Roundup: Suffolk agrees to pay for Amityville parkland

AMITYVILLE

Suffolk agrees to pay for parkland

Suffolk County legislators unanimously approved a $233,000 payment to Amityville in exchange for full ownership of Nautical Park, a 1.7-acre greenway at Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue.

"I'm grateful my colleagues supported this effort to bring closure to a matter which has been open for 15 years," County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) said.

Gregory said County Executive Steve Bellone told him he will sign the deal that the legislature approved Tuesday.

The park is managed by Amityville but was created from land acquired by both the county and the village in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Amityville officials for years complained Suffolk had agreed to reimburse the village for acquisition costs but didn't. The $233,000 represents what Gregory said was a portion of the market value of land the village acquired for the park in 2001.

Amityville trustee Nick LaLota said in an email that he would push for the payment to be applied toward a combination of deficit reduction, property tax relief and parking and lighting improvements to the village downtown.

"We're relieved," he wrote. "This settlement will remove some of the pressure . . . [from] our taxpayers and budget."

- NICHOLAS SPANGLER

YAPHANK

Recycling center reaches milestone

Brookhaven's recycling center in Yaphank has processed more than 100 million pounds of material thus far this year.

The regional recycling center reached the total on Nov. 5, town officials announced.

The facility is the largest recycling center on Long Island, sorting materials for municipalities including the villages of Bellport, Mastic Beach, Poquott and Southold Town. Smithtown will begin using the center in January, officials said.

"Recycling is the one thing everyone can do to improve the environment," Brookhaven Town Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said in a statement. "The success of the program is a result of many people and organizations working together."

Dubbed the "Green Stream Machine," the system uses optical scanners and magnets to process 50 tons per hour of materials such as cardboard, newspaper, aluminum and plastic.

Single-stream recycling combines recyclable materials instead of requiring them to be separated. Recycling in Brookhaven is required under the town code.

Green Stream Recycling, a joint venture between Winters Bros. Waste Systems of Danbury, Connecticut, and Westbury-based Omni Recycling, financed the $7 million expansion and conversion of the recycling facility in 2014.

- DEON J. HAMPTON

ISLIP TOWN

State audit finds late PILOT payments

A routine state comptroller's audit of the Islip Industrial Development Agency's handling of tax exemptions found that the IDA billed and collected payments in lieu of taxes promptly, but the payments "were not distributed to affected taxing jurisdictions within 30 days as required by law."

The town's IDA was late in making the payments, known as PILOT payments, by an average of 19 days, the audit found.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office suggested the agency develop a more efficient process to make the payments.

The audit reviewed the IDA's 89 projects in 2013 that generated more than $13 million in PILOT payments, and were estimated to create or retain about 14,730 jobs.

DiNapoli's office said the audit, issued on Oct. 31, focused on the oversight of the PILOT payments, which help compensate for loss of tax payments from incentives for businesses to stay in or relocate to Islip.

"To ensure that these benefits are properly administered, it is crucial for the IDA to have a process in place to monitor the PILOTs," the audit reported.

In a written response to the audit, IDA executive director William Mannix told the comptroller's office that the town has already implemented a "newly improved, integrated computer system" to speed up the payments.

- SOPHIA CHANG 

MEDFORD/YAPHANK

171 acres purchased for open space

Suffolk County and Brookhaven Town officials yesterday announced they had reached agreement to jointly purchase 171 acres of land in Medford and Yaphank from developer AvalonBay Communities.

The town and county will split the $4 million purchase price for the land, which lies within the fragile Carmans River watershed. County and town officials said they plan to preserve the property as open space.

Town officials said AvalonBay could have constructed a cluster development with more than 100 homes if the company had chosen to build on the site, on the north side of Mill Road.

"Thank goodness the developer understood the importance of that piece of property and the need to preserve it," Suffolk County Legis. Kate M. Browning (WF-Shirley) said. She announced the purchase yesterday at a news conference with County Executive Steve Bellone, Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine, community leaders and environmentalists.

Officials said the hilly property includes an oak-pitch pine forest and a wide variety of birds, reptiles, and insect species. It will be open to the public for passive uses such as hiking.

The county legislature unanimously approved the deal on Tuesday. Browning said the property received the highest environmental rating of any parcel since the inception of the county's open space preservation program.

- CARL MACGOWAN

HEMPSTEAD VILLAGE

Medical supplies to help Ebola victims

Hempstead Village Mayor Wayne Hall this week gave boxes of medical supplies to members of the Freetown Secondary School for Girls Ex-Pupils Association in New York to help fight the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone.

