Roundup: $4M in tax benefits OKd for proposed rental complex

BROOKHAVEN

$4M in tax benefits OKd for complex

The Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency has approved about $4 million worth of tax benefits for a proposed apartment complex in Port Jefferson.

Developer Rail Realty LLC of Port Jefferson plans to erect a two-building, 74-unit rental apartment complex at the northeast and southeast corners of Texaco Avenue and Linden Place, near the Long Island Rail Road stop. The project is expected to create 69 construction jobs and five permanent positions.

IDA chief executive Lisa Mulligan said the agency’s seven-member board approved a package including county and state sales tax exemptions during construction, property tax abatements and a mortgage recording tax exemption. She estimated the package was worth about $3 million over 10 years.

Monthly rents at the complex are expected to range from $1,400 for a studio and $1,625 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,975 for a two-bedroom apartment.

“Our assistance to this project means that the developer will be able to offer our town much-needed rental housing options at rental rates below the market,” IDA chairman Frederick C. Braun III said in a statement.

— CARL MACGOWAN

MERRICK

Mold repair meeting for Sandy victims

The Community Development Corp. of Long Island and Nassau County Legis. David Denenberg have planned a mold remediation meeting.

The meeting is for residents in homes flooded by superstorm Sandy who are making repairs in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The American Red Cross and CDC for LI are providing free mold removal for Sandy victims. Case manager Kathy Williams is expected to tell residents how to identify mold and the dangers mold poses. Residents will be given a guide of what free services are offered and who is eligible.

The meeting is set at about 7 p.m. at the Merrick Library, 2279 Merrick Ave.

— JOHN ASBURY

BROOKHAVEN TOWN

School supply drive seeking donations

Brookhaven residents have two more days to donate school supplies for the academic school year.

Brookhaven Youth Bureau’s INTERFACE is behind the back-to-school drive, accepting pens, calculators, backpacks, notebooks, lunchboxes, folders, glue, binders and more until Friday.

Supplies will be distributed to families in town who may not be able to provide school items for their children, town officials said.

“Residents have been very generous, but more is needed to make sure that every child is ready to start the new school year,” Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said in a statement.

Supplies can be dropped off in bins at Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville.

Items can also be left at: Medford Volunteer Ambulance, 1005 Sipp Ave.; Coram Fire Department, 303 Middle Country Rd.; All for You Hair Salon, 161 Long Island Ave. in Holtsville; and Modular Devices Inc., 1 Roned Rd. in Shirley.

— DEON J. HAMPTON

PATCHOGUE

Bond resolution OKd for roadwork

The village board of trustees unanimously passed a $1.1 million bond resolution Monday night to pave municipal roads.

Mayor Paul Pontieri explained to residents at the meeting that the work would also include sidewalks and infrastructure upgrades.

These are just “things we have to get done,” he said before the 7-0 vote. The resolution was a late addition to the agenda, but trustees said its adoption allows crews to get an early start on the work before winter.

— DEON J. HAMPTON

EAST HILLS

‘The Voice’ singers to perform at Labor Day event

Two contestants from the NBC hit show “The Voice,” Christine Grimmie and Matthew Schuler, are scheduled to perform at East Hills’ Labor Day celebration on Sunday.

The free event is to be held on the Great Lawn and is open only to village residents. They must show their park cards to be admitted. Each family will be given up to four passes for guests that can be obtained at the pool or village office, 209 Harbor Hill Rd.

A family barbecue begins at 5 p.m., and the official ceremonies start at 5:30. The concert begins at 6.

Grimmie was a finalist on Season 6 of “The Voice” and has toured with Selena Gomez. Grimmie is performing throughout the country on The Voice Tour and doing her newly released single, “Must Be Love.”

Schuler was in the top 6 of Season 5 and a fan favorite. His song, “Invincible,” is featured in the film, “8 Days,” which is inspired by actual accounts of children being involved in human trafficking in the United States.

— LISA IRIZARRY

COPIAGUE

Festival to include carnival rides, games

The Copiague Chamber of Commerce plans to hold its annual Family Festival starting Sept. 12.

The three-day festival, which is partially funded by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s office, will take place at Tanner Park in Copiague. The free event will feature entertainment, carnival rides, games and food. Saturday and Sunday will feature a pet expo, pizza-eating contest and an arts, crafts and gifts show.

The festival will run from 6 to 10 p.m. on that Friday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Free shuttle service from Copiague’s Long Island Rail Road station will be available starting at noon on Saturday and Sunday. The rain date for the festival is Sept. 26 to Sept. 28.

For more information, visit www.lifamilyfestival.com.

— DENISE M. BONILLA

NORTHPORT

Pilot parking plan in works for next year

The Town of Huntington plans to begin a pilot parking program for visitors to Northport Village next year.

Fifteen “prime” parking spaces in the town-owned Woodbine Marina will be available for public parking, with restrictions between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 2015 for temporary public parking.

“In an effort to help offset the parking challenges in Northport Village, I recently enacted a pilot program at Woodbine Marina that will provide 15 underutilized spaces for public use,” town board member Mark Cuthbertson said. “These 15 spaces will be designated for 90-minute parking only and will be available for a 14-week period in the summer of 2015.”

The town board voted 5-0 recently to approve the measure.

The town’s Department of Maritime Services oversees operations of the town-owned marinas and will monitor the pilot program to ensure there is minimal impact to its contractual slip owners.

— DEBORAH S. MORRIS

AMITYVILLE

Village budget closes with $188G surplus

Amityville closed out its 2013-2014 budget with a $188,000 surplus, Mayor James Wandell’s office announced in a release Tuesday.

The surplus cuts the village operating deficit to $356,318, down from $742,000 when the administration took office last year.

“Amityville’s finances are still in rough waters, but this surplus shows that we are sailing on the right course,” said trustee Nick LaLota, the village’s budget officer. “We were able to achieve this success by finding ways to implement structural change. If we continue to do that, without reducing services to our neighbors and taxpayers, our village’s financial future looks bright.”

Officials attributed the surplus to a combination of factors, including a $232,000 settlement for building fees from the owners of Wellington Park Villas and the replacement of about six retired village employees with new employees at lower salaries.

Earlier this spring, LaLota warned that police pay was unsustainable and posed a dire threat to the village’s fiscal health.

Negotiations between the village and the union representing village police officers are ongoing. LaLota declined to comment in detail Tuesday about the impact the talks could have on future budgets.

He said the village’s credit rating would likely remain poor unless the operating deficit can be eliminated.

For that to happen, “we need to make structural changes in all of our departments,” he said.

— NICHOLAS SPANGLER