NY Wiki: Huntington Archives

August 20, 2004

The Wharf eatery, Huntington Village

There’s no waterfront in Huntington village, but there will be a Wharf
after members of the town’s zoning board approved an application for a
restaurant by that name last week.

The Wharf will be located in the Knight Bros. building, most recently
occupied by Nemo’s sporting goods store on the corner of Gerard and
Wall streets. The brainchild of Greenlawn businessman Fredrick
Wightman, it will be something of a cross between a sit-down
restaurant and fast food eatery, where meals are cooked to order, but
customers will pick up their own meals and bring them to their tables.

The restaurant hopes to take advantage of the foot traffic generated
by the Shore 8 movie theater located across Gerard Street, but in
order to proceed, Wightman required relief from parking requirements
under the town code. Based on square footage, The Wharf is required to
provide parking for 143 cars. But like many businesses in the village
with no on-site parking, The Wharf will rely on the municipal lots
located nearby to provide parking for its patrons.

Greenlawn businessman Fredrick Wightman hangs a sign announcing the
coming arrival oh 'The Wharf,' a resturant at the corner of Wall
Street and Gerald Street in Huntingoton

HUNTINGTON VILLAGE
No Parking? No Problem
Long-Islander Photo Michael R. Sisak

Zoning board approves restaurant application despite parking concerns

By Peter Sloggatt
petersloggatt@longislandernews.com

There’s no waterfront in Huntington village, but there will be a Wharf
after members of the town’s zoning board approved an application for a
restaurant by that name last week.

Attorney Michael McCarthy, representing The Wharf’s owner/developer,
told the zoning board at last week’s hearing that the restaurant would
not have an adverse effect on the village’s heavily used parking lots
or traffic because it would not be a destination, and instead would
draw patrons from people already in town to catch a movie, visit a
bookstore or a shop.

That multi-destination reasoning was successfully used by the movie
theater owners in 1996 to get past on-site parking requirements and
has since been used numerous times to allow businesses to open that
could not otherwise satisfy the town’s parking requirements. In fact,
real estate expert John Breslin testified on the applicant’s behalf
that since parking requirements were relaxed for Nemo’s to open, the
zoning board has similarly granted dozens of variances. He showed a
map of the downtown area covered with red dots – 42 in all – each
representing an instance in which the board has approved an
application that relied on the municipal lots to satisfy parking
requirements.

“There have been a substantial number of parking variances granted,”
Breslin said, adding, “It’s my opinion that the economic vitality of
the village has been maintained because of that.”

Still, there were several speakers at the hearing – including zoning
board chairman Christopher Modelewski – who raised the question, “when
do we know when enough is enough?”

Jack Palladino, owner of Christophers and Chesterfields and a member
of the Business Improvement District (BID) board, pointed out that
when the movie theater was granted a parking variance, the theater
paid $100,000 to the BID to fund improvements for parking as well as
other improvements. Palladino ticked off a long list of restaurants
that have opened in spaces that formerly housed retail establishments,
uses that are less demanding of parking, adding that he doesn’t want
to see a repeat of the situation some years ago when a heavy
concentration of bars competing for patrons resulted in a somewhat
raucous after-hours scene in the village.

John Esposito, a resident whose wife owns a business across the street
from the theater, raised concerns about the young people who come to
town for a movie, and wander the streets afterwards. “We can all see
the reality that the village is overwhelmed. There’s too many cars
screaming through, too many kids spilling onto the street from the
sidewalks,” he said. Esposito urged the board to reject the plan
saying, “Put a stake in the ground, reject the application and
preserve the character of the village.”

In the end, despite concerns over parking, traffic and young people,
the reasoning that the restaurant would draw its business from people
already in the village, and thus already occupying a parking space,
satisfied the board. Its members voted at the close of the meeting to
approve the project. It did, however, impose several conditions,
including a requirement that security personnel are provided for
weekend nights.

Posted by omor at 11:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 14, 2004

editorial on pedestrianism in Huntington Station

Longislander editorial on pedestrianism in Huntington Station,
2004 May 14.

Where the sidewalk ends� I�ve had my eyes open watching for even the smallest
signs that the sidewalk work in Huntington is beginning. So far, other than a lot of
spray painted hieroglyphics on the pavement that looks more aboriginal than
anything, I can�t say I see anything happening. Which only lends credence to my
original thoughts of a few weeks ago when I hypothesized that the only purpose
of the spray painting was to make merchants think that the sidewalks are
coming. Trust me, I know better than to think that until I see the first brick being
laid.

Portable crosswalks� Sidewalk talk reminds me of a previous obsession I had �
and likewise, in vain � with the crosswalks in Huntington village. I�d all but given
up thinking that it will ever be safe to cross the street in this village, particularly
if, like me, you�re not a sprinter at the peak of her athletic performance. At least
I thought that � until last week. I was watching a phone company truck trundling
down the middle of 25A with a crew on the back popping cones in the road to
direct traffic into one lane. There was this poor woman waiting to cross the street
at the light, but missed her opportunity because the truck was passing by.

Rushing to make the light, she found herself trapped at the midpoint when traffic
from the opposite direction began to move. Frankly, I thought the oncoming
drivers were a little rude, and should have waited the extra eight seconds it
would take for her to complete her trip to the other side. Instead, they started
up, stranding the dear woman in that uncomfortably narrow space on the yellow
line with traffic passing on two fronts. So what did this clever woman do? She
quickly kicked one of the cones that the construction crew had just placed,
sending it sliding in front of the first car in her way. It stopped and waited for her
to pass. As she did, she grabbed the cone by its tip and again set it a few feet
ahead of herself. Traffic waited, she grabbed the cone and left it curbside when
she reached her destination. I was in awe. After all those years of noodling about
crosswalks, griping about politicians and distressing alternately over the
rudeness and stupidity of drivers, this woman had hit upon the ultimate solution:
portable crosswalks!

It might be a little cumbersome, at first, carrying around big
orange traffic cones, but I�m sure the design world would solve things fast
enough. I can see folks whipping lightweight, folding traffic cones out of their
bags and clearing a path through traffic. Or maybe we could leave a stack of
cones at either end of the crosswalk, the way some European communities do
with bicycles. When you need one, pick it up and just put it down when you get
where you�re going.

Posted by dc at 12:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2004

Huntington Y: NIMBYs

Parking, traffic, and pedestrian issues concern the expansion of the YMCA

at Jackson Avenue.

Residents object to plan
YMCA's proposal to reconfigure its parking lots raises concerns about traffic
and safety

ALFONSO A. CASTILLO, STAFF WRITER
2004 March 24

Per its motto, the YMCA organization builds "strong kids, strong families and
strong communities."

Add to that: strong opposition, at least to a proposed expansion by the
Huntington Y that brought about 100 town residents to a zoning board of appeals
meeting Monday night at Town Hall, just across the street from the facility.

Most came from Jackson Avenue, a residential street of about a dozen homes
abutting the YMCA that will be hardest hit by the proposed 18,600-square-foot
Youth and Family Center expansion. Their chief concern is a plan to reconfigure
the Y's parking lots to eliminate one existing lot and replace it with a new lot
adjacent to Jackson Avenue.

"They have no respect for this property," Jennifer Dworkin, whose home is
closest to the proposed lot, told the board. "Putting a parking lot behind my
house is not going to solve anything."

The plan also makes Jackson Avenue into a cut-through between the Huntington
Cinema Arts Centre and Main Street, potentially routing a rush of cars there each
day.

YMCA officials insist the plan is the best way to address traffic and pedestrian
safety issues. At the hearing, they testified that the current parking situation
forces YMCA users to cross a busy road to enter the building, poses traffic
hazards to drivers exiting onto Main Street and encourages cars to park on
residential streets.

The plan would address the problems and create more parking to go along with
the expanded facilities and programs, the YMCA's Huntington attorney Richard
Gordon said. "The bottom line is that we are in desperate need of space," he
said.

But residents said the proposed design is the worst of many options. Melville
attorney Eugene Barnosky, who represents several residents, said there is no
reason why, with 10 acres of open land, planners would clear trees and put a
parking lot right next to the only homes near the area. "It defies all general
precepts of good planning," Barnosky said.

