The Point: Fort Salonga residents get rehab redux reprieve
When the Smithtown Town Board of Zoning Appeals meets Tuesday night, the audience will likely be either far smaller than expected, or far less interested than expected: The star item on the meeting agenda, an application to reopen Charlie Murphy’s Residence, the venerable rehab that suffered a fire in 2016, was withdrawn Monday night.
The prospective operators, who have not yet purchased the Fort Salonga property, wanted to host as many as 50 patients in an addiction facility. The area is zoned residential but Charlie Murphy’s predated that zoning, and so was not subject to it.
Neighbors and Fort Salonga Association members were gearing up for a fight, arguing the property lost its zoning exemption because it went more than 12 months without operating under the grandfathered use.
In a form letter residents were urged to sign and send to officials, the Fort Salonga Association also objected to its doubling of Charlie Murphy’s 25-patient capacity, its switch from not-for-profit to for-profit status, and its proximity to an elementary school. They also feared syringes, traffic, violence and "the dregs of society" intruding on their neighborhood.
The letter withdrawing the application simply says, "Due to unforeseen circumstances, the applicants are unable to proceed with the application at this time."
And the attorney representing the prospective operators, Vincent Trimarco Sr., told The Point that was all he knew, as well.
But it’s at least possible the red-hot real estate market has something to do with it.
Although the purchase price for the property was never revealed, it was listed on a real estate website for $1.2 million late last year.
But several people with knowledge of real estate in that area, zoned for one-acre residential, said building lots there could go for as much as $350,000 or $400,000.
That could make the 5.6-acre site a lot more valuable for the residential use that is allowed by right than the rehab plan that isn’t.
Lane Filler is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
