings with different developers in February.

“I have meetings set up with a couple developers, whose names I cannot divulge, to see if there are other developers that now have an interest in looking at the conceptual plan Smithtown United drew up and see if it’s feasible to embark on a project,” Wehrheim said. “That’s the first step.”

by -
0 392

Presentations to be held on Kings Park market analysis, Smithtown United's Main Street proposal

Smithtown United Civic Association will publicly present its proposal to revitalize western Main Street Jan. 25, 7 p.m. at town hall. Rendering courtesy of Smithtown United Civic Association.

Smithtown’s new town administration is pushing forward with a strong emphasis on downtown revitalization for 2018.

A special report and final marketing analysis of downtown Kings Park will be unveiled at the Jan. 25 town board meeting set for 7 p.m. at town hall.

Larisa Ortiz Associates, a Jackson Heights-based market analysis and community-based planning firm that put together the report, gave an initial presentation to Kings Park community members in November 2017, but has since updated it with further input and recommendations from residents.

“As a result of this preliminary research, we have a greater understanding of the key elements, marketing opportunities and how to implement a plan that will deliver a thriving downtown business district,” said Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R), who resides in Kings Park.

Key findings expected to be discussed include how there’s sufficient demand to support additional retail spaces, the critical role of restaurants and bars, and improvements to walkability. The market analysis findings also suggest adding new residential buildings to Kings Park, if sewer improvements can be made, to increase the spending power of its local economy.

Tony Tanzi, president of Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, said the preliminary report in November was encouraging news for Kings Park.

“It’s actually quite eye-opening some of the things it found, some of what we had suspected it proved out,” Tanzi said. “It’s educational in that you’ll learn a good bit about what the potential can be for Kings Park and other hamlets in Smithtown overall.”

The hamlet of St. James and its residents may take a particular interest in the Kings Park analysis, as they push forward with their own downtown revitalization project. The Community Association of Greater St. James invited Eric Alexander, director of Vision Long Island, as a guest speaker at its Jan. 22 general meeting.

“You will have to have some hard discussions on what you want your business district to look like,” Alexander said to St. James residents. “You need to create clarity on what you want your downtown to be.”

Smithtown Town Board approved a $2.3 million bond at its Jan. 9 board of water commissioners meeting to replace water mains along Lake Avenue, the first step toward reconstruction of the Lake Avenue business district. Councilwoman Lynne Nowick (R) said the water main installation is slated to start May 1, with the goal of installation by June 30 and road reconstruction starting in July.

“I think everyone has the same idea about St. James downtown,” Nowick said. “It’s not multilevel housing but an active, vibrant downtown.”

Breathing new life into a downtown business district is also the aim of Smithtown United Civic Association. President Timothy Small will also publicly present the civic group’s proposed plan for the New York
Avenue Smithtown school district property and western Smithtown Main Street to the town board Jan. 25.

Smithtown United’s plan for the downtown area focuses on key points including consolidation of the town offices into the New York Avenue school building, retaining the sports fields for public use, road improvements and construction of transit-oriented housing. The group is seeking public feedback on the
proposed plans.

Prev1...171819...20Next Page 18 of 20
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©