Further complicating the issue is the zoning board's confusion on exactly what it
is voting on. The case was sent to the zoning board after the town building
department rejected a building permit application last year because the location
was not legally zoned for the project. But YMCA officials now maintain that a
1995 decision legalized the Y's operations there. ZBA chairman Christopher
Modelewski said among the board's options is to send the project back to the
building department.

One thing the board won't do, Modelewski said, is cater to public sentiment, even
in the face of a town hall filled with angry residents. "We decide our cases based
on the rule of law, not on the rule of numbers," he said.

Posted by dc at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2004

Greens at Half Hollow

The developer of the nearly completed Greens at Half Hollow housing
development has been dropped from a suit brought by a Huntington-based
housing advocacy group and the NAACP, but the related development of
affordable housing units on Ruland Road has been called into question as
discriminating against families, according to an amended suit.

March 20, 2004

Heckscher Museum of Art

Heckscher Museum of Art is in Huntington Village.

Posted by dc at 05:07 PM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2004

Orchard Park: smart growth at Elwood ?

Consider Orchard Park Carefully

About the time that the first furry buds break on the apple trees at Mediavilla
Orchards, the owners of that property will be making an application to the town
to develop a 35-acre parcel of land they own adjacent to their farm. That
application could result in the single largest development the town has ever seen.

Mark Mediavilla is spearheading the effort that he hopes will result in Orchard
Park, a �smart growth� development that includes some 360 rental apartments,
190,000 square feet of retail space and an additional 15,000 square feet of
professional office space. As he conceives it, Orchard Park would contain
everything a resident would want � within walking distance � just like the
desirable downtowns that evolved in Northport, Port Jefferson, Riverhead and
Patchogue. The difference is that Orchard Park would be a �planned�
development.

On the surface, Mediavilla�s proposal can be frightening in its scope. 190,000
square feet of retail space is the size of a large shopping mall. Add in rental
apartments, a movie theater, a Main Street and parking, and the Mediavillas are
biting off an ambitious mouthful.

On the other hand, the project clearly answers much of what is wrong with Long
Island. By building exclusively rental apartments, Mediavilla�s Orchard Park
would answer planning experts� desperate calls for just such housing. By
combining retail and residential uses, it would decrease its residents� reliance on
cars, benefiting the environment. And by virtue of its size, the region as a whole
� especially the school district � would benefit from tax revenues as well as
increased economic activity.

Of course, the best plans have been known to backfire. Look at the Half Hollow
Hills community where development of The Greens at Half Hollow was purposely
limited to senior citizens in order to minimize the impact of the school district.

What happened? The development was so popular among seniors, hundreds sold
their houses in order to move in. And who bought their single-family homes in
Dix Hills and Melville? Young families with children did. The result is an influx of
children into the school district � the very kind the community had tried to avoid.

To be sure, the Orchard Park project has its pluses and its minuses, and it must
be carefully considered from every possible angle. It will have to go through all
of the required environmental review processes, during which there will be plenty
of opportunity for anyone and everyone who will be affected to have their say
and voice their opinions.

For its part, the community should welcome the opportunity to have that input
and be a part of what could be the future of development on Long Island.

Half Hollow Hills Newspaper
2004 Feb 27

--------------------

ELWOOD
Orchard Park Back On Front Burner

�Smart Growth� concept would see creation of a new downtown in Huntington

By Peter Sloggatt
petersloggatt@longislandernews.com

One of the largest planned development communities in the nation could land on
a 35-acre parcel of land where Elwood, Dix Hills and Huntington meet. Mark
Mediavilla, whose family owns the land on the north side of Jericho Turnpike at
Warner Road, expects to resubmit plans to the town for Orchard Park, a mixed
use development that would see the former sand mine reborn as a community of
apartments, retail stores and office space.

The plans are not unfamiliar, having been scaled down from a previous proposal
floated by Mediavilla. Based on �smart growth� principles, the proposal calls for
the construction of 360 apartment units, 190,000 square feet of retail space,
additional office space, a movie theater and several parking structures.

Armed with a slick video presentation, Mediavilla has taken his plans on the road,
meeting with civic groups as well as planning department officials in a second
attempt to sell the concept. The plans are scaled down from what was previously
before the town, with less retail and commercial space, and more open space,
according to Mediavilla. In addition, parking garages have been eliminated and
replaced with structures, which because of how the land is banked, will be like
ground level parking for the apartment complexes at the north end of the site,
but �second story� parking when viewed from the commercially developed Main
Street.

As currently proposed, Orchard Park would be centered around a 1,000-foot-long
Main Street containing a mix of restaurants and retail shops. In all, about 150
stores are planned with 15,000 square feet of professional office space on the
second floor. The rear of the property farthest from Jericho Turnpike would be
developed as apartments in �manor house-like� structures.

Civic groups have expressed concern over the project�s size and scope, but in his
presentation, Mediavilla points to the creation of tax revenues for the county,
town and Elwood school district, as well as the creation of needed rental housing.
He adds that as presently zoned, the property could be developed for nearly 80
single family homes, which would likewise have impacts on the school district,
traffic, sewage and the like, but with fewer economic benefits.

Another concern to local residents is the other half of Mediavilla�s land holdings,
which are currently agricultural. Some residents are concerned that if Mediavilla�s
plans go forward, a similar project could be proposed for the remainder of the
property.

Mediavilla claims his family is not interested in developing the orchards and
farmland, and even if they were, agricultural tax credits currently in place
require eight years notice before the land can be developed.

�It�s not just about making money,� said Mediavilla of the $100-million project.
Referring to the creation of a new downtown with a Main Street, he added, �It�s
about making something special. Something that hasn�t been done in 100 years.�
He added that he and his family love the land and Mediavillas would be living
next door to Orchard Park.

As to why the family doesn�t just sell the property, Mediavilla said, �I have a
farmer�s mentality when it comes to the land.�

Mediavilla expects to submit plans to the town within the next few weeks. He will
ask the town to create a special zoning classification � planned development
district � which would be exclusive to the property.

2004 February 27
Longislander News / Record.

Posted by dc at 10:53 PM | Comments (2)

February 23, 2004

Huntington station zoning overlay

What�s The Hurry?

The stage was set for a contentious hearing at Huntington Town Hall where
members of the town board were to hear public input on a proposed change to
the town�s zoning code and another proposal to create a special zoning �overlay�
district for Huntington Station.

Both hearings were well attended by a somewhat predictable crowd. Among
those interested were members of the Huntington Station Revitalization
Committee and others interested in making things happen to improve the
Huntington Station area. The downtown region in the area of the Huntington
Railroad Station � at one time a thriving downtown � was bulldozed under the
federal urban renewal programs of the 1960s. The feds promised a better
Huntington Station, but never followed through on the deal and left the
community to deal with a neighborhood that had had its heart ripped out.

In many ways, that�s when it all began for Huntington Station, and the efforts of
the town board to correct those problems are just under way. They include the
creation of the overlay district to allow for redevelopment of critical areas.

However, the town board acted unwisely in holding the hearing alongside another
to consider a revision to the town code concerning the development of rental
apartments over commercial properties townwide. The code change is
necessary, according to town officials, to clarify some language in the existing
code. However, the change comes at a time when school districts are struggling
with growing student populations, as well as their constant money issues, and
from the sounds of their arguments, the school district advocates have reason to
be concerned that the town board�s actions could result in more kids going to
their schools.

On the other side of the coin were the affordable housing advocates who can be
counted on to support any initiative that will create more housing in the Town of
Huntington.

With so many sides arguing their points, it was difficult to keep track of who was
talking on what, and exactly what impact the town�s proposals would have.
Concerning the creation of apartments over retail and commercial spaces,
Councilwoman Susan Berland argued that the proposed change is not really a
change, but necessary to sew up the loopholes in the existing law. From the
public�s point of view, no change would not require enactment of a resolution,
period. So there must be something changing � right? Not according to the town.

Supervisor Frank Petrone � pressed for an answer on how many apartments the
town expects could be created as a result of the new law � that is not a change
� admittedly did not know.

