Rezoning approved for Lindenhurst senior complex

The Lindenhurst board of trustees this week approved the rezoning for a proposed senior apartment complex, despite continuing resident concerns about the project.

The board voted 5-0 on Tuesday to rezone from residence to senior citizen multi-residence a parcel on the east side of Hickory Street and North Montauk Highway. Developers Andrzej and Joanna Mroczowski are looking to build 16 one-bedroom senior rental apartments on the site.

Hickory Street resident Andreas Kozak said before the vote that he and his neighbors were worried, and he asked the board to not grant the rezoning. Kozak said the environmental report done on the property does not address what he said are suspicions of possible contamination caused by past industrial uses and storage of hazardous materials. He showed the board photos of a nearby stream that he said has a sheen on it.

“There’s something funky going on there,” he said.

The more than 500-page report, done by Cider Environmental of Commack, states that the study “did not reveal evidence of a recognized environmental condition in connection” with the property. Village Administrator Doug Madlon said that as far as he knows, the property has been “always vacant” and he is “not aware of any contamination.”

The project initially comprised 22 units with an entrance on Hickory and included the demolition of two homes. After dozens of residents protested, the village planning board asked that the units be brought down to 16, the entrance moved to Montauk Highway and the houses not be torn down. The developer complied.

Mayor Mike Lavorata said after the vote that the project will still undergo environmental scrutiny from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“If they do a test bore and they find there’s something down there, they won’t get their approvals,” he said.

He said he will be “keeping a close eye” on the development and that the village is intent on “making sure every project is looked at with the intensity it requires.”

The project must now go before the zoning board for several variances. After that public hearing, the project’s site plan will be reviewed by the planning board and another public hearing held.

“We will be there no matter what,” Kozak said of himself and his neighbors.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.