A Suffolk County nonprofit plans to sell portions of a Superfund property at Port Jefferson Station for more than $ 17 million in unpaid taxes, while another portion of the property is being reserved for a potential railroad or train station, so several officials familiar with the company explained the plan.
If carried out, officials said, the plan could finally solve long-standing problems at Lawrence Aviation Industries, a shuttered airplane parts company on Sheep Pasture Road that was classified as part of state toxic waste in 2000 according to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Cleaning program. Asbestos and other hazardous materials were found on the property.
The plan could also open the door to two priority mass transit destinations that have been touted by state and local officials for decades: the relocation of Port Jefferson Station and the electrification of the Huntington branch of Long Island Rail Road.
Though questions remain open, officials said they are cautiously optimistic that the proposal would help remove one of Suffolk’s most notorious eyesore.
“This was a nightmare for the people in the area,” said County Legis. Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) told Newsday. “But now this is something that can be productive and something we can be proud of.”
The plan took a step forward on December 21st when the Suffolk Legislature approved a federal lawsuit settlement it brought to Suffolk County Landbank Corp. allowed to sell the property.
The nonprofit, founded by the county in 2013 to sell brownfields, can sell up to 84 acres of the 125 acre property, said Sarah Lansdale, executive director of the land bank, in an interview; the remaining 41 hectares will be retained as open space.
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The entire property will be worth between $ 15.6 million and $ 19.2 million if the site is cleared of decaying industrial buildings, she said. Without the purge, it’s worth about $ 4 million, she said.
The aim is to reclaim as much as possible of the $ 17.9 million in local taxes that have not been paid by Lawrence Aviation and its owner Gerald Cohen since 1993, Lansdale said.
Cohen spent a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2008 to dumping hazardous waste at the site. In 2019, a federal judge sentenced Cohen and the company to pay $ 48.1 million to cover federal cleanup costs.
“As important as paying back money [is]It is equally important to renovate the property in a manner that is responsible and reflects the wants and needs of the community, “said Lansdale.
Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said no development should occur until the decaying structures are removed. “Before you start making any of your grandiose plans, you must first destroy these unsafe structures,” Romaine told Newsday.
Officials say most of the federal cleanup has been completed. The federal environmental agency removed more than 16,000 tons of PCB-laden soil that contributed to a mile-long toxic cloud that runs north from the site to the Port of Jefferson Harbor.
The zoning in Brookhaven Town limits the property to light industrial uses such as storage and production. Some officials said they would be considering a solar array that would generate electricity for the area.
Officials hope to convince the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to purchase 42 acres to expand a nearby train station and relocate Port Jefferson train station west from its location east of State Route 112. The move would give MTA the space necessary for the infrastructure needed to electrify the LIRR’s northern branch, officials said.
Montage Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said the land could be transferred to the MTA at no cost to the agency.
In a statement, MTA spokesman Dave Steckel said the agency is “always looking to the future and ways to improve service, and the need for additional shipyard capacity for the Port Jefferson facility was something we were investigating.”
Salvatore Pitti, president of the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Civic Association, said residents are encouraged that officials are taking steps to clean up the site and find new uses, adding that they have a new train station and maintenance of Would support open spaces.
“We have no control over the result, but right now it’s going in the right direction,” said Pitti. “The fact that this is progressing is positive because this thing has been around as a pest for years.”
Long Island native Carl MacGowan covers Brookhaven Town after covering Smithtown, the Suffolk County Courts, and numerous spot news and feature stories during his 20+ year career at Newsday.
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