If the town board feels these two pieces of legislation are necessary � whether
for public benefit townwide or specifically for Huntington Station, it did a poor job
of explaining its position. As to the many who questioned why do anything when
the town is in the beginning stages of rewriting its master plan, we can only
agree. Unless there�s an urgent need � and if there is the town needs to explain
it � the town board should sit tight on these proposals until planners explore it in
the new master plan. Otherwise, their successors could find themselves in the
same boat 40 years from now, trying to fix a botched revitalization effort.

2004 Feb 19
Long Islander Newspapers

Posted by dc at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2004

YMCA, NY Sportsclub

YMCA Long Island: Huntington.

NY Sportsclub

Posted by dc at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)

February 02, 2004

Huntington town GIS

Posted by dc at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2004

LIRR ticket

Posted by dc at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2004

LIRR Huntington yard: benefits

A new yard with more tracks would mean better and faster service -
- nine trains every morning by 2012, for commuters who sometimes
endure waits of nearly 30 minutes between trains.

Previously: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

THE CURRENT NUMBERS

14: Number of peak a.m. trains on the LIRR's Huntington line each weekday.
14,150: Number of passengers serviced on the line each weekday morning.

THE FUTURE PICTURE?*

3: Number of a.m. peak trains that likely will be added each weekday if the yard is built by 2011.
9: Total number of additional a.m. weekday peak trains after completion of East Side Access in 2012.

BY COMPARISON
17: Number of tracks in the yard that services Babylon line.
36: Number of peak a.m. trains on the Babylon line each weekday.
26,270: Number of passengers served each weekday on peak a.m. trains.

*Future ridership projections depend on final location of rail yard.

SOURCE: Long Island Rail Road

LIRR Taking Yard Flak
AFter public hearings, LIRR plan riding on strong opposition

By Joie Tyrrell, Staff Writer

2004 January 11, 9:11 PM EST

The signs and petitions started to pop up throughout Huntington Village last fall,
on light posts, the counter of a local bookstore and throughout the shops of Main
Street.

"Stop the LIRR Yard," they read, arguing that a proposed 16-track railroad
storage yard would harm the community.

At the same time, the Long Island Rail Road was preparing for the first of four
public meetings on the proposed yard for the Port Jefferson line with color
brochures and detailed signs touting the service additions and benefits a train
yard would bring.

The pitch is simple, LIRR officials say. A new yard with more tracks would mean
better and faster service -- nine trains every morning by 2012, for commuters
who sometimes endure waits of nearly 30 minutes between trains.

Now, the first phase of the public comment period has ended and the railroad is
preparing to move ahead with the selection of a site from among a field of six in
Huntington and Smithtown. Railroad officials say the public comment period
achieved its goal, garnering much-needed input into the site selection. But
residents of both communities say the railroad should be prepared for a fight.

"It's going to be a huge challenge," said Beverly Dolinsky, executive director of
the Long Island Rail Road Commuter's Council, a transit riders' group.
"Overwhelmingly, people want service but they don't want a yard, and you can't
have one without the other."

There are six sites the railroad is considering for a yard: two in Huntington and
four in Smithtown. In Huntington, the sites are land next to the state armory and
a parcel west of Bread and Cheese Hollow Road south of Pulaski Road. In
Smithtown, potential locations are two sites in Kings Park near a sand mine; a
parcel at the Kings Park Psychiatric Center; and land next to St. Catherine of
Siena Medical Center.

The sites will be evaluated on the basis of a number of factors, including land-use
issues, noise considerations and impact on natural resources.

A new yard would mean electrifying the Port Jefferson line east of Huntington to
where the new yard is located.

The Federal Transit Administration will review the findings of the environmental
study and issue a decision on the site. A final environmental impact statement,
which will identify a preferred site, is scheduled to be finished by the end of next
year or early 2006. The railroad then needs approval from the Federal Transit
Administration before starting design work.

The railroad now stores equipment on a siding east of the Huntington Station with
a three-train capacity. Also, the railroad operates several morning rush-hour
trains to Huntington from its West Side Yard, about 37 miles away.

A 16-track yard would mean an additional three trains in the morning by the time
it is built in 2011. When the East Side Access, which will connect the LIRR to
Grand Central Terminal, is complete in 2012, it will mean six more trains,
bringing a total of at least nine more trains each morning. Currently, there are 14
trains each morning rush hour, some with nearly a half-hour gap in service.

"Huntington is very restricted as to what you can do," said LIRR president James
Dermody. "There is an overwhelming need."

Since the railroad falls under federal authority, it does not require village, county
or state approval. In an effort to get public input, the railroad hosted four
meetings in November in Huntington and Smithtown, attended by hundreds -- the
majority against the project. Politicians at the state, county and town level have
voiced objections as well.

"There were a lot of people who were very vocal shouting their opposition. They
were not there to participate in the process, just to say no, without really
learning about it," said Commuter's Council chairman James Govern, one of the
few speakers at a Kings Park hearing in favor of the proposal.

Civic groups have collected thousands of signatures against the project. Just
this last week, the Kings Park Civic Association, as well as other civic groups in
Smithtown, sent a letter to Gov. George Pataki detailing their opposition to the
Smithtown sites. They are worried about the environmental and economic
impacts a rail yard would have on the community.

"What we are doing now is we are amassing all the people," said Kings Park Civic
Association president Gregory Szurnicki.

Civic leaders as well as local politicians said they would be willing to go to court
to fight the yard. Four years ago, residents strongly opposed a yard in
Greenlawn. That site was eliminated due to an environmental impact study that
showed the proposed yard was in close proximity to homes.

The site in Huntington Station is also too close to homes, opponents said. "This
yard, this is really a stopgap," said Eileen Darwin, a Huntington resident who
helped form the Stop the LIRR Yard committee. She said the railroad should
approach the yard regionally, placing it closer to Hicksville where several lines
converge. "Every single person we have approached has been against this. I
don't know anybody who has said it should be here."

Next, the railroad will evaluate all the comments received. In total, the railroad
received 88 e-mails, 103 letters and had 1,646 people sign in at the meetings. A
total of 12,500 informational packets were sent from the railroad to town leaders,
civic groups and residents.

Dermody said the six sites could be limited to three or four by the end of this
year. "People can't say they weren't aware of the yard. They can't say the
railroad never told me," Dermody said.

But could overwhelming public opposition kill the project and jeopardize the
railroad's future plans, including a yard constructed east of Ronkonkoma near
Yaphank?

"You can't tell what public opposition is going to do for you," Dermody said. "We
are subject to public funding. We have to justify it for that arena.. . . We are
going to do the best job we can answering concerns."

Posted by dc at 01:07 AM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2003

LIRR Huntington Yard 5

State Senator Carl Marcellino was the first to the microphone where he insisted
that the LIRR should look into better utilizing the Oyster Bay Line to help alleviate
traffic on the eastern parts of the Port Jefferson Line. Marcellino argued that
infrequent timetables are among a host of reasons that make riders from
neighboring towns travel to Huntington Station.

“These people would prefer to stay closer to their homes,” he said. “Take those
facilities and put them to better use.” He added, as many after him did, that
electrification to Port Jefferson station would be “a solution to a whole number of
problems,” and offered to lead the charge to obtain the proper funds.

...

Other topics brought up by speakers included the diesel exhaust, especially its
effect on young athletes at Manor Field Park; the fact that the Huntington Station
site is the most congested of all the six preliminary sites; that electrification to
Port Jefferson should already have been included among the other large railroad
projects listed earlier; pre-existing parking issues that will worsen with the
addition of a rail facility; and the fact that electrification to Port Jefferson would
be much cheaper if done now than in another 20 years, should the LIRR later
decide the public is right.

Previously: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4.

longislandernews.com
The Long-IslanderRecordHalf Hollow Hills NewspaperNorthport Journal

Huntington Station residents Maureen Ramirez (left) and Mary Feldman look over
maps and information provided by the Long Island Railroad during its information
session last week.

Long Islander Photo/Brian Ferry

HUNTINGTON STATION
Residents Bombard Railroad With Questions

By Brian Ferry

Some may wonder if the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) knew what they were
getting themselves into when they hosted a string of four public meetings over
the past two weeks.

