As the battle over Avalon Bay—a multi-family housing project proposed for Pulaski Road in Huntington Station—becomes more heated, another similar housing proposal located less than four miles away may getting closer to reality after 30 years of battles but it's still surrounded by controversy and opponents.

Hundreds of community members flocked to a meeting held at Northport High School Thursday at which Huntington Board of Zoning Appeals Attorney Jim Matthews reviewed the checkered history of Matinecock Court, a hotly contested affordable housing project proposed for a 14-5-acre tract of land on the southwest corner of Pulaski and Elwood roads in East Northport.

According to Matthews, the history of Matinecock Court dates back to 1978 when Housing Help, a Greenlawn-based non-profit organization which supports low- and moderate-income housing, asked that the parcel be re-zoned for multiple family townhouse-style housing.

The request was turned down by the Huntington Town Board in 1981, which at the time, consisted of Supervisor Ken Butterfield and council members Claire Kroft, Ken Deegan, Edward Thompson and Joseph Clemente. Butterfield is currently a member of the Northport Village Architectural and Historic Review Board.

Housing Help, joined by the Huntington NAACP, then sued the Town of Huntington in federal court, alleging that the town violated the Fair Housing Act.

The town, which had retained legal counsel, then argued that the site was not suitable for multiple family dwellings, citing proximity to the LIPA power substation, LIRR tracks, and congestion at the heavily trafficked intersection.

While the town emerged victorious in U.S. District Court, the decision was reversed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 1988, and the town was ordered to re-zone the property.

In the next round of the legal battle, the town appealed to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case.

In 1989 the parcel was re-zoned to allow for multi-family housing, with the number of rental units being capped at 210. As the losing party in the litigation, the town was required by the Fair Housing Act to pay Housing Help's legal fees, which amounted to more than $926,000.

In 1995, Housing Help, which had begun to seek state funding for their project, were countered by the civic group called A Better Community Association and known as ABC,  which argued in favor of 'home-owned' as opposed to rental units. The agreed-upon plan stipulated 75% equity units and 25% rental units.

ABC withdrew their backing upon discovering that the plan provided for limited equity only. At this point both the town and ABC notified the state of their opposition, with the town passing a resolution against the development. New York State denied Housing Help's funding request, citing lack of community support.

Housing Help then sued the town and the state for violating the Fair Housing Act, with the result that the town was threatened with legal action by the US Attorney in charge of the Civil Division for Long Island. The town was also threatened by the U.S. departments of Housing and Urban Development, and  Justice with federal monitoring of all housing developments within the township.

Faced with the likelihood that they would lose the case and have to fund the housing development, the town negotiated the number of units down to 155, with 50% being 'home-owned' in the sense that the buyer would have to apply for a mortgage and make a down payment.

Inference with opposition to the project by town or state officials would make them subject to contempt of court charges, and fines, giving Housing Help grounds to seek from funding from the town, and leaving the town open to future lawsuits, Matthews said.

"We negotiated to mitigate the impact," Matthews said. "We fought the fight."

As Matthews looked out over a sea of troubled faces, and addressed written queries, his presentation left many unanswered questions in its wake. Visibly agitated residents voiced their concerns, which included the environmental impact of construction so close to two public schools—Northport High School and the district's Pulaski Road School are both within a quarter of a mile of the property—as well as  the effect on property values in East Northport, and traffic congestion. Others focused on the burden that a substantially large group of additional students would place on a beleaguered school system already reeling from massive budget cuts.

The crowd cheered as Greg Mallgraf, representing the group, "Stop Matinecock Court," stepped up to the podium.

The organization, whose motto is "the wrong project, in the wrong place, at the wrong time" has both a dedicated website and a Facebook page, boasting more than 1500 members.

Mallgraf said that his organization will continue to oppose the development.

"Talk about 'taxation without representation'--it is an absolute insult to the residents of this community to force this upon us, and use our tax dollars to fund it as well, when the general consensus and overwhelming opinion is that it has the potential to do untold damage to this area," Mallgraf said.

According to Mallgraf, the site where Housing Help hopes to break ground is heavily contaminated with a myriad of chemicals and pesticides indiscriminately used on potato farms in decades past, including arsenic.

Such toxins could be released and impact the air quality near the schools and beyond when the contaminated soil is moved and then capped.

"We've heard reports that in the 1980s the Harlem Meers in Central Park [known to contain high levels of cadmium and lead] was dredged, and the waste was dumped on this property. Additionally, the fact that the acreage was wide open to the public until just a few years ago when it was fenced off leads us to wonder who may have come along and dumped god-knows-what on this property," Mallgraf said.

Mallgraf also expressed concern about "adding significant traffic to an already choked roadway" and the danger this poses for "children attending either Pulaski Road School or Northport High School trying to maneuver through what is already a difficult and dangerous intersection."

Northport resident Chris Triolo said that Stop Matinecock Court has taken up where ABC left off 13 years ago. He believes that there are actions that the town can still take, and his group plans to fight the development on environmental and safety issues.

It's not a case of not wanting the project in East Northport's backyard, but rather a matter of social responsibility, he explained.

"What town, county or state agency would approve a sewage treatment plant in such close proximity to two schools and two main city roads? I wouldn't want any loved ones, any members of my family or anyone who I know living on that site," Triolo said, referring to the contaminated soil, the proximity to the LIRR tracks, the power station and the high tension wires.

He also wondered what ever happened to the Citizens Advisory Committee, "the neutral committee which was supposed to keep the community informed about any developments in the project."

"It dissolved  roughly around 2007," Triolo said of the committee's stunning disappearance.

He is also concerned about Housing Help's ability to successfully bring a project of this magnitude to fruition considering the fact that they "never built a development from the ground up" and lack adequate funding.

His group also has a message for town officials, which many will find reminiscent of philosopher John Locke's statements about the revocable nature of the social contract, echoed so eloquently in the Declaration of Independence.

"If they don't start listening to the people who elected them, they will be voted out," Triolo said.

He and Mallgraf have been invigorated by the way in which last Thursday's meeting has galvanized the community, Triolo said.

Editor's Note: In a previous version of this story, Mallgraf's name was spelled incorrectly. Patch regrets the error.