The Brookhaven Town Board held a packed public hearing Thursday on a sweeping plan to redevelop 40 acres in the heart of the Mastic Beach Business District. While the proposal from the Beechwood Organization drew broad praise as a long-overdue chance to revitalize the struggling community, many residents voiced familiar concerns: What will it mean for traffic on the already congested peninsula?
The project would cover 143 parcels, much of it along Neighborhood Road, replacing long-blighted properties with a modern mix of housing, retail, and civic space. Beechwood’s plan calls for 133,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, 550 apartments, 78 townhouses, 940 parking garage spaces, 676 off-street parking spots, 612 on-street spaces, and 15,850 square feet of community facilities.
Supervisor Dan Panico, who grew up in Mastic Beach and has championed the redevelopment since his time as a councilman, framed the hearing as part of the environmental review process. “We’re looking at the maximum potential use of the property,” he said. “Those numbers can come down as the plan evolves with community input. This is about writing a new chapter in the history of Mastic Beach.”
According to Beechwood’s planning team at Nelson, Pope Voorhis, the project is designed to deliver a walkable downtown village feel. Planner Taylor Green assured residents that buildings would not exceed 50 feet in height—no higher than the Mastic Beach Ambulance Company headquarters, which will remain, along with the MMS Community Library annex. Most structures, Green said, would stand closer to 30 feet, about the size of a two-story home.
Panico emphasized that design features, including underground utilities and modern drainage systems, will make the new development more resilient in the low-lying community. Parking garages would be tucked behind building facades, invisible from the street. “This isn’t about sprawling asphalt lots—it’s about a functional, attractive downtown,” he said.
The plan also envisions reconfiguring traffic flow, including removing some existing signals and installing new ones. Despite those assurances, traffic concerns dominated the hearing. The peninsula’s residents live with a limited road network, with bottlenecks at William Floyd Parkway and the Long Island Rail Road crossings.
An NPV traffic engineer presented findings that the project, combined with planned roadway and signal improvements, would not create “significant adverse traffic impacts.” Most intersections, they reported, would function with acceptable delays, while a few—including Mastic Road and William Floyd Parkway—would see added congestion that could be alleviated with better signal timing.
Still, not everyone was convinced. Joe May, an 80-year resident and founder of the Manor Park Civic Association, flatly opposed the project. “This won’t just affect six blocks of Neighborhood Road—it will impact six square miles of the hamlet,” he said.
Councilwoman Karen Dunne-Kesnig, who represents the Tri-Hamlet area, said her office has heard mostly favorable feedback, but with a familiar refrain: “The number one concern is traffic.” Even so, she said she supported the project “100 percent.”
Panico noted that long-term traffic relief depends on opening more at-grade crossings over the LIRR tracks, an idea the MTA has resisted unless bridges or underpasses are built—something the town considers impossible. Widening Mastic Road, he added, would push the street right up to residents’ front doors.
Several speakers linked the project’s success to tackling quality-of-life issues that have plagued Mastic Beach for decades. Resident Joseph Ferrer supported the redevelopment, but urged the town to address crime immediately, citing issues with drug use, prostitution, loitering, and vagrancy tied to poorly maintained rental housing. “This is a low-income area with too many subsidized rentals catering to substance abusers,” he said. “We need enforcement now, not after the buildings go up.”
Panico responded that cannabis shops would not be permitted as part of the retail mix, since they are only allowed in light industrial areas. As for what businesses will eventually occupy the space, he said market demand will decide, though restaurants and service-oriented shops are expected. He also referenced a pending Suffolk County bill that would allow the Department of Social Services to cut off payments to landlords who lack permits or fail housing code inspections. “Success begets success,” he said. “This is our last chance. If this fails, we won’t see progress in Mastic Beach for the foreseeable future.”
Former Mastic Beach Mayor Maura Sperry echoed support for redevelopment but warned that residents remain wary of crime. “For 18 years, I fought for Mastic Beach to live up to its potential. I’ve never seen it this bad,” she said. The Mastic Beach Conservancy president described being fearful on local trails and recounted how her car was slapped by youths blocking the road. “Who in their right mind would buy property here with this going on?” She urged the town to sue the state over its promoting sober homes in the community.
Other officials pointed to revitalization efforts in Patchogue and Rockaway as models. Councilman Neil Foley, whose district includes Patchogue, said its downtown renewal helped reduce crime and attract businesses. “If you build it, they will come,” he said. As an executive with the New York Blood Center, Foley added that health providers are eyeing Mastic Beach, which lacks adequate local care.
The project also drew support from civic and business leaders. Natasha Williams, vice chair of government affairs with the Long Island Board of Realtors, called the plan “a place for families to grow, for seniors to downsize, for young people to stay here.”
While much of the focus was on new construction, longtime residents asked the town not to forget the area’s heritage. Former mayor Robert Miller, also a past commander of the Arthur Clune American Legion, requested that the redevelopment preserve the memorial cannon at the community’s entrance, along with the long-standing flagpole and lighthouse. He also stressed the importance of Beechwood’s commitment to building a sewer system for the project and surrounding neighborhoods, which will be served by a new treatment plant on the former Links golf course.
For Panico, the project represents a generational opportunity. Demolition of existing structures could begin next year, and redevelopment will proceed in phases, starting on the eastern end of the district at Doris Drive. “This will write a new chapter in the history of Mastic Beach,” he told the audience. “We either seize this opportunity, or we risk staying where we are.”
The Town Board will continue accepting written comments on the proposal through September 29 before taking further steps in the review process.