The agency is required to hold such meetings as part of the development of an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will narrow down six potential sites
to one preferred site for the construction of a 16-track electric car storage,
cleaning, and maintenance facility. At the final meeting held November 13 at
Huntington Intermediate School, hundreds of Huntington Station residents turned
out to tell LIRR officials the site located in their backyards — adjacent to Manor
Park fields — is out of the question.

Like the meetings before it, the one at Huntington Intermediate started with a
two-hour information open house, where residents could speak with a dozen
different LIRR officials who were on hand (including LIRR President James
Dermody); view maps, photos and descriptions of each site; and watch a
seven-minute video about the agency’s intentions and desires for establishing the
rail yard.

“We’re interested in what may be built in the community,” said South Huntington
resident Mike Mifsud, who was attending the open house portion with his wife
Anna. They also attended an anti-railroad facility rally held at Manor Field Park on
October 8. “Also, our son plays football in Manor Field Park, so there’s an interest
of ours too.”

In fact, shortly after railroad officials opened the public hearing portion of the
meeting, a parade of Bulldogs youth football players and cheerleaders marched
into the auditorium and took seats front and center.

Once inside for the public forum, officials from the LIRR and AKRF (an
independent consulting firm assisting with the EIS) gave short presentations.
LIRR Chief Planning Officer Elisa Picca explained how the Port Jefferson Branch
rail yard is one of a number of projects that the agency and the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA) are working to complete over the next 10 years
or so. Those other projects include the Brooklyn Atlantic Avenue Terminal, the
Jamaica AirTrain, the new M-7 Rail Car, and the East Side Access project at
Grand Central Station. She added that today, there are 87,000 commuters who
travel to Penn Station on the Port Jefferson Branch during the four-hour morning
rush. They estimate that this ridership, with the second terminal at Grand Central
Station, will increase to 128,000 by 2020.

But as soon as the microphone was handed over to the crowd, a barrage of
arguments were thrown at the officials and at the unfortunate stenographer
designated to take the minutes of this meeting.

“This site is clearly located in the midst of a residential neighborhood,” said State
Assemblyman James Conte. “It is adjacent to Manor Field Park where these guys
play every weekend,” he said, as he motioned to the Bulldog contingent in the
audience. “I firmly believe that all of the reasons not to build in Greenlawn firmly
apply to this site only a half-mile away.”

Among local officials who spoke, Town Councilwoman Susan Berland claimed that
the Huntington Station site is topographically unsuitable, requiring over 500,000
cu. yards of fill to bring the property up 15 feet and equal to the grade of the
track. She added that a developer is in the final approval stages for building 109
new homes on this land.

Gerard Brindman, a town resident and vice president of the LIRR Commuter
Council, drew a Bronx cheer from many in the crowd when he stated that the
Council favors building the facility, though they have no preference as to the site
chosen. He argued, “If we get a yard built, we can add three more peak trains.”
At the end of his three minutes, Brindman added his personal opinion, saying,
“Myself — and I am not saying this so I can get to my car safely — I’d like to see
this facility put as far east as possible.”

Pat Boucher, a Huntington Country Farms resident, first pointed out that all of the
roads in the Huntington Country Farms development were left off the LIRR maps
included in the mailed information packets and map boards in the other room.

“It is beyond comprehension how this property could have passed the initial list of
considerations,” she said. She argued that with a facility here or anywhere else in
the towns of Huntington or Smithtown would mean that the railroad tracks across
Park Avenue would be closed much more often, creating more gridlock and
cutting off the only direct route to Huntington Hospital from areas south of the
tracks. She added that with this development in the final stages of approval is a
designation to reserve 2.9 acres for parkland.

“This is a far superior plan for this land,” she concluded

� 2003 Long Islander Newspapers, Inc.
(631) 427-7000
322 Main Street
Huntington, NY 11743

2003 Nov 20

Posted by dc at 11:43 PM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2003

LIRR Huntington Yard 4

Through speeches, letters and even songs, many Huntington and Smithtown
residents are doing exactly that: opposing proposals to build a yard in their
communities. During a series of MTA-sponsored meetings earlier this month,
more than 2,000 residents turned out to voice their opinions on the planned
16-track facility, which would store electric cars deployed to Huntington.
Residents were shown six possible sites in Huntington Station, Kings Park, East
Northport and Smithtown. The MTA pulled a similar plan to build a 16-track
nighttime storage and maintenance yard in Greenlawn in 2000 after residents
expressed strong opposition.
...
One of the voices favoring the yard has been the LIRR Commuter's Council.
Vice-Chairman Gerry Bringmann said surveys have shown that riders want more
service and the council believes the yard is a critical component to achieving that
goal. "The railroad is kind of maxed-out," he said. "The only way they can
increase service is by building a rail yard."

Manny holds a sign, wife Eileen Darwin speaks

Previously: 0, 1, 2, 3.

Residents Resist Huntington Rail Yard

By Denise M. Bonilla, Staff Writer

Daniel Karpen wanted to make his opposition to a proposed Long Island Rail Road
yard in Huntington Station resonate with MTA officials. So, when he was given the
floor during a pubic hearing last week, Karpen used his three minutes to sing
them a song.

"Choo-Choos on the Rails With Whistles" he sang to the tune of the Beatles' "Lucy
in the Sky With Diamonds," using a train whistle for added effect. Karpen, 55, an
inventor of "glare-free headlights" and civic activist, delivered the original lyrics
and familiar melody to both lighten the mood and encourage the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority to look for more creative solutions to a need for more
trains, he said.

"A yard is not going to work," he said. "There's got to be a group of people that
get up and say, 'Not in my backyard.'"

The proposed sites have caused an outcry from residents who say the yard would
bring noise, pollution and increased traffic along with depressed property values.
Some politicians also have decried the proposed sites, including Assemb. James
Conte (R-Huntington Station). "I cannot sit idle while the MTA continues to
devalue my hometown," Conte told MTA officials at a recent meeting.

Greg Szurnicki, president of the Kings Park Civic Association, said the Kings Park
and Smithtown sites would cause traffic and other problems and would do nothing
to assist economic revitalization efforts in the area. "They try to seduce us really,
seduce in a respect that this is going to be good for us," he said of the MTA.

Eileen Darwin of Huntington has helped form the Stop the LIRR committee, a
group of civic associations and individuals opposed to the yard. She said the
committee has gathered more than 4,000 signatures on a petition they plan to
present to Gov. George Pataki after Thanksgiving.

"Rather than stuffing this project down our throats and ruining our community,
let's find out what is really needed," she said at a recent MTA meeting.

LIRR president James Dermody said the yard is one tier of a plan to meet a
projected increase in service from the East Side Access project, which seeks to
link the LIRR to the subway and Metro-North Commuter Railroad at Grand Central
Terminal by 2012. Dermody said the LIRR plans to increase its fleet by 20
percent to handle the increased ridership. The railroad zeroed in on the area
between Huntington and Smithtown because surveys showed 77 percent of
customers who ride the Port Jefferson branch use those stations, he added.

The MTA and LIRR will collect comments on the proposed site until Dec. 31. In
2004, a draft environmental-impact report will be drawn up followed in early 2005
with public hearings on those findings. They hope to have the yard built by 2011.
"We heard arguments against almost every site," Dermody said. "Now, we have
to sit down and say, 'Are those arguments valid?'"

One of the voices favoring the yard has been the LIRR Commuter's Council.
Vice-Chairman Gerry Bringmann said surveys have shown that riders want more
service and the council believes the yard is a critical component to achieving that
goal. "The railroad is kind of maxed-out," he said. "The only way they can
increase service is by building a rail yard."

The council, however, stops short of offering a preferred location for the yard.
Bringmann said he can understand why residents are upset about having a rail
yard in their neighborhood. "It's like a jail or a power station," he said. "You know
you need them, but no one wants one in their backyard."

Posted by dc at 01:31 AM | Comments (0)

November 04, 2003

Huntington LIRR yard hearings

The Long Island Rail Road will host four informational meetings on the North
Shore over the next two weeks to hear from residents regarding a 16-track
storage yard proposed east of the Huntington station. info.

previously, 2, 3.

