Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory adjusts housing plan after neighbors object
Oyster Bay Cove residents protest Monday against a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory proposal to use the former Harmony Heights School property at 57 Sandy Hill Rd. to house postdoctoral fellows or early career scientists. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
After an outcry from neighbors, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory plans to lodge fewer scientists in the nearby Village of Oyster Bay Cove where the research facility wants to rehabilitate a former school dormitory for staff housing.
In amended site plans submitted Monday, the research facility reduced the maximum number of residents from 30 to 28 and proposed to land bank property for future parking rather than building the spots immediately. The land-banked parking area will also be relocated away from the main road, said laboratory spokeswoman Lisa Cruz.
The 11.75-acre Sandy Hill Road property was once part of the Garver Estate and includes a historic main house built in 1910, according to Village Mayor Charles Goulding. Harmony Heights, a high school for girls with special social and emotional needs, housed students at the property from 1981 until putting the site up for sale in 2023, he said in a letter posted to the village website.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, established in 1890, purchased the property in January 2024 “as a response to the growing need to provide affordable housing for our scientists,” Cruz said.
The lab does not plan to construct new buildings and intends to “maintain the historic mansion and prevent the large property from being subdivided,” she said.
The lab plans to house 22 postdoctoral fellows or early-career scientists in the main house and carriage house in the near term, until it has the funds to renovate spaces for six more residents, she said.
More than a dozen neighbors protested across the street from the property on Monday morning before the amended plans were submitted, citing concerns including the environmental impact, increased traffic and impact to local schools.
“Our biggest concern is how it’s going to impact the environment, the community, tranquility, wildlife, and every other aspect as we know it living in Oyster Bay Cove,” said Evelyn Ain, 53, a village resident at the protest. “This is just not [like] anything that we have in our village.”
Residents said the village did not make them aware of a 2023 zone change to allow the site to be converted into housing for postdoctoral fellows or higher education faculty and consulted an attorney who called the amendment “spot-zoning,” and possibly illegal in New York.
According to the state, spot zoning is when a municipality zones a property differently from the surrounding area, usually to benefit a single owner or development.
It can be illegal if the change is not part of a “well-considered and comprehensive plan calculated to serve the general welfare of the community,” according to the state.
Dr. Steven Ravins, 61, a village resident at the protest, said the zoning change “blindsided” the community and the village did not send letters or knock on doors about the amendment, as it has done to raise awareness about local changes in the past.
The village mayor, in a Jan. 22 letter to residents, said the village board was concerned about the potential sale of the property to a developer.
The village has approved an application for a zoning amendment from Cold Spring Harbor to house scientists — but not spouses or children — at the site, Goulding said. The approval is conditional upon the lab obtaining a special use permit from the village Zoning Board of Appeals, for which a public hearing is ongoing.
In an interview, Goulding said the vote to allow the site to be used for lab housing was unanimous and the board stands by the decision.
There were open discussions at village board meetings, a public hearing and an announcement in the village newsletter to make residents aware of the vote ahead of time, he said.
Other community members have reached out to say they agree with the village, he added, pointing out that the lab has the resources to preserve the property and bring the historic building to code.
“The brilliant scientists at the lab, they’re working on cures for cancer and other terrible diseases. The residents of course have a right to their opinion, but they seem mostly concerned about DoorDash food deliveries,” he said. “The doctors have to live somewhere.”
After an outcry from neighbors, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory plans to lodge fewer scientists in the nearby Village of Oyster Bay Cove where the research facility wants to rehabilitate a former school dormitory for staff housing.
In amended site plans submitted Monday, the research facility reduced the maximum number of residents from 30 to 28 and proposed to land bank property for future parking rather than building the spots immediately. The land-banked parking area will also be relocated away from the main road, said laboratory spokeswoman Lisa Cruz.
The 11.75-acre Sandy Hill Road property was once part of the Garver Estate and includes a historic main house built in 1910, according to Village Mayor Charles Goulding. Harmony Heights, a high school for girls with special social and emotional needs, housed students at the property from 1981 until putting the site up for sale in 2023, he said in a letter posted to the village website.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, established in 1890, purchased the property in January 2024 “as a response to the growing need to provide affordable housing for our scientists,” Cruz said.
The lab does not plan to construct new buildings and intends to “maintain the historic mansion and prevent the large property from being subdivided,” she said.
The lab plans to house 22 postdoctoral fellows or early-career scientists in the main house and carriage house in the near term, until it has the funds to renovate spaces for six more residents, she said.
More than a dozen neighbors protested across the street from the property on Monday morning before the amended plans were submitted, citing concerns including the environmental impact, increased traffic and impact to local schools.
“Our biggest concern is how it’s going to impact the environment, the community, tranquility, wildlife, and every other aspect as we know it living in Oyster Bay Cove,” said Evelyn Ain, 53, a village resident at the protest. “This is just not [like] anything that we have in our village.”
Residents said the village did not make them aware of a 2023 zone change to allow the site to be converted into housing for postdoctoral fellows or higher education faculty and consulted an attorney who called the amendment “spot-zoning,” and possibly illegal in New York.
According to the state, spot zoning is when a municipality zones a property differently from the surrounding area, usually to benefit a single owner or development.
It can be illegal if the change is not part of a “well-considered and comprehensive plan calculated to serve the general welfare of the community,” according to the state.
Dr. Steven Ravins, 61, a village resident at the protest, said the zoning change “blindsided” the community and the village did not send letters or knock on doors about the amendment, as it has done to raise awareness about local changes in the past.
The village mayor, in a Jan. 22 letter to residents, said the village board was concerned about the potential sale of the property to a developer.
The village has approved an application for a zoning amendment from Cold Spring Harbor to house scientists — but not spouses or children — at the site, Goulding said. The approval is conditional upon the lab obtaining a special use permit from the village Zoning Board of Appeals, for which a public hearing is ongoing.
In an interview, Goulding said the vote to allow the site to be used for lab housing was unanimous and the board stands by the decision.
There were open discussions at village board meetings, a public hearing and an announcement in the village newsletter to make residents aware of the vote ahead of time, he said.
Other community members have reached out to say they agree with the village, he added, pointing out that the lab has the resources to preserve the property and bring the historic building to code.
“The brilliant scientists at the lab, they’re working on cures for cancer and other terrible diseases. The residents of course have a right to their opinion, but they seem mostly concerned about DoorDash food deliveries,” he said. “The doctors have to live somewhere.”
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