Bakery distributor's late hours stall move

Islip Town has delivered an ultimatum to a Lindenhurst-based bakery product distributor: curb its nighttime hours of operation or its controversial bid to relocate to Central Islip will not proceed.

The move probably spells the death knell for Inter-County Bakers' proposed move to a vacant state-owned warehouse and distribution center on Eastside Drive: Company president Ted Heim Jr. has said he needs a round-the-clock-operation at the nearly 13-acre site.

A letter Wednesday from the town's planning department to Inter-County attorney Chris Modelewski says a study the company submitted does not demonstrate noise will be abated for trucks driving to and from the property. "We believe nearby residents may be significantly impacted by this late-night truck traffic and that this impact would be difficult if not impossible to mitigate," says the letter signed by deputy planning commissioner Jeanmarie Buffet.

Residents at a public hearing in April protested when Heim told the town 20 trucks would have to depart the warehouse beginning 4:30 a.m. weekdays, and on some nights up to three trucks would deliver flour from upstate after midnight.

The planning department recommends the proposal eliminate truck movements in and out of the site between 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. weekdays and from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends. "This department will not be supporting the application unless the applicant agrees to this limitation," the letter states.

Neither Modelewski nor Heim returned calls seeking comment Thursday.

The property, at the intersection of Eastview and Courthouse drives, has lain vacant for five years. Inter-County's $5.7 million auction bid in October won the site, the fourth time the state government has tried to sell it, town officials said. A change of zone is needed for the property to pass into private ownership. Inter-County's deposit of about $500,000 will be refunded if town approval is not granted.

Flo Piesco, who helped lead a groundswell of resident-based opposition to the bid, welcomed the letter. "I'm very pleased to see the town has been responsible, listening to residents and their concerns about their quality of life," she said.

Rejecting Inter-County's bid is not without cost, however. Both the town and Central Islip school district stand to ultimately gain hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue if the company successfully takes over the site.

Heim, whose family-owned company has been a Long Island fixture since 1946, had pledged to limit nighttime deliveries to a northwest loading area, improve landscaping and upgrade warehouse facilities in line with town environmentally-friendly requirements.

Approval of the bid also would net a $200,000 windfall for the Central Islip Recreation Fund and a further $100,000 toward the downtown hamlet fee fund.

In an interview last month, Heim said he still wanted the site but would continue looking elsewhere in case the application is rejected.

Debbie Cavanagh, of the Central Islip Coalition, said that while her civic group's board had not yet taken a position on the latest development, the town's stance "would satisfy the community."