And note that taxi service to get to the meetings.

Meetings On New Rail Yard
By Joie Tyrrell. STAFF WRITER

2003 November 04

The railroad has been hosting such meetings since June as it is considering four
sites in Smithtown and two locations in eastern Huntington for the rail yard. So
far, the railroad has met with strong opposition from several residents.
Huntington town officials held a meeting in August, where hundreds of residents
rallied against the plan.

Railroad officials have said the yard is necessary to add service on the Port
Jefferson line.

The LIRR will host meetings tomorrow at Kings Park High School, Thursday at
Smithtown High School, Nov. 12 at East Northport Middle School and Nov. 13 at
Huntington Intermediate School. There will be an open house from 5 to 7 p.m.
and a public hearing from 7 to 9 p.m.

Sites in Huntington being considered are land next to the Huntington State
Armory and a parcel west of Bread and Cheese Hollow Road south of Pulaski
Road. In Smithtown, potential locations are two sites in Kings Park near a sand
mine; a parcel at the Kings Park Psychiatric Center; and land next to St.
Catherine of Siena Medical Center.

The Federal Transit Administration will review the findings and issue a decision on
the site. A final environmental impact statement is scheduled to be finished by
the end of 2005.

Comments may be submitted orally or in writing at these meetings through Dec.
31. Written comments may be addressed to: Peter Palamaro, editorial officer,
LIRR Public Affairs Department, Jamaica Station, Mail Code 0536, Jamaica, NY
11435. Comments may also be submitted at www.mta.info by clicking on the MTA
Home button and then on Planning Studies.

Posted by dc at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)

November 02, 2003

Huntington elections: town vs city

Richard McGrath, a Huntington school board member, is running for Huntington town
council with this mantra: "We want a quality town, not an overdeveloped city."

Hypocrisy in Huntington Council Race

October 30, 2003

Don't be fooled by the glibness and charm of the salesman, or by his ability to
think on his feet. Take a deep whiff of what Richard McGrath is selling, and it
comes up smelling too much like racism and hypocrisy.

McGrath, a Huntington school board member, is running for Huntington town
council with this mantra: "We want a quality town, not an overdeveloped city."
That is classic racist code: "Town" equals "us" and "city" equals "them." And we
all know who "they" are.

In his latest campaign mailing, addressed to Democratic incumbents Susan
Berland and Marlene Budd, McGrath says: "You've done enough harm to
Huntington Station." The mailing offers a collage of headlines, including drug
arrests, shooting incidents and fires. The nauseating subliminal message is clear:
Only McGrath will keep you safe from "them."

The town is working to revitalize Huntington Station and develop housing for
working families. McGrath is working to block that, and he has drawn large,
cheering crowds.

One plan is to encourage apartments above stores. That seemed like a good idea
to McGrath when he was getting started in life and lived over a store in
Huntington. Now he blasts this sensible approach as a bad idea. Though McGrath
does not seem to understand why, that is breathtakingly hypocritical.

Speaking of failure to understand, why did Tracey Edwards, an African-American
and a registered Democrat who is McGrath's Republican running mate, allow her
name to appear on this trashy mailing? Both running mates deserve boos for this
campaign.

Posted by dc at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2003

Huntington Station LIRR yard, 2

An afternoon train, seen from the rooftop of Blackman Plumbing Supply Company,
as it passes the potential Huntington Station site. Kevin Gary, a Greenlawn resident,
sent a scathing letter to the Long Island Rail Road, explaining why their interest in
building a train facility in Huntington Station would be an unfair burden on the
communities in that area, and a violation of numerous federal laws.

Update: 2003 Nov 04.

longislandernews.com
The Long-IslanderRecordHalf Hollow Hills NewspaperNorthport Journal

An afternoon train, seen from the rooftop of Blackman Plumbing Supply
Company, as it passes the potential Huntington Station site. Kevin Gary, a
Greenlawn resident, sent a scathing letter to the Long Island Rail Road,
explaining why their interest in building a train facility in Huntington Station would
be an unfair burden on the communities in that area, and a violation of numerous
federal laws.

Long Islander Photo/Brian Ferry

GREENLAWN-HUNTINGTON STATION
Past Comes Back To Haunt The LIRR

Greenlawn man involved in 2000 fight sides with Huntington Station

By Brian Ferry

When officials of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Long Island
Rail Road (LIRR) informed the public that they were interested in hearing
opinions regarding their plans to build an electric train facility somewhere in the
towns of Smithtown or Huntington, they opened a door that will be difficult to
close. Many people are content with simply showing up to the public scoping
meetings and saying a few words. Others may opt to fill their three-minute time
allotment with a prepared speech or letter. Still, others have done their
homework and have prepared a packet to hand to LIRR and MTA officials while
being forced to cut their speech short once their time is up.

Here�s where Kevin Gary comes in. A Greenlawn resident, Gary was a vocal
dissenter to the MTA and LIRR�s idea to place a similar facility south of the LIRR
right-of-way and north of Pulaski Road � where Harborfields� Estates are now
being planned for construction. He and fellow Greenlawn resident Gary Schoer
brought a lawsuit against the LIRR asserting that the railroad had failed to
comply with the environmental procedures in the scoping process. Thanks to
their work, in conjunction with the work of Town Councilman Mark Cuthbertson
and State Senator Carl Marcellino, the result was a total withdrawal by the MTA
and a promise that the Greenlawn site wouldn�t be considered in the future.

Now, Gary has joined the unhappy citizens of Huntington Station in their fight to
keep the facility from being built on a site between the LIRR right-of-way and
East 5th Street.

On October 2, the two agencies sent out a package to media outlets and
residents who have attended past public meetings concerning these sites. In this
packet, they explained the environmental review process, attached maps of all
the sites still under consideration, and gave dates, times, and directions to all
public scoping meetings in November. Gary obtained one of these mailings,
which is the basis of a seven-page letter that he sent to Peter Palarmo, editorial
officer of the LIRR public affairs department.

The letter lists three primary concerns. The first is called �environmental justice.�
Gary cites various federal laws, including the 14th Amendment of the
Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Executive Order 12898. Through
these laws, Gary insists that plans to build the facility in Huntington Station would
imply a discriminatory impact on the residents. He cited demographic studies and
census numbers of Huntington Station and the other communities along the Port
Jefferson Line, and it shows a staggering difference in ethnicity. According to US
Census information listed in his letter, the African-American population in
Huntington Station is 1,500 percent greater than in any other area being
considered. Similarly, the Hispanic population in Huntington Station is 750
percent greater, and the non-English-speaking population 240 percent greater.
The number of people living in poverty in Huntington Station is 300 percent
greater than in these other areas.

�I find it interesting that they had considered several locations in the Huntington
area and all the ones in white neighborhoods, including my own, were excluded,�
Gary said, adding that he believes that the Huntington Station site is the real
focus of the MTA and LIRR efforts. It was reported that extending the
electrification east of Huntington Station would cost the agencies millions of
dollars per mile. �It would seem to me that this was their primary focus based on
economics. Obviously, from a cost-benefit analysis, the railroad believes it
should be the first choice.�

His second argument delves into the reasons why other sites were excluded, or
deemed �fatally flawed� by the MTA. Thirteen sites were excluded from further
investigation under this circumstance, due to their proximity to parks,
businesses, residential communities, schools, and more. Gary argues that the
Huntington Station site neighbors public parks (including Manor Field Park and
Fair Meadow Park), residential communities (including Huntington Country Farms
and Winoka Manor apartments), and is a very short distance (approximately
2,000 feet) from Washington Drive Primary School. For these reasons alone, he
says, the Huntington Station site is fatally flawed.

Finally, he ties back into the non-English-speaking population in Huntington
Station and the method the agencies have chosen to present public scoping
meetings. Gary says that the scoping process itself is riddled with flaws,
providing only documents written in English for the public to analyze after the
first scoping meeting in June. He also argues that the maps provided in the
mailed scoping document are vague, failing to list the location of surrounding
housing and apartment complexes, Washington Drive Primary School, and other
major landmarks, which �seriously calls into question its ability to convey to the
reader, who may not even be able to read English, where the proposed site is
located in relation to landmarks in the surrounding area.�

Gary said that because of his involvement in the Greenlawn fight, he started
receiving letters and documents from the MTA and LIRR concerning these sites
long before such information was made public to most residents. Based on the
information they have provided him, Gary feels the agencies have not proved to
him that the rail yard is necessary.

