Plan would replace shuttered Northport gas station

A new gasoline station and convenience store has been proposed in Northport at the site of a shuttered Delta Station, where an underground oil spill was discovered six years ago.

The village planning board and engineers reviewed plans for the site, at 85 Fort Salonga Rd., submitted by Edward Clark of 294 Petro Realty Corp. in Babylon. Now, the applicant will have to resubmit the plans, addressing the village's concerns and items missing in the first proposal.

A letter from Gannett Fleming Engineers in Woodbury was sent to the village and forwarded to the applicant. In the five-page document, the firm brought up several areas that need consideration, including the size of the underground gasoline tanks, stormwater management, soil testing, parking and traffic issues.

Clark said last week that his architect is working on the updated plans, and that they should be resubmitted to the village in a few weeks.

"This particular location seemed to be a very viable location to continue pumping gas," he said about why he decided to make his proposal to the village. He said he owns "several" other gas stations on Long Island, but declined to say how many and where.

He said he plans to renovate the existing building, which is about 1,360 square feet. A major oil company would be at the station, such as BP, with whom he is currently talking, he said. He also said it would have a small convenience store, possibly with space for a Dunkin' Donuts.

The total area of the property is 13,933 square feet. The current structure, a dilapidated white building, is at Woodbine Avenue and Fort Salonga Road (Route 25A). The closest gas station is about 0.7 miles away.

Aphrodite Montalvo, state Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman, said recently that the underground oil spill was discovered on the property in 2006. Consequently, four underground storage tanks and about 800 tons of contaminated soil were removed. The cleanup was completed in 2007 and there was some post-cleanup monitoring that ended last November, Montalvo said.

Clark said he is not concerned with the past spill.

The current property owner is Adil Bayat of West Islip, president and owner of Northport Land Corp, according to the site plan.