EDITORIAL: Wyandanch sewers are a worthwhile gamble
It's a bit of a gamble to install a sewer line to a downtown that doesn't yet have a bulging list of businesses eager to move in. But for the sake of economically challenged Wyandanch, this is a bet the Town of Babylon has to make.
The Southwest Sewer District's line ends tantalizingly close to downtown Wyandanch, just south of the Southern State Parkway. Supervisor Steve Bellone wants to spend $6 million to extend it north from there on Straight Path to Edison Avenue, then run a line west to the town landfill. The funding will come from the town's solid waste fund. Happily, County Executive Steve Levy, an ardent sewer advocate, says he fully supports the plan.
The tricky part will be getting the $10 million to $12 million needed to extend the line all the way to the central business district. Bellone is asking the state's Environmental Facilities Corp. to help. The agency's ability to participate may depend in part on the success of ongoing efforts by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) to get much greater federal funding for wastewater treatment.
Even if the town manages to get every additional inch of the pipe in place, there's no guarantee that Wyandanch will develop the vibrant downtown that it wants and needs. But without the sewer service, the Wyandanch Rising initiative is in danger of become Wyandanch Standing Still. The town is right to place a $6-million wager on its future. hN
