From the archives: East Farmingdale approves Stew Leonard's superstore

This story was originally published in Newsday on January 30, 2004

After months of disagreement, public relations stunts and just plain trash-talking, East Farmingdale is set to host dancing electronic cows, live baby goats and, oh yes, a Stew Leonard's grocery superstore across the street from Republic Airport.

The Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals gave the green light to the project - including a garden center, a petting zoo, an office building and a 1,000-car parking lot - at a meeting last night where it voted 4-0 to approve variances for the store's 18-acre site. The location, at the southwest corner of Conklin Street and Route 110, sits within the airport's runway protection zone, a trapezoidal-shaped area that aviation officials say should be kept clear of dense development in case of crashes.

"We want the store here," said Bob Getchell of the East Farmingdale Civic Association. "It's good for the economy, it's good for the neighborhood."

Local aviation officials, pilots and the state Department of Transportation objected, saying the store's proposed location would put thousands of shoppers perilously close to the airport's main flight path.

"It's a disappointment that they don't understand ... that it's unsafe to build these types of facilities in these locations," said William McShane, chairman of the Long Island Business Aviation Association.

After the meeting, board member Burton Koza said, "I've found it to be one of the more difficult decisions."

Town officials, local building trades unions and many residents view the proposed store as a potential economic boon. Once completed, the store would hire 600 employees, said Vincent Summa, Stew Leonard's executive vice president and chief financial officer.

"We really know that a store in Long Island is going to be a home run," Summa said before the meeting. Stew Leonard's has three other stores - in Yonkers and in Danbury and Norwalk, Conn., where the company is headquartered. Fairchild Corp. owns the East Farmingdale property.

Gary Lewi, a spokesman for Republic Airport's management team, called the approval "unfortunate," adding, "hopefully, it won't be tragic."

The Federal Aviation Administration has ruled that the development poses no hazard to air navigation. Stew Leonard's officials and project supporters say that ruling undercuts their opponents' arguments. Opponents maintain their concern is for people on the ground beyond airport property, where the FAA has no jurisdiction.

The zoning board initially approved plans for the grocery superstore in July, but later rescinded the decision after the board failed to supply all the required information to the Suffolk County Planning Department. A public hearing on the project was reopened three weeks ago, after the planning department reviewed all the necessary material and voted 6-4 not to contest the project.

The DOT has put an application for an entrance off Route 110 on hold, citing concerns over the store's proposed location in the runway protection zone.

Over the past seven months those opposed to the store, led by the Long Island Business Aviation Association, have staged colorful protests to draw attention to their cause. At the Jan. 8 hearing, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 dressed as bloodied plane crash victims holding signs that read, "I'm a Stew Leonard's shopper." Protesters brought charred plastic cows to a meeting last year; in June pilots attempted to drop dozens of red roses over the site but accidentally scattered the flowers over surprised drivers on Route 110.

Town officials and Fairchild say Republic Airport is using safety concerns as an excuse to strangle development along the 110 corridor so they can expand the airport. Hugh Jones, the airport's director, has denied the charges.

McShane said his group would continue to fight the project. The group, which filed a challenge to Babylon's original approval last November, is continuing to try to stop it in State Supreme Court in Central Islip, McShane said.

"Our objective is stop this project, go back to the drawing board, and figure out a way to do it safely," McShane said.