Lindsay wants to nix Yaphank housing project

Suffolk's Presiding Officer William Lindsay proposed Thursday to kill County Executive Steve Levy's ambitious but controversial 1,300-unit affordable Legacy Village housing project in Yaphank because the sour economy has made it "a bad deal."

Lindsay filed a resolution to terminate the contract with the developer, Beechwood Organization, and declare about 220 vacant acres for the 255-acre county project surplus so it can be sold at auction.

The Holbrook Democrat was a onetime supporter of the project but said he changed his mind because the economy has made local housing more affordable. He added that strong local opposition would likely tie the project up in court for years. Selling the land outright, Lindsay said, might spur more jobs now and bring a higher price.

"We have a tremendous fiscal crisis, and I'd rather sell vacant land than sell facilities that serve people," said Lindsay, who was alluding to the nearby John L. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility that the Levy administration is looking to shutter and sell.

Legacy Village plans, now undergoing environmental reviews, include 1,300 units of affordable housing, a downtown with a 6,500-seat arena, a hotel, stores, restaurants and a 95-acre solar industrial park. However, Lindsay said the deal calls for developers to pay the county only $12 million for the 95 industrial acres, which he believes could bring in as much as $20 million.

Levy lambasted former union leader Lindsay's defection, saying he and other lawmakers are "grasping at straws" to provide funding for the money-losing nursing home at the expense of a much-needed project that will provide more than 1,000 jobs.

"If Mr. Lindsay thinks he's hurting me, he's not," Levy said. "He's hurting unemployed tradesmen, young talent seeking decent housing, and residents seeking cultural and recreational outlets."

James Castellane, president of the Nassau-Suffolk Building Trades Council, said he strongly supports the project. Though he balked at taking sides, he said, "the bottom line is [that] 30 percent of my men are sitting home because of politics."

Michael Dubb, Beechwood's president, said he had been unaware of Lindsay's proposal until Newsday contacted him, and that he hoped Levy and Lindsay can come to a consensus on the project.

Local foes of the project praised Lindsay's move but worried about selling county land so near the Carmans River corridor. "We should be in the business of buying land, not selling what we already have," said MaryAnn Johnston, president of the Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organization.