The medical supplies were donated to the village's continuing Ebola Donation Drive by North Shore-LIJ Health System and South Nassau Communities Hospital and included thousands of latex gloves, as well as medical gowns, respirators and surgical masks. Earlier collections of items donated by residents were delivered to the association in October.

Hall said he felt "compelled to do something" to fight the disease, and he encouraged residents to continue donating to his drive or to other groups helping to treat patients and stop the spread of the virus.

Hall and the village board of trustees launched the donation drive in September to help the Freetown school and health center in Sierra Leone.

Sarian Parker, a native of Sierra Leone and a Freetown school graduate, as well as an employee of the village community development agency, had urged Hall to launch the donation drive.

- SID CASSESE

MASTIC BEACH

Free child safety seat inspections Saturday

The Suffolk County Police Department, with Suffolk County Legis. Kate M. Browning (WF-Shirley) and Mastic Beach Village, are sponsoring a free car seat safety check Saturday.

The inspections are by appointment from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mastic Beach Village Hall, 369 Neighborhood Rd. Certified technicians will conduct the inspections and provide safety information to drivers and parents.

Three out of four car seats nationwide are used incorrectly, endangering thousands of children every year, Suffolk and Mastic Beach officials said in a news release.

Call 631-852-1300 to make an appointment. Free booster seats will be given away based on need.

- DEON J. HAMPTON

MINEOLA

A taste of history at exec building

Historians, teachers and Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano today will help provide food samples from American historical periods on the steps of the county executive and legislature building at 1550 Franklin Ave.

Social studies teachers will join Libby O'Connell, the chief historian for the History Channel, and Oheka Castle's executive chef Christopher James Cappello at the 11:30 a.m. event. Samplings include Thomas Jefferson's macaroni and cheese, and oysters, which organizers called the "fast food" of American Indians on Long Island.

The event focuses on O'Connell's book, "The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites" and will review some "food fables, myths and legends," said Gary Lewi, a spokesman for the event in cooperation with the Old Bethpage Village Restoration.

- SID CASSESE

GLEN COVE

A two-day feast of Thanksgiving

Garvies Point Museum and Preserve will hold its annual Thanksgiving Native American Feast on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano announced.

For a $5 fee, the celebration offers activities including pottery making, primitive fire-building, cooking demonstrations, face painting with natural pigments, and use of the atlatl for spear throwing. American Indian films will be shown hourly.

Children under 5 with an adult are admitted for free, as are friends of the museum.

Participants can also view the museum's exhibition hall, which explores Long Island Native American culture and archaeology, as well as New York State and Long Island geology.

For more information, call 516-571-8010 or go to garviespointmuseum.com.

- SID CASSESE

LAKEVIEW

Seeking volunteers for food deliveries

Mid-Island Collision in Lakeview is looking for volunteers to help fill bags with meals to be delivered or picked up by food pantries for Thanksgiving.

"We really could use the help, so we can aid people effectively," company owner Robert Jesberger said. "The neater the packaging, the more these churches and other groups can load up their trucks or vans to help the needy."

Mid-Island is donating more than $150,000 in nonperishable food items to be bagged in preparation for the holiday.

"We hope to provide over 15,000 Thanksgiving meals," Jesberger said.

Volunteers are needed from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Mid-Island, at 20 Lakeview Ave.

"We invite all food pantries to come here with a truck and pick up as much food as they need," said Jesberger.

For more information or to schedule a time to volunteer, email nicole@midislandcollison.com or go to midislandcollision.com.

- SID CASSESE

HEMPSTEAD TOWN

Adoption fees waived at shelter

The Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter's annual "Home for the Holidays" pet adoption program opened yesterday and waives adoption fees until Jan. 4, Supervisor Kate Murray announced yesterday.

She made the announcement at the Garden City home of Assemb. Ed Ra (R-Garden City), whose family adopted Carter, a 2-year-old miniature poodle, during last year's event.

"We encourage neighbors to visit the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter, and find the newest member of their family to bring 'home for the holidays,' " Murray said in a news release.

The shelter also will be providing spaying and neutering, rabies vaccinations and microchipping, free of charge, for all pets adopted during the special program.

The shelter is at 3320 Beltagh Ave. in Wantagh. For more information, call 516-785-5220.

- SID CASSESE