Rte. 25 Smithtown - New Road Configuration and Sewer System In The Works

By Chad Kushins

Photo by Jennifer M. KleiGovernment officials are continuing their efforts to revitalize Smithtown’s Main Street with a plan that includes construction of a sewage system and the reconfiguration of parts of rte. 25 into a single lane.

According to the office of Suffolk County Legislator John M. Kennedy, the sewage plan is based in part on a $70-million project that is currently underway in the Hauppauge Industrial Park.  Kennedy, who backed that project, is one of the key figures now investigating how similar planning on Smithtown’s Main Street could aid in rejuvenating that road and its ongoing struggle with defunct businesses and vacancies.  

In recent years other areas, such as Sayville and Patchogue, have seen economic growth after their own sewer system projects.  Now leaders in Smithtown hope for similar success.  With a sewage system in place prospective businesses and existing businesses looking to expand would have an easier time meeting the restrictions of Health Department codes – which is considered a primary cause of Main Street’s deterioration.

“All you need to see are the vacant properties all down Main Street,” said Kennedy, explaining the relation between a possible sewer system and its effect on business health codes.  “And you always hear the same thing – the business owners can’t get the number of seats, or the needed approval for expansions.  Everything is set, but it’s not up to code.” According to Kennedy his office is currently pursuing the needed funding to install such a sewer system in The Town of Smithtown.  Such a project would cost an estimated $40 million to complete.  “I think everything will fall into place,” he added, “but the final piece is the money.”

Last year Kennedy submitted an application to the Empire State Development Corp. [ESD] for additional funding towards a new sewer system, but the submission was rejected.  This week the legislator is slated to meet with the organization’s Long Island Regional Director, Andrea Lohneiss, to inquire what steps could be taken to successfully move forward with the sewer system plans, following the ESD’s initial rejection.

One reason the ESD might reject the proposal is the lack of the necessary land and acreage needed to house such a system.  After preliminary tests proved that an expansion and overhaul of the sewage facility located on Kings Park State Hospital property could take up to a decade, officials decided to set their sights on building a new facility all together.  “Our original plan was to utilize the State Hospital grounds itself,” said Kennedy, “but we received a pretty stringent letter [from Public Works] that stated unless the County conducted extreme due diligence, don’t even bother.”Now Kennedy is hoping to negotiate with Kings Park’s St. Johnland Nursing Center  to purchase enough land, approximately eight acres, of their property to construct the sewer system’s leeching fields.  

In the eyes of some town leaders the lack of a proper sewer system is only one reason that Smithtown’s Main Street has failed to attract new and prosperous businesses.  According to Supervisor Patrick Vecchio the high rent that it takes to operate a business out of downtown Smithtown is another key factor.  When the town purchased an old golf shop on Main Street from New York State a few years ago, hoping to rent the prime real estate and attract new businesses to the area, state law mandated a survey of rental costs in the area and the restriction to only charge the spot competitively – bringing the property’s lease to a pricey $22 per square foot.  “It was the location of Sunrise Golf,” said Councilman Edward Wehrheim.  “[The Town] purchased it and it will be repaid by the State over a number of payments … the spot is planned to be the new location for Horizons Drug and Alcohol Center, which is a town department and the contractor is retrofitting as we speak.” 

In addition to the inability to meet Health Department Codes and high rents, there is the growing concern about the thoroughfare’s overall safety.  In response to the fatal and near-fatal accidents over the last two years, the New York State Department of Transportation [DOT] is currently planning to narrow portions of the busy street down to a single lane this spring.  The plan would see a new traffic pattern, with one lane for westbound traffic and a designated turning lane. “The DOT showed us different concepts,” says Smithtown Planning Department Director Frank DeRubeis.  “Right now, they’re leaning towards the plan for the one-way westbound and two-way going east.”  According to DeRubeis construction would likely begin sometime later in the year, although the DOT initially planned for preliminary work this month.  

The DOT revealed its prospective plans to a select group of elected officials and community leaders this past December, laying out a temporary re-striping plan while it considers other more permanent plans.  Of the concepts discussed, the narrowing of Main Street became the most logical strategy.  The project itself is expected to cost around $200,000.

