Commander Oil tanks in Oyster Bay could be demolished

Nearly two dozen empty oil tanks, some towering over the edge of Oyster Bay Harbor, could be demolished, easing long-sought plans to redevelop the waterfront, officials said. 

The property's owner wants to raze the tanks on the 3-acre property. On Tuesday, the Oyster Bay Town Board approved a resolution absolving the town from environmental responsibility related to a potential demolition. The property is an active state Department of Environmental Conservation brownfield cleanup site, meaning it's a contaminated location requiring remediation before it can be redeveloped.

Commander Terminals Holdings LLC, which owns the property, filed a demolition permit with the town on Jan. 12, said Brian Nevin, a town spokesman. The company must now secure a performance bond and approvals from Nassau County, he said.

A representative for Commander Terminals Holdings LLC could not immediately be reached for comment. No development plans have been filed and the demolition permit has yet to be approved, Nevin said.

Rob Brusca, a board member with the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce, said he supported the tanks' removal, calling it the “appropriate action.”

Supervisor Joseph Saladino said during the meeting Oyster Bay “looks forward to seeing the tanks come down and the future of a right-sized development at the waterfront."

He said removing the tanks has been a goal of his since taking office in 2017.

The site was used as a sawmill in the late 1800s until the early 1900s. An ice plant and coal yard later opened there. At the time, part of the property had homes on it. Between 1938 and 1958, the property's eastern section was occupied by Commander Oil and had 12 storage tanks, which contained fuel, including gasoline and kerosene. Since 1962, there have been 21 storage tanks on the property, according to state DEC documents.

Commander Oil Corp. purchased the property in 1971, and Commander Terminals Holdings LLC then bought the site in 2001, according to a brownfield cleanup program application and a Nassau County deed document.

It is not clear when the tanks were decommissioned.

A representative from Renaissance Property Associates is listed on the demolition permit, Nevin said. The company did not respond to requests for comment.  

Newsday previously reported Renaissance managed property for Charles Wang, the co-founder of Computer Associates. Wang, who died in 2018, is a former majority owner of the Islanders.

Christine Suter, president of Friends of the Bay, said in a statement the nonprofit sees “the removal of the former Commander Oil tanks as the beginning of a process that could lead to a major benefit for Oyster Bay and the surrounding communities.”

Suter said any future development requires an environmental review and community input.

“Friends of the Bay will be monitoring the process and looks forward to working with all the parties involved to assure the continued health of the harbor,” she said.

Dawn Riley, executive director of a sailing club that's just feet from the property, said the community will be happy to see the tanks razed.

“I’m super excited that people that come to Oyster Bay will now be able to see Oyster Bay,” said Riley, who manages Oakcliff Sailing in the town. “Once that’s open, the viewpoint here is going to be incredible.”

But Riley expressed concern about what's going to be required to remove the tanks and what could be built in their place.

She said she hopes “they don’t fill it up with junk or rich people’s homes.”

The soil at the site is contaminated with volatile and semivolatile organic compounds, along with metal and forever chemicals, commonly referred to as PFAS, according to the DEC. 

The contamination "appears to be related to the site's usage as an oil terminal" and other industrial uses, including when trichloroethylene, a cancer-causing chemical known as TCE, was used as a refrigerant, according to a DEC database.

Removing the steel tanks won't disturb soil under the surface, according to the DEC. The agency said it will monitor air quality during the demolition work.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