ICE detention center proposed for Holtsville office building, but Brookhaven officials balk at use

Interview rooms with handcuff bars, holding cells and weapon storage areas are among the extensive renovations proposed to turn IRS office space in Holtsville into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing and detention center, according to architectural drawings submitted to Brookhaven Town.

Town officials, who said they weren't aware of the plans' extent until Newsday contacted them, said Monday they will reject them because holding cells are illegal under the town code for buildings zoned for office use.

"It’s not a permitted use," Town Attorney Annette Eaderesto said in an interview. "That’s not an office."

The town’s decision does not stop the project, however. Eaderesto said the applicant must now try to secure a zone change or use variance for the Barretts Avenue property, which is privately owned and leased to the federal government. Both requests would require public hearings.

Attorney Keith Archer of Melville, who represents the applicant, 5000 Corporate Holdings DE LLC, did not respond to calls or an email.

The town’s rejection appears to be the first time a local municipality has exercised oversight of an ICE expansion on Long Island. The Holtsville proposal needs town approval because the U.S. government doesn't own the property.

“If the federal government was to buy this property, the town would have no say,” Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said in an interview.

Coming just weeks after ICE leased space in Westbury for 40 attorneys, the plans further signal ICE’s efforts to grow Long Island operations, immigration advocates say.

"The expansion of ICE operations is a valid fear," said Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, a nonprofit Latino advocacy group.

"It’s been building," said Nadia Marin-Molina, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network in Freeport. "The situation is going to get worse for everyone."

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), who represents Holtsville and chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, did not respond to a request for comment.

The proposed ICE facility would be located in the same building that also houses U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes applications for legal immigration. ICE agents have previously arrested people showing up to the building for routine appointments before moving them to cells inside the federal courthouse in Central Islip.

The architectural plans for the Holtsville building indicate at least three detainee interview rooms and bullet-resistant interior glass. In addition to handcuff bars and ankle bars, the rooms will include bolt-down stools with an optional handcuff ring and a duress alarm button.

Next to the interview rooms is a detainee vestibule with a handcuff bar. There is also a non-detained waiting room for 172 people, a bond pay area and men’s and women’s toilets and showers.

The plans note, "All new security devices shall follow ICE standards."

The renovations are slated for part of the first and second floors, which are largely vacant.

Separate plans filed with Brookhaven call for a new loading dock on the property and secure parking lot surrounded by an eight-foot-high fence topped with barbed wire. Those require Brookhaven Zoning Board of Appeals approval, but no hearing date has been set, a town spokesman said.

John Lignos of Montvale, New Jersey, who is listed as the architect on the detention center plans, declined to comment. Edward V. Gregorowicz, the project representative, did not return a call.

Gershon Alexander, of Northpath Investments, purchased the building for $28.5 million in 2022, according to a report in Long Island Business News. He could not be reached for comment.

Officials at UCIS and ICE did not respond to requests for comment.

Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino said in a statement, "Suffolk County is not involved in any decision related to ICE."

Suffolk does not have an ICE cooperation agreement, and the county sheriff does not honor ICE administration warrants or detain individuals for ICE. The county is still in litigation over a $112 million lawsuit regarding the jailing of immigrants, sheriff's office spokeswoman Vicki DiStefano said in a statement.

Nassau County entered into a federal agreement with ICE last year. It held more than 2,600 immigrants in the county's East Meadow jail last year.

"Everybody, whether it’s the town of Brookhaven or the landlords or the local elected officials, is going to be measured by how they respond, how they protect their community at this moment," said Marin-Molina. "People are going to be asking a lot of questions about this."

Newsday's Andrew Ehinger and Bahar Ostadan contributed to this story.