�It would seem to me that the sum of the other five sites that they are
considering are better suited for a rail yard. I also note� that when they were
previously considering the Greenlawn site, they were also considering the Cerro
Wire site,� Gary said, referring to the Syosset property proposed for
development as a regional shopping mall. Referring to a civic group�s vocal
opposition to the shopping mall plan, Gary said, �I read in the newspaper that at
least one of those individuals said they would rather see the rail site than the
mall.�

�We have received Mr. Gary�s letter,� said Sam Zambuto, spokesman for the
LIRR. �It has been entered as part of the record for the Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and we will be responding to his letter.�

�I think he was a very effective advocate in the past and this letter shows that he
will continue to be, Cuthbertson said of Gary. The councilman said that he
anticipates Gary will follow through on his commitment until the situation in
Huntington Station is resolved. �He is a very committed community activist.�

� 2003 Long Islander Newspapers, Inc.
(631) 427-7000
322 Main Street
Huntington, NY 11743

Posted by dc at 01:14 AM | Comments (0)

October 01, 2003

Township maps

From Suffolk County Gov't

Posted by dc at 12:38 AM | Comments (0)

September 06, 2003

LIRR Port Jefferson line yard 1: At Huntington ?

longislandernews.com
The Long-IslanderRecordHalf Hollow Hills NewspaperNorthport Journal

The Long-Islander News

Residents from the Town of Huntington turned out in droves for a public meeting
with the town board on August 27. Residents were given three minutes to speak
on the record about concerns they have over the LIRR’s desire to build a
multi-track train facility within the town’s boundaries.

Long-Islander Photo/Brian Ferry

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON
It’s Everyone vs. The LIRR At Hearing

Town board, residents unanimous in opposition to rail yard

By Brian Ferry

On August 27, the Huntington Town Board met with an assemblage of residents
concerned with the MTA and LIRR’s interest in creating an Environmental Impact
Statement that would ultimately allow for the construction of an electric train
storage, cleaning, and maintenance facility. It was the first time the town board
addressed the public since meeting with LIRR Acting President James Dermody in
a closed-door session on August 20.

“We were clear with him that we thought both sites were very problematic,”
Councilman Mark Cuthbertson said of the earlier meeting with Dermody. “He told
us they’re very much listening to public input at this point, and they will have
their public meetings in the near future.” Cuthbertson said that a LIRR public
meeting may happen sometime this fall.

In the meantime, residents had to be satisfied with the town’s meeting — a
transcript of which is to be included in a package officials plan to send to the MTA
and LIRR to represent the town’s formal statement.

It was standing room only for the August 27 meeting. With a thick stack of yellow
cards in hand representing the number of public speakers, Supervisor Frank
Petrone opened the meeting by stating that the town board is unanimously
opposed to a train facility in the town of Huntington.

Of the agencies’ six remaining sites under consideration, two are within the
geographical boundaries of the Town of Huntington. According to maps provided
by the LIRR, site 2 is between the LIRR right-of-way (to the north) and East 5th
Street in Huntington Station, and site 10 is between the LIRR right-of-way (to the
south) and Pulaski Road, just west of Townline Road in East Northport. Another
three areas, site 11 and two designated as site 12, are in the Kings
Park / Commack area but remain within close proximity of East Northport
residents.

Numerous local and state elected officials attended the public meeting.
Assemblyman Steve Levy, who does not represent the area but is a Democratic
candidate for Suffolk County Executive, was careful to say that he didn’t condemn
the LIRR outright, but had many questions to pose to their officials, such as
whether or not the facility was definitely needed, whether or not the east-side
access project involving Grand Central Station was definitely happening. He
added that host communities should receive incentives should the facility be built
in their communities.

Suffolk County Legislator Jon Cooper called the LIRR’s interests “preposterous”
because of the lack of open space. “I am here to say the MTA is wrong,” he said.

“My opposition is not to the existence of a rail yard within the Town of Huntington.
My opposition is to the placement of a rail yard within a softball’s throw of a
children’s ball field,” Cooper said. “My opposition is to the placement of a rail yard
in the middle of a residential neighborhood that is already facing dramatic
economic challenges.”

State Assemblyman James Conte did not address the town board but did provide
to The Long-Islander a copy of a letter that he sent to LIRR’s Dermody.

“To me and many of the people I represent, site #2 has many fatally flawed
weaknesses including: Size and layout: Terrain and geology; Traffic; and
Conflicts with nearby properties,” Conte’s letter reads. “As you state in your April
30, 2003 letter: ‘The community of Greenlawn is exempt because of a decision in
2000 by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority not to build in that area.’ I
firmly believe that all of the reasons not to build in Greenlawn apply to a site
1/2-mile away in Huntington Station.”

Huntington Station resident Richard Rankin was among the first community
members to address the town board. He also sent a letter to the newspaper with
some of the questions he feels remain unanswered after all the meeting that
have occurred already.

“The need for a train yard is obvious,” he said at the meeting, going on to say,
“the complaints are all real issues and perhaps they can be dealt with.”

Mark Cuthbertson interjected between speakers to elaborate on one point. Alan
Leon spoke of concern with the East Northport, Commack, and Kings Park
impacts, and suggested that the necessary electrification of points east of
Huntington Station would create all new traffic problems for commuters and
residents alike. Cuthbertson said that Dermody made it clear at their meeting that
the MTA and LIRR are in no financial position to purchase additional “switching”
locomotives that could run on either electric or diesel power.

Manny Darwin, another Huntington Station resident, touched on many of the
common issues that others have brought up in the past and will continue to bring
up as long as their questions remain unanswered. These questions involve the
amounts of noise pollution, the storage and use of chemicals and fuels, the
gradient of the property, the use of lights, and more. However, Darwin also
addressed a major concern regarding the Huntington Station site that no one else
has directly made the connection with.

“The yard will virtually abut Manor Field with its tennis courts, baseball field,
children’s playground, and the Huntington Community Center currently
undergoing renovation and expansion,” he said. “Most importantly, the yard has
the potential to be an attractive nuisance. Children are naturally curious and the
proximity of Manor Field to the facility may well draw the more adventuresome to
divert their attention to the exciting things going on within the yard.”

Speaking directly after Manny Darwin was his wife Eileen Darwin. After the
meeting she added that it is her opinion that the MTA needs to approach this need
on a regional approach in order to best understand what options are available to
them. They also need to determine what the long-term needs of the LIRR are and
how the region can adapt accordingly. But the crowd favored her parting
comment, which came the night of the meeting. As the bell rang to signal the end
of her three minutes to speak, she concluded with, “200 years ago Benjamin
Franklin sent a kite with a key into the sky and discovered electricity. Sadly, the
MTA is still in the dark.”

Along with the submission of their formal statement, the Darwins included a
recent article from the East Hampton Star about how Montauk residents are
furious over LIRR diesel trains creating various types of pollution in their region.
The New York Times followed with their own account in the Long Island section
this past Sunday. There is both a train station and six-track rail yard located at
the Edgemere Road stop. Residents and business owners complain about 24-hour
noise pollution, the smell of diesel exhaust, as well as eyesores reported by the
Star to include “‘shanty-like’ temporary buildings, overflowing garbage
containers, old rusted equipment, and ‘suspicious’ storage containers.” The Times
reported that one condo, Montauk Manor, has lost thousands of dollars due to
refunds paid to residents who are bothered at night by the train engines. The
Times also reports that LIRR spokesman Brian Dolan insists the trains must sit
idle because the engines take several hours to warm up to operational
temperatures. Residents have formed an organization called the Montauk
Anti-Pollution Coalition to fight the LIRR and MTA.

Theresa Feeney, a resident of the Huntington Country Farms development located
directly across from the Manor Park site, said the MTA should consider sites other
than those in the towns of Huntington and Smithtown.

