Supporters of Holtsville zoo, targeted for closure by Brookhaven, want to see it remain open

Nicole O’Neill's children loved going to the Holtsville zoo when they were growing up, and one of them now works there.

The retired teacher said her students, some with visual impairments, delighted in the goats, bears and raptors housed at the zoo, part of Brookhaven Town's Holtsville Ecology Site on Buckley Road.

“The recognition of what a goat sounds like and what a goat feels like was important" for her children and students, O'Neill, 64, said Tuesday in a phone interview. “They noticed something different every time they went.”

Last week the Rocky Point woman joined dozens of other zoo supporters — including parents, educators and zoo workers — calling on town Supervisor Dan Panico and council members to reconsider plans to close the four-decade-old facility.

Supporters attending the town board meeting last Thursday told officials the zoo provides a tranquil respite for local residents, including senior citizens, families and children who would otherwise have few opportunities to view barnyard animals or other species such as bison. Supporters circulated flyers at the meeting asking residents to sign an online petition calling for the zoo to remain open.

Panico announced on Sept. 29 the town would start closing the zoo, which town officials call an animal sanctuary or preserve, and start relocating more than 100 animals housed there next year. He cited budget reasons, saying the facility costs town taxpayers about $2 million annually. 

Critics of the zoo, including animal welfare groups and some former zoo employees, have said many animals are mistreated. Town officials have denied the allegations.

Criticism for closing

Kristin Layer, an animal preserve caretaker at the zoo, said she was "blindsided" when she learned the zoo would close. Referring to animal welfare groups that demanded the zoo's closure, Layer said town officials gave in to "the loudest and most extreme voices."

“You folded under pressure,” Layer told the town board last week. “The animals were never in danger, but your employees are.”

Panico reiterated that closing the zoo was a budget issue, adding it would help the town stay within the state's 2% property tax cap. After exceeding the cap this year, the town has proposed a $367.2 million budget for next year that would raise taxes by 1.43%.

"The decision wasn't made on a whim," Panico said Tuesday in a text. "The town needs to concentrate on the core functions of government, especially in light of increasing cost pressures from Albany." 

Zoo opponent speaks out

Zoo opponent John Di Leonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island, an animal welfare group, said closing the facility is needed to protect the animals from what he called abuse. He said the animals should be moved to sanctuaries that can take better care of them.

"Children would run kicking and screaming from Holtsville if they knew how the animals were suffering," he said Wednesday in a text.

Supporters defended the animals' care and said the zoo was more affordable than others in the region.

Area zoos like the Bronx Zoo are too far away for many families and too expensive, supporters said. Adult admission at the Bronx Zoo is $38.20; for children ages 3-12, it's $28.20. Holtsville zoo admission is free.

Kevin Vallejo, 42, of Farmingville, told Newsday he went to the zoo as a child and now brings his son Sebastian, 12, a special-needs child, there about once a month. He would miss the zoo's accessible ramps and paths if it closes, he said.

“There’s no other place like it in the area," Vallejo said. "It’s one of the few places I can say I can take my son and we have no issues getting around.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.