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Politics & Government

Town Takes Steps Toward Station Revitalization

Board addresses issues in Huntington Station as redevelopment measures advance.

While concerns about crime and graffiti-laden buildings in Huntington Station remain an issue for local residents, the Huntington Town Board took a few steps toward revitalizing the area at Tuesday night's meeting.

The board adopted a resolution that would allow for the acquisition by eminent domain of an abandoned automobile repair shop and formally approved the purchase of the last remaining privately owned parcel for what is to become Gateway Park.

Through the resolution, the board will acquire the former automobile repair shop located at 1000 New York Ave., near Olive Street in Huntington Station, which has been an abandoned property for close to 15 years.

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"The community has agreed that this building is an eyesore and the town secured a grant from New York State in the amount of $1,170,000 to demolish the blighted building," Town Supervisor Frank Petrone said. "The town wants to revitalize the area and to focus on lessening crime in the Huntington Station area."

A.J. Carter, public information officer for the Town of Huntington, added that the 10,800 square-foot building will be torn down and replaced by a mixed-use building, which will include retail stores and residential dwellings. The town will now send an offer to purchase the property for its appraised value of $535,000; if the property owner refuses, the town will proceed with the condemnation in State Supreme Court, according to a news release from the Town of Huntington.

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The town has been trying for some time to encourage the redevelopment of the property and secured a $1.15 million Restore NY Communities grant to assist in the demolition and construction. The grant is payable to the Town of Huntington, which will be passed to a private developer upon completion of the project, according to the town's website.

The property is central to the town's redevelopment plans, which include the transformation of a 17,000 square-foot right of way in front of the parcel at New York Avenue and Olive Street into a pedestrian-friendly, aesthetically pleasing public plaza. Carter said the town is working the State Department of Transportation to obtain the permits necessary to construct the plaza.

"The town wants to redevelop a pedestrian plaza where this building is and to transform it into a pedestrian-friendly area," Carter said.

Located across the street from 1000 New York Ave. property is the site of the planned Gateway Park, which has been under consideration for some time as the town acquired the privately-owned parcels. The last remaining parcel under private ownership was the 0.11-acre plot owned by John Marcinka located on the north side of an alley between Lowndes Avenue and Academy Place. In May, the Town Board held a public hearing to acquire the parcel through eminent domain and authorized the Town Attorney to begin condemnation proceedings. Marcinka, however, subsequently agreed to sell the parcel to the Town at the appraised price of $70,000, avoiding the expense of litigation in a condemnation proceeding.
 
Obtaining the Marcinka parcel also paves the way for transfer of property owned by New York State that will complete the acquisition and allow for planning of the park's features to be developed. As the town continues to weigh alternatives, it signed a contract with the Long Island Community Agricultural Network to manage a community garden as a temporary use of the site. The garden opened this summer and has become immensely popular, with a waiting list for plots.

"These actions reinforce the town's commitment to projects that will continue Huntington Station's revitalization and underscore the progress we have made to bring them to fruition," Petrone said. "Razing a community eyesore and building a plaza that will attract people to stores, housing and a park nearby are measures that define revitalization."

To further help revitalize Huntington Station, the Town Board is also sponsoring a website – savehuntingtonstation.com – which posts criminal activity and vacant premises in the area.

"We need to focus on crime issues in the area," said Councilman Mark Mayoka, who formulated the idea for the website. "The increased crime is becoming a huge blight in the area."

Carter added that the town continues to work with the Suffolk County Police Department in hopes that they will step up their code enforcement and add more patrol units in Huntington Station.

"Town Supervisor Petrone and the Town Board are working closely with the police department involving all criminal activity at Huntington Station," Carter said.

Also during the meeting, the board voted to apply the historic overlay district to property at the former Town Hall at 227 Main Street and authorized its use as a boutique hotel; scheduled a Sept. 21 public hearing on a proposed Local Law to impose term limits on elected Town of Huntington officials; approved a renewal of the cooperation agreement between the Town of Huntington and the incorporated villages in the town so that all will participate in the Community Development Block Grant Program funded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development; and approved entering into an non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Connecticut-based company Mutualink to help create a pilot program that would create a community-wide emergency communications system, which aims to include all first responder agencies in the Town of Huntington.

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