“It defies business sense and common sense for the LIRR to not consider other
viable sites,” she said. “We’re counting on you [the town board] to help us get
Huntington Station removed from the LIRR’s site list.”

Cuthbertson said, looking back, that the August 27 public meeting was very
helpful and called it a very solid outpouring of opposition to those proposed sites.

“I think we made a very compelling record to send the MTA about our feelings
concerning the rail yards,” he said.

� 2003 Long Islander Newspapers, Inc.
(631) 427-7000
322 Main Street
Huntington, NY 11743

Posted by dc at 07:52 PM | Comments (0)

September 01, 2003

Huntington LIRR yard

Huntington Slams MTA's Plan; Proposed rail yard riles town officials

By Alfonso A. Castillo, STAFF WRITER

2003 September 02

Huntington officials and hundreds of town residents gathered at a public hearing
Wednesday to slam a proposed MTA plan to build a 16-track rail yard in
Huntington Station.

At the same meeting, the Huntington Town Board voted unanimously to add a
$30-million open-space bond as a referendum on the November ballot.

The Huntington Town board held the meeting to compile testimonies from
residents that they hope will be useful in stopping the rail yard, which is part of
the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's continuing plan to extend
electrification to tracks east of the town.

Huntington residents hoped the threat of a rail yard was behind them after the
MTA pulled a similar plan to build a storage facility in Greenlawn in 2000. But in
April, MTA officials notified the town that they were considering two sites in
Huntington town - one in East Northport south of Pulaski Road and another
adjacent to the state armory in Huntington Station.

The meeting focused on the latter site, which residents said would be a terrible
choice for the rail yard because of its proximity to a park, a day care center and
a community with a high senior and minority population. They said the proposed
rail yard would hurt quality of life and property values because of noise and air
pollution.

"I think probably that they didn't realize the inequities of this site," said
Democratic town board member Susan Berland. "The site is really fatally flawed."

Residents and elected officials also criticized the MTA for keeping them out of the
loop in the site selection process and speculated that the agency chose the
Huntington Station site with hopes that the community, which officials say is
economically challenged and in the middle of a large-scale revitalization, would
not speak up.

"Do not allow the Town of Huntington to be pushed around and railroaded, per
se, by the MTA," Huntington Station resident Barbara Peterson said at the
meeting.

MTA spokesman Brian Dolan said the railroad included the Huntington sites only
because of size and proximity to the Port Jefferson line. Dolan said the MTA has
reached out to the town and to residents and will continue to do so with a series
of informational meetings, the first of which tentatively is scheduled for
November. He said a final site probably will not be chosen until 2005 and the
yard would not be operational until 2011. "We're still in the very early stages of
the process," he said.

Also at the meeting, the town board passed a resolution to let residents vote in
November on a $30-million bond act to preserve open space and seek
improvements in parks and the community.

The move comes at the halfway mark of a 10-year bond passed in 1998 that
allotted $15 million to open space and park improvements. Town Open Space
Committee chair Joy Squires said the town already has spent or earmarked
about 75 percent of that money in nine completed purchases, three that are
pending and four that are being considered.

"We have to act now. We can't wait," Supervisor Frank Petrone said. "Next year
it just really may be too late.""

With the help of county funds, the town has preserved about 126 acres of open
space and is looking to save about 56 more. Squires said the 1998 bond is
costing the average homeowner about $18 a year and, if approved, the new
bond will cost about $37 more.

Of the $30 million, $20 million will go for open space, $7 million for park
improvements and $3 million for community enhancements, including the
ongoing Huntington Station revitalization.

from
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-lihunt293438226sep02,0,7788584.story?coll=ny-linews-print

Posted by dc at 09:38 PM | Comments (1)

August 20, 2003

Huntington Station 2

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-lihunt133412196aug13,0,4204411.story
Plans to Revitalize Draw Opposition
Residents concerned proposal will harm Huntington Station

By Alfonso A. Castillo
STAFF WRITER

2003 August 13

When some of Huntington Station's old-timers remember the area's glory days in
the 1930s, they talk about the bustling downtown where people lived over shops
- a community of merchants and residents all in one place.

Huntington Town officials hope their latest vision to renew the hamlet will bring it
closer to those days, and have proposed building rental apartments over stores.
And like revitalization plans that have come and gone in the past several years,
this one has drawn the ire of many residents who fear it would only exacerbate
the community's problems.

At a four-hour public hearing on Aug. 5, residents blasted the proposal, saying it
would burden already crowded school districts with more children and invite
more poverty and crime into the area.

"They want to turn Huntington Station into more of a Queens environment," said
Huntington School Board member Rich McGrath, who is running for town board
and led a group of residents opposing the plan. "Queens Boulevard and Jericho
Turnpike are the same thing."

The initiative calls for amending Huntington Station's zoning code to allow
developers to build as many as two one-bedroom apartments - up to 750 square
feet each - on top of businesses as long as they meet on-street parking and fire
code guidelines.

Town officials said the plan targets many of the community's needs by boosting
local businesses, providing homes for young families who want to stay in the
town and expanding the tax base.

"You're talking about giving some young couple a start in the community here, so
they can begin, be part of the economic base and give back some of the tax
dollars we've spent on them," Supervisor Frank Petrone told the packed house
last week.

Many residents are skeptical of the plan - one of many the town has pushed
since it launched its most recent effort to revitalize the community, which town
officials and police have said is the center of crime and illegal housing in the
town. A plan the town proposed last year that included several high-rise
apartment buildings was soundly shouted down by a crowd of 1,500 in an April
2002 meeting.

The town-appointed Huntington Station Revitalization Committee went back to the
drawing board before proposing the "mixed-use buildings" plan. Among
residents' biggest complaints is that the town did not perform studies to gauge
the impact of the new rental apartments - which some residents believe are out
of sync with the rest of the town.

"They attract lower-income individuals," town resident Heinz Rosen told the
board. "If you increase the [rental] apartments, you increase the low income,
you increase the crime."

Other residents, who supported the plan, said much of the sentiment at the
meeting was thinly veiled bigotry.

"[Opponents] are saying, 'We don't need poor people. We don't need people who
can't buy homes. Let them live somewhere else,' " said Huntington housing
activist Charles Werner, who added that he would urge the town to allow for
more bedrooms in apartments to accommodate larger families.

Town officials said town law allows for apartments over stores in much of the
town and this would only regulate it. They also said the apartments would not
necessarily constitute "affordable housing" and could be market priced.

Nonetheless, Petrone told the crowd he would arrange meetings with officials
from all the involved school districts to discuss the impact of the plan.

The town board was scheduled to vote on the proposal at the Aug. 5 meeting, but
chose to postpone a decision. "The consensus is they may need to take a closer
look at it," town spokesman Don McKay said.

Posted by dc at 01:47 AM | Comments (0)

Huntington Station 1

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vphun133411888aug13,0,3328466.story
Shouting and Ire Won't Revitalize Huntington Station

2003 August 13

Coming soon to one corner of downtown Huntington is a new building with
ground- floor stores topped by market-value apartments. Such housing
configurations are part of what help make Huntington, Northport and a host of
other hot communities desirable places to live. But mere mention of the
possibility of the same thing for Huntington Station pulls hordes of opponents to
Town Hall, fired up by misinformation.

That's what happened, again, last week when hundreds of residents turned out to
a planning board meeting to voice, loudly in some instances, opposition to a
proposal for a so-called "overlay district" that is supposed to help revitalize
Huntington Station. Is it a good idea? Is it a bad one? Nobody really knows
because angry town residents, blatant politicking and overheated rhetoric
trumped any chance of a meaningful policy discussion at Tuesday's meeting.

But the Town of Huntington isn't blameless here either. Yes, some residents
received bad information about the proposal from its foes. But the town also has
done a lousy job of communicating its revitalization plans and the impact they
would have on schools, traffic and other areas. Take the issue of apartments
over stores: Officials say they are allowed under current town code. That building
coming soon to downtown Huntington? It was approved at the same meeting
where the overlay district was opposed. Interestingly enough, the idea behind
the district is to encourage some kinds of development (restaurants, shops and,
where appropriate, market-value apartments) and discourage others (such as
car-repair shops).

