Brookhaven’s newest town board member, Karen Dunne-Kesnig, brought residents up to speed on a number of issues at last week’s meeting of the Pattersquash Creek Civic Association. The highest vote-getter even among the veteran council members in November, she picked up from where her predecessor, Supervisor Dan Panico, left off as she addressed resident concerns in full detail.
The first question from the floor was the status of the 47-acre Beechwood project, a massive redevelopment of the Neighborhood Road Business District in Mastic Beach. According to Dunne-Kesnig, the town is in the final stages of hammering out a Master Development Agreement with Beechwood, an effort that experienced “setbacks,” the councilwoman reported, with the developer finally agreeing to provide sewer service for the residential and commercial units planned for the property. Civic members expressed concerns over the siting of a sewage treatment plant, a need the town is studying with possible locations, including the former Links property, where the town is developing Patriots Preserve Park, and near the CVS on William Floyd Parkway.
Deals have been negotiated to purchase some of the 140 parcels identified for the project, Dunne-Kesnig reported, while closings aren’t expected for about another year and a half. “If deals can’t be made, it could come to eminent domain. We don’t want that; it’s not what anyone wants, but it could come to that,” the 6th Council District representative said. Many steps are yet to come for Beechwood, including a rewrite of parts of the town code to allow for the major redevelopment, environmental reviews, and public hearings. “There will be a lot of opportunities for public input,” the Councilwoman said.
Dunne-Kesnig was also asked about the status of other projects, including the plan to create a daycare center where the dilapidated Smitty’s hardware store used to be on Mastic Road. The owner, Ghulam Sarwar, told the association last June that he was getting permits in place and would start the $2 million project within a month. Pattersquash President Frank Fugarino reported that the lot behind the old store is infested with rats, and the county Health Department has been there to investigate. He said the property needs to be cleared of overgrowth and debris. Dunne-Kesnig said she would send Sarwar a letter asking for a project update with a copy to Legislator Jim Mazzarella, who was also at the meeting, to address the health department findings. She also promised to contact the owners of the former Chase Bank property on William Floyd Parkway and the commercial/residential structure next to the Mastic Beach Post Office to see where they are with renovation plans.
On the subject of the Mosque planned in Shirley at the corner of the Parkway and Tudor in Shirley, Dunne-Kesnig, a town Planning Board member before joining the council, noted that the church has the right to build the facility on the residentially-zoned property and the Board of Zoning Appeals recently signed off on rear yard setback and other variances for the project. The next step is Planning Board approval for the two-story building that neighbors said is too large for the lot size and too close to their homes.
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| Brookhaven Councilwoman Karen Dunne-Kesnig fields questions at the Pattersquash Creek Civic Association Robert Chartuk |
Responding to a request from President Fugarino, the Brookhaven Rep. discussed the moves the board made to streamline government, such as eliminating the Town Planning Board and Accessory Apartment Review Board. Spearheaded by Supervisor Panico, the changes are expected to move development projects through the process faster by having the town board be responsible for approvals and allow homeowners to obtain apartment permits administratively without having to appear before a special board. “Having served on the Planning Board for 10 years, it was uncomfortable for me personally to vote to eliminate it,” Dunne-Kesnig said, agreeing that it would speed up the approval process.
Fugarino expressed concern that residents of the former Village of Mastic Beach who had accessory apartment permits would have to go through the process all over again now that the town is responsible for the area. The Councilwoman explained that the permits expire every two years and that they would have had to reapply anyway. If all requirements of the application are met, it will be quick and easy to have the permit approved by a staff member, she pointed out.
The Civic also discussed the Army Corps of Engineers program to raise 50 homes on the Mastic Peninsula to make them more flood-resistant. A community meeting will be held in the spring to provide more information to anyone interested in participating in the pilot program, which is part of the massive Fire Island to Montauk Point (FIMP) Coastal Storm Risk Management Project. Pattersquash member Bill Doyle reported that U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is working on an allocation to provide temporary housing for those who have their homes raised, a process that could take up to eight months. For better coastal resiliency, Dunne-Kesnig said the town is buying uninhabitable properties in the flood zone to allow the land to return to its natural state. Legislator Mazzarella discussed a $1.6 million state grant for wetlands restoration to bolster the coastline.
Civic Member Walter Meshenberg, the local Creek Defender, asked the councilwoman to coordinate with town Superintendent of Highways Daniel Losquadro to bore out a storm drain on West Drive to help relieve flooding.
Also attending the meeting was the new 7th Precinct Police Inspector, Donald Raber, who announced that additional Shot Spotter units for the area will be in place in about a month. President Fugarino noted that the system received funds through a grant arranged by Legislator Mazzarella.