Cuthbertson, Mayoka to Vote No on AvalonBay

Town Councilman Mark Cuthbertson said Wednesday that he planned to vote against the AvalonBay proposal when the rezoning plan comes before the board next week.

Cuthbertson cited Monday night's Huntington Board of Education vote to rescind its support of the plan because of concerns about the unknown impact on the school district. The school board specified that it opposed the Transit-Oriented District (TOD) for the area near the Huntington Long Island Rail Road station.

"My support for this project has always been premised, in part, upon support from the school district," Cuthbertson said. "When the school district voted to enter into an agreement with Avalon on Aug. 10, 2009 to accept up to $1,500,000 mitigation fee if the project was approved, I believed that this demonstrated sufficient community support to allow this proposal to be considered. It also demonstrated that the school board had considered the project's implications on school capacity. With that support now withdrawn, I can no longer support the project."

Just hours after Cuthbertson made his announcement, Councilman Mark Mayoka said he would also vote against the Avalon Huntington Station proposal.

"After many months of deliberation, I came to my decision that I will vote no to the TOD/Avalon proposal," Mayoka said. "I am encouraged that my colleagues have heard the same cry that I have heard loud and clear from the residents."

Mayoka added that until it is voted down, he will continue to offer his resolution on the TOD moratorium.

Matt Harris, who has been leading a petition drive against the project, said he believes the AvalonBay proposal will be rejected at Tuesday's vote.

"This is a classic case of David versus Goliath and there is no limit to what a grassroots community organization can do," Harris said. "At this point, with Mark's no vote, it doesn't matter. ... I think they'll admit that tying the TOD and Avalon Bay as one vote was huge mistake, a huge mistake."

Mentioning the effects of urban renewal efforts in Huntington Station, Harris said, "Forty years later, we're still waiting for a new downtown Huntington Station and AvalonBay is not it."

But Judith White, a spokesperson for AvalonBay said simply, "We have a hearing scheduled for Sept.21 and we are staying the course."

A.J. Carter, a spokesman for Town Supervisor Frank Petrone, said, "The supervisor is reserving his comments until the board meeting."

And project opponent Vivienne Wong said she wasn't ready to celebrate. "It's not over. I don't know what it means," she said. "The reality is that a press release is meaningless because it has to be voted on on Sept.21. He could change his mind."