Redeveloping Huntington Station will help the community and the town. But to get
there, this cycle of propose/get-the-crowds-out-to oppose has to end. It should
be replaced with information, debate and from that, good policy.

Posted by dc at 01:45 AM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2003

Oyster Bay, Huntington vs Illegal Apartments

New Agency Created To Battle Illegal Apts.
Oyster Bay supervisor eyes September start date

By Pat Burson, STAFF WRITER
2003 July 03

Responding to complaints about illegal apartments in Oyster Bay, Supervisor
John Venditto said he is creating a new department and hiring more housing
inspectors to go after violators.

"Illegal housing generally results in unsafe conditions because it is often
constructed without regard to town building and fire codes," Venditto said.

The new Illegal Housing Division, which will operate under the Department of
Planning and Development, is to begin operations by September, Venditto added.
It will be headed by John Paider, the supervisor's special counsel, who with fire
prevention inspector James Baudille led a pilot program to investigate
complaints.

Venditto said the agency would hire five to 10 inspectors from among town
employees or individuals on the civil service list. The job would pay roughly
$31,000 a year plus benefits, he said.

"They will be highly trained, specialized and familiar with the laws and with the
type of evidence to be brought up in a court of law for convictions," he said.

The pilot program and a yearlong study of the illegal housing problem by a town
board-appointed task force preceded the creation of the new division. The task
force, which reported its findings to Venditto in July 2001, made several
recommendations, including assigning inspectors to work evenings and
weekends; documenting "unusual" entrances as well as the number of
mailboxes, electrical meters, doorbells and cars at a residence; and issuing
violations to tenants as well as landlords. Those measures are among some the
new division would undertake.

Violators could face misdemeanor charges, escalating fines starting at $350 and
court action. However, Venditto emphasized the objective is to get tenants and
landlords to comply with the law. "We don't want to fine people or punish
people," he said. "We want our quality of life restored."

Councilwoman Bonnie Eisler, who served on the task force, said she would prefer
Oyster Bay follow Huntington town's approach to allow code-enforcement officers
to presume the existence of illegal apartments if the town finds more than one
mailbox, utility meter or other signs of multiple residences in a one-family home,
and create a bureau to hear and prosecute violations.

"It's very important what Huntington did," she said. " ... [Venditto's plan] doesn't
guarantee access. When you ring somebody's door and you say you're from the
town, they don't have to let you in."

Venditto said the town attorney is reviewing Huntington's effort, but stressed that
his initiative is based on a pilot program that showed intensifying efforts and
more inspectors would eliminate the town's illegal housing problem.

While Eisler is skeptical, Bill Manton, president of the Breezy Point Civic
Association in Massapequa who also sat on the task force, is hopeful the new
division will make a dent in the problem.

"These were things that we had discussed, so it's good that they took some of
those recommendations and they're going to put them into some type of action,"
Manton said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-lioyst033356683jul03,0,7582792.story?coll=ny-linews-archive

Posted by dc at 11:17 PM | Comments (1)

July 07, 2003

Freeport alien worker site

Freeport Hiring Site Works Out
Tide turns for laborer haven

By Bart Jones STAFF WRITER

2003 July 04

When the Freeport day laborer hiring site opened in September, so few workers
showed up most days that coordinator Oscar Cortes thought the project might
flop.

As few as five workers would arrive, while three blocks away in the Dunkin'
Donuts and Long Island Rail Road parking lots, a throng of 100 or more men,
mainly Latin American immigrants, would wait for landscaping and construction
contractors to come by and offer them daily jobs.

Today, the roles are reversed: Cortes' site is attracting the bulk of day laborers
in Freeport, while the Dunkin' Donuts location is nearly deserted.

The three groups running the site - Catholic Charities, The Workplace Project of
Hempstead and the Village of Freeport - are calling it a success that may serve
as a model for other communities wrestling with one of the most contentious
issues on Long Island.

"We've turned the corner," Cortes, a Nicaraguan immigrant who holds an MBA
from Adelphi University, said one morning last week as about 40 men waited for
work at the site, in a municipal parking lot on Bennington Avenue in a
semi-industrial zone.

As the Freeport center nears its one-year anniversary, immigration advocates
are launching a renewed effort to set up more day labor hiring sites on Long
Island. They've created a fund that already has $130,000 and is expected to
grow to $250,000 shortly. They say they are taking the initiative because
governments across Long Island have failed to do so.

"We've stepped forward because nobody else was," said Darren Sandow,
program officer for the newly created Work Long Island Fund. "From the Nassau
border all the way out to Montauk, you've got a growing population of day
laborers."

Long Island is home to an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 day laborers. The majority
wait on street corners in communities including
Franklin Square, Inwood, Westbury,
Farmingville and Southampton,
where they crowd around the vehicles of contractors who pull up. But
Freeport, Glen Cove, and
Huntington Station
have created formal hiring sites.

Proponents say the centers resolve traffic safety problems and get the men off
dangerously busy street corners and onto organized sites where they also can
study English, computers and other subjects. Opponents say the locations often
fail to attract many workers and aid illegal activity because some workers are
undocumented immigrants who don't pay income taxes.

The issue has provoked heated debate. A proposed hiring site in
Farmingville was shot down in 2001,
while one that opened in Farmingdale
last August closed about a month later after some community opposition.

Although immigrant advocates and Mayor William F. Glacken are claiming victory
with the new site in Freeport, not everyone supports the idea. "There is no way
that anyone on the face of the Earth can convince me that what's going on there
is legitimate," said local resident Georgia Prunty. She added, "I'd rather be a
dead patriot than a live coward, because we're losing our country."

Cortes, who is employed by Catholic Charities immigrant services, said the
center's turnaround began in early May, when Freeport police intensified efforts
to direct contractors to it. The workers soon followed.

At 6:30 a.m. sharp each day, the men draw numbers to determine who will get
the first jobs that come in. Usually at least half of the 40 or so who show up get
work, Cortes said.

While waiting, they play soccer on the paved parking lot, take English classes
and surf the Internet on one of five computers inside a trailer that has running
water, a bathroom and a television.

"From the first day I came, this has been a good thing," Francisco Machado, 34, a
native of El Salvador, said in Spanish.

Still, not all of Freeport's day laborers are using the location. On Tuesday at 7:15
a.m., a dozen workers were gathered at the Dunkin' Donuts location. A handful
also waited for work at a couple other spots.

Cortes said he hopes to lure all the workers to the new site. "We've finally
arrived," he said. "This is the true deal."

http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-lisite263358324jul04,0,4778521.story?coll=ny-linews-archive

Posted by dc at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2003

Huntington Life

Posted by dc at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2003

Huntington town

town.huntington.ny.us/
Vision Huntington
tasteoftaste good eats in Huntington Village.
Huntington Chamber of Commerce's guide to nearby towns.

Posted by dc at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)

NY Wiki

New York Wiki

August 20, 2004

The Wharf eatery, Huntington Village

May 14, 2004

editorial on pedestrianism in Huntington Station

May 03, 2004

Huntington Y: NIMBYs

April 24, 2004

Greens at Half Hollow

March 20, 2004

Heckscher Museum of Art

February 27, 2004

Orchard Park: smart growth at Elwood ?

February 23, 2004

Huntington station zoning overlay

February 08, 2004

YMCA, NY Sportsclub

February 02, 2004

Huntington town GIS

January 30, 2004

LIRR ticket

January 19, 2004

LIRR Huntington yard: benefits

November 21, 2003

LIRR Huntington Yard 5

November 16, 2003

LIRR Huntington Yard 4

November 04, 2003

Huntington LIRR yard hearings

November 02, 2003

Huntington elections: town vs city

October 30, 2003

Huntington Station LIRR yard, 2

October 01, 2003

Township maps

September 06, 2003

LIRR Port Jefferson line yard 1: At Huntington ?

September 01, 2003

Huntington LIRR yard

August 20, 2003

Huntington Station 2

Huntington Station 1

July 08, 2003

Oyster Bay, Huntington vs Illegal Apartments

July 07, 2003

Freeport alien worker site

February 15, 2003

Huntington Life

January 16, 2003

Huntington town