Don't sink Yaphank project yet
Suffolk Executive Steve Levy. Credit: Thomas A. Ferrara
It was a bold idea when Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy proposed it in early 2005: 1,000-plus units of housing, plus an arena, on county property in Yaphank.
But a lot has changed. The economy has tanked, for one thing, and Levy's battles with the county legislature have increased lawmakers' resistance to his ideas.
Still, the legislature shouldn't pass a proposal by Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook) to call a halt to the deal Levy had made with a developer and, instead, just sell about 220 acres to the highest bidder.
Lindsay says the decline in home prices has made the Yaphank units unnecessary. Yes, prices are down, but so is the ability of Long Islanders to pay them. And there's still a shortage of rental units near mass transit. The Levy project includes nearly 300 rentals, not far from an LIRR station. Besides, in a down market, why does Lindsay think selling now will get a better price than the one Levy arranged?
Yet valid questions remain. The Town of Brookhaven is nearing completion of a plan to preserve the Carmans River, near the property, and a county environmental study still needs time.
So Lindsay should do what he's said he will: Hold off on his proposal until the county environmental study is done. Then we can figure out how Levy's plan should be fixed, or if it's beyond repair. hN
