Central Pine Barrens Commission: Westhampton property owner can't clear brush

Allowing a Westhampton property owner to clear brush and trees in the pine barrens to protect against wildfires would set a dangerous precedent for the forest’s ecosystem, the Long Island Central Pine Barrens Commission has ruled.

Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to deny the application made by Joseph Gazza, a commercial property owner who sought to clear up to 100 feet around six properties he owns along Old Riverhead Road. Gazza applied after a wildfire last year caused more than 400 acres of the pine barrens to burn, damaging one of his buildings.

Gazza’s application “has significant precedent setting nature in the [pine barrens] region including potential significant adverse environmental impacts on the pine barrens ecosystem,” the commission said in its denial resolution. The rejection was unanimous, 5-0.

The commission ruled that Gazza’s application was “deficient and without scientific evidence,” and that he did not demonstrate hardship.

The pine barrens are protected by a 1993 state law that limits new development. Under that law, land clearing requires a hardship waiver from the commission. Gazza’s buildings were built before the state law was enacted.

“What is it going to take to shock them into doing something and acting responsible?” Gazza said in an interview after the decision. “It's going to take a serious [wildfire] event, like in California, where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.”

“I don’t think they’re acting reasonably,” Gazza added.

The commission said Gazza can conduct “non-development activities” to his properties, including trimming tree limbs that hang over buildings and removing items from wooded areas, where they could catch fire.

Spanning 105,000 acres, the pine barrens ecosystem purifies the region’s drinking water and supports the health of two estuaries and two major rivers.

The Long Island Pine Barrens Society, an advocacy group, celebrated the commission's ruling.

“I was absolutely delighted that the commission took the stance that we're not going to set a precedent here, and we are going to protect the pine barrens the way the pine barrens are supposed to be protected,” acting executive director Nina Leonhardt said in an interview.

In March 2025, wind-driven wildfires that authorities said were sparked by a family attempting to make s'mores burned more than 420 acres of woodland in the pine barrens. No evacuations were ordered and no homes were burned, but two commercial buildings — including one owned by Gazza near Gabreski Airport — sustained damage.

Commission officials said they use prescribed burns to help create buffers that make it harder for wildfires to spread. This year, burns are scheduled in five pine barrens state forests, including in the dwarf pine plains in Westhampton, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Eastern Suffolk BOCES has also expressed interest in clearing parts of its properties near the Westhampton Beach Learning Center, which serves 330 students with developmental disabilities, autism and physical disabilities. Safety administrators sent a letter to the commission in November inquiring about the process and told Newsday it planned to file for a hardship waiver.

The school has yet to file an application.