Host of Local Issues Covered at Pattersquash Meeting

Various issues of concern to the members of the Pattersquash Creek Civic Association from local development projects and the Shirley Train Station renovation to the new Tri-Hamlet Park and crime issues were covered by Town Councilman Daniel Panico at their monthly meeting. With the area experiencing a near-renaissance on issues that have been on the back burner for decades, the members appreciated his updates.

Panico led off with the Beechwood Organization’s transformational plan to rebuild a 47-acre swath of the Neighborhood Road Business District in Mastic Beach. “What is there now needs to be redeveloped; crime is a reason why we need Beechwood,” Panico said of the mix of business and residential use proposed for the property, stressing it would make the area much safer. According to the Councilman, who is running to succeed Edward Romaine for Brookhaven supervisor, developers are leaning more toward owner-occupied sales because of the difficulties in securing renters who can’t afford two months security and have inadequate credit scores. Efforts by the state to limit rent increases will also push the trend toward ownership, he said.

A key factor in making the Beechwood project possible is the installation of sewers, a much-needed service for the Mastic Beach Peninsula that has been more than a half century in the making. The county recently announced $20 million in funding to plan the sewers necessary for Beechwood, which will have the option of building their own treatment plant or connect to the $223.9 million Forge River Watershed system currently under construction.

Panico, who also serves as deputy town supervisor, said he is looking forward this summer to the opening of the expanded Patriots Park, also known as Tri-Hamlet Park, off William Floyd Parkway where the Links golf course used to be. He spoke glowingly of the project’s serene walking paths and bridge over the lake which will be bolstered with the addition of a new well for irrigation, pickleball courts and other amenities that will be added as impact funds from the Sunrise Wind project start coming in. He noted it was ironic that the East End towns with residents that are all for alternative energy sources didn’t want the cable from the windmills off Montauk Point coming to shore near them. “The town saw the opportunity,” he told the civic members, and will receive $130 million in impact fees over the 25-year lifespan of the project. About $3 million from Sunrise will be dedicated to the park, he said, pointing out that Colony Preserve Drive leading to the Patriot parking area was dedicated to the town as part of the development and will not be a thoroughfare as some residents have feared. According to the councilman, William Floyd Parkway, where the Sunrise cable will run, also has a Transatlantic communications cable buried beneath it that no one even knows is there.

With sewers coming to the area, the town is looking to host various businesses with some already on the drawing board including Buffalo Wild Wings, Planet Fitness, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Harbor Freight, Panera Bread, Starbucks, but not a White Castle currently, Panico said. The civic members were happy to hear that the dilapidated Smitty’s Hardware Store on Mastic Road will be replaced by a 120-child daycare center with a 15,000-square-foot indoor athletic complex behind it, according to a presentation by its owner of the last 10 years, Ghulam Sarwar, who said he is investing $2 million in the project which is expected to begin as soon as the town permits clear, hopefully in a month. The property will be fenced off from the shopping center next door and will be beautifully landscaped, Sarwar promised. The old Movieland property at the corner of Mastic Road and Montauk Highway in Mastic is being eyed for redevelopment, but the owner wants too much for it, Panico reported.

Panico and a guest in the audience, Karen Dunne, who is running to replace him as he vies for town supervisor, said they have discussed the Shirley Train Station renovation with the MTA’s Hector Garcia and reported that work isn’t expected to start until next year. This came as a surprise to Bill Doyle, who was at the meeting representing Senator Alexis Weik, who understood from Garcia that the work was imminent. Another Long Island Rail Road issue, under the auspices of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, that was a topic of discussion was the matter of grade crossings at Hawthorn Street and Madison Street as a way to alleviate what residents say is a traffic problem that’s gotten out of hand. “It can take a half-hour just to get to Montauk Highway sometimes,” said Walter Meshenberg of Mastic Beach. “Something has to be done.” Fire Commissioner Bill Biondi, the former mayor of Mastic Beach, said he will drive all the way to Smith Street in Shirley and come into the area from the west just to avoid the traffic jams. Panico said bridges or underpasses are out of the question and is pushing the MTA for the grade crossings. “These crossings are a way of life on Long Island,” the councilman said. “They would solve a huge problem.” Removing the light at the Mastic fire house is also off the table based on an engineering study commissioned by the town that concluded it wouldn’t help ease traffic and would raise liability concerns.

Pattersquash Creek Civic Association President Frank Fugarino addresses the membership at last week’s meeting. File Photo

Reporting on the Yaphank landfill, Panico said the facility will stop accepting construction and demolition debris at the end of 2024 and ash in 2028. Brookhaven’s municipal waste is trucked to the Covanta incinerator in Westbury which ships the resulting ash back to Yaphank. The future movement of the town’s waste will take place by rail, Panico said, noting the Brookhaven Rail Terminal complex currently under construction in Yaphank is planned for a transfer hub. The industrial development, among a host of projects in the Yaphank corridor on 230 acres of land previously sold off by Suffolk County, will also feature a Home Depot warehouse with a rail stop located in the building. Panico declared that Brookjaven’s solid waste future will also depend on recycling, but noted that the ebb and flow of the materials market has made it difficult to sustain a glass recycling effort, These crushed materials have been used in capping the landfill and is also being considered for construction use. The landfill, which by state regulation must be constructed in a domed shape, will be the future home of the state’s largest solar arrays and a green energy storage facility. Methane, a flammable bi-product of garage decomposition, is also being collected and sold to neighboring businesses, Panico reported. Water percolating through the huge waste facility, locally referred to as “Mt. Trashmore,” is collected and removed for treatment. Curbside pickup for town residents will remain, but the garbage fee on residential tax bills may see an increase as the town transitions away from the landfill, Panico acknowledged. Illegal dumping as recently seen in Mastic Beach where a Holbrook couple was busted for thrashing local wetlands, doesn’t make sense given the town service, Panico commented. He said the dumping of debris may become a problem as the town closes the landfill to C&D materials, but Brookhaven is getting ahead of the issue by expanding a network of cameras, license plate readers and other security measures in marsh areas and other less-inhabited places.

Panico said the state is going in the wrong direction in fighting crime as drug dealers and other violators are quickly back on the street due to the elimination of cash bail by the Progressive Democrats who control New York government. “The state is upside down when it comes to crime,” he said in response to a resident concern over the proliferation of drug dealing, including a lady who, for the first time living in the area for the last 50 years, was approached by a man selling drugs. Panico said the town has been proactive with the Suffolk Police and District Attorney Raymond Tierney, who is focused on local quality-of-life issues with the town. He also mentioned the inability of police to pull over people smoking marijuana. “There’s no way to test those who are behind the wheel when they’re high.” Plus, he said the state’s tax on cannabis sales will push people to go back to the street for a less expensive product, leading to a civic member complaining of increased traffic near the Poospatuck Reservation where the sale of pot products is taking off.

Panico said he is also excited about the town taking over the Manor of St. George and expanding its access to the public. The current caretaker will be retained, he said, and the town will protect the many historical documents associated with the estate as it promotes the area’s past including the heritage William Floyd and Longwood estates. The town is also pursuing 28 acres from the Dowling College property near Calabro Airport in Shirley for an ice rink similar to the popular Rinx facility in Islip Town.

Sarwar summed up the presentation and Q&A with Panico when he said, “Your local town officials are very knowledgeable. They care about us and the town.”