Wyandanch tech park developer seeks $2M state grant for upgrades tied to controversial project

The developer behind an industrial park in Wyandanch wants state dollars to help fund roadway and sewer improvements surrounding the project, even as some residents hope to block the development altogether. 

San Francisco-based developer Bristol Group, which plans to build a $290 million industrial campus with warehouse, office and light manufacturing space near Pinelawn cemetery, applied for a $2 million grant from the state last month, said Bram Weber, a Melville-based attorney representing Bristol in the development.

Weber told the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council at its July 15 meeting that the developer would use the grant for infrastructure improvements, including a connection to the Southwest Sewer District and for roadway upgrades “as far north as into the town of Huntington."

Upgrading the roads and sewers will cost more than $5 million, and those improvements will help limit the impact of additional traffic to and from the park, Weber told Newsday. Those roadway improvements will also benefit residents, Weber added.

“People who drive on these roads, even with our project built, will see improved traffic flow and improved safety,” Weber said.

The application for state funds comes as the project moves closer toward construction — despite some opposition from Wheatley Heights residents — after the developer secured a rezoning from the Town of Babylon in June, Newsday reported. Bristol Group hopes to secure site plan approval from the town before the end of the year, Weber said.

If built, the industrial park would be the largest development in Babylon in decades.

Bristol also has said the park will create nearly 2,000 permanent jobs and infuse the town with more than $5.6 million in tax revenue.

“These are not intended to be large distribution warehouses,” Weber told the LIREDC. “It's really intended for Long Island companies that are looking for new, modern space where they can grow [and] have a better environment for their employees.”

Bristol Group has also promised more than $2 million in givebacks to Wyandanch and Wheatley Heights residents. But the proposed development — which would run from south of Circle Drive to Long Island Avenue and from Little East Neck Road east to North 28th Street — has divided locals.

Wyandanch residents have praised the proposed development as a boost for the area's economy, while those in Wheatley Heights raised concerns about how the project would impact traffic and the environment.

One resident, Love Foy, created an organization that advocates for the land to be turned into a community park, Newsday reported. Foy told Newsday on Tuesday that she was opposed to the state giving any public dollars toward the project.

“Sewers sound great, fixing the roads sound great,” Foy said. “The town should be doing that without having to sacrifice the wealth and health of our neighborhood.”

Foy said the development would increase traffic, hurting property values in the neighborhood. She also said she was concerned the development site, which abuts a historic Black and Indigenous cemetery, may have been used as a burial ground, and called for the site to be examined for remains.

Despite the opposition, the proposed 100-acre industrial park has slowly moved through the approvals process. The Babylon Town board accepted the developers final environmental report in September, and the Suffolk County Planning Commission gave the project the green light on May 6, Newsday reported.

Ryan Bonner, a spokesperson for the Town of Babylon, declined to comment on the grant application, and told Newsday by email the town had not yet set a date for a public hearing on the development's site plan.

In addition to site plan approval, the state Cemetery Board also needs to approve leasing the land to Bristol for the industrial park to be constructed.

A representative for the Department of State told Newsday on Tuesday the board has not yet made any recommendation.