Main Street, which has seen three fatal accidents since November 2009, has been a major source of controversy among both residents and town officials for years.  The most recent incident involved two young sisters Mabel, 13 and Melody, 9 Burgos, who were struck by an SUV on May 5, 2011.  Thus accident was the third major incident on Smithtown’s Main Street in a two-year time-span.  In November 2009  a hit-and-run incident resulted in the death of 11-year-old Courtney Sipes and the similar death of 33-year-old war veteran Seamus Byrne on February 27 – both within a block of each other.  The accidents occurred on the 1 1/2-mile stretch on the main road that extends, roughly, from the Nissequogue River to Route 111.  According to the DOT, between 2003 and 2008, there have been 359 auto collisions along this stretch.  An estimated 33,000 cars travel along this stretch on Main Street everyday.  Since the death of Courtney Sipes, law enforcement officials and local leaders have made efforts to improve safety measures on the town’s main road.  In 2010, a four-foot high fence was installed on that strip, as well as a widening of the crosswalks and a deliberate synchronization of the traffic lights at the intersections.  As the public outcry for new safety measures followed, the Town of Smithtown added streetlights to the strip of road – changed right on red policy on problem turns on Main Street, Elm , Lawrence, Landing and Bellemeade Avenues – and boosted patrols by assigning Park Rangers to drive along the area during the daytime hours.  

On May 25 of last year, the Smithtown Town Board began its own proposal to “narrow” Main Street in the hopes of slowing down dangerous traffic, particularly during the daytime hours when pedestrians of all ages flood the sidewalks to stroll along the many businesses.  The town proposal would seek to remove one lane in either direction and add new turning lanes down the center of the road, lowering drivers’ overall speed.  In addition, the proposal calls for the elimination of some of the road’s on-street parking.  

But while no major incidents have occurred since last May, residents and officials alike have continued to voice their concerns that a permanent solution be sought; however, safety measures would have little effect on the economic downfall surrounding the popular road.  

In Kennedy’s opinion, the safety measures along Main Street would most likely be the top priority when it comes to funding.  “Any efforts of the DOT would, usually, come before anything having to do with the sewer system,” he said.

As of this writing, the DOT is continuing with its plan for the one-lane construction as county and state officials negotiate the possible construction of the proposed sewer system.

Commack Man Dies In House Fire

Suffolk County Police Homicide and Arson Squad detectives are investigating a fire that killed a 78-year-old man in Commack today.  

Timothy Donolli, 48, and his 78-year-old father Louis Donolli, were on the second floor of their home, located at 42 Deepdale Drive, when he smelled smoke coming from the lower level of the house at approximately 1:30 p.m. Timothy went downstairs and tried to extinguish the fire but was unsuccessful.  He then attempted to go back upstairs to evacuate his father but he was unable the get to the second floor because of the fire.  

Michael Magner, 49, of Huntington, was working nearby when he saw the fire. Magner went inside the home and helped Timothy get out of the house.  Louis was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. Timothy was taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries via Commack Rescue.  

The Commack Fire Department, with assistance from the Brentwood, East Northport, and Dix Hills Fire Departments, extinguished the fire.  

The fire does not appear to be suspicious and the investigation is continuing.

Grand Jury Critical of Smithtown Officials in Demolition

Report claims local government’s practice ‘undermines the town code’

By Chad Kushins

This week, a Suffolk County Grand Jury issued its report on the 2009 demolition of a Smithtown lumberyard. The report was critical of members of Smithtown’s Town Government for their complicity in the unlawful demolition of the property. Although no legal action is expected against town officials the 40-plus-page report pulled no punches in criticizing how certain town officials participated in unlawful activities and violated Town Code.

The property in question, located at 102 West Main Street, was partially demolished and under investigation since 2009.

According to the Grand Jury, the end result of the 2009 unlawful demolition “constituted an utter disregard for the well-being of local citizens”. The report goes on to state that the commercial site was demolished with asbestos within the structure. According to the testimony of an unnamed New York State employee, the Department of Labor inspected the parcel of land following the demolition and, after testing those samples, found asbestos to be present.  Because of the significant health issues attributed to airborne asbestos there are strict rules regarding the removal of asbestos. The unlawful demolition did not adhere to accepted protocol for asbestos removal.

The Grand Jury report did not identify town officials or the land developer; instead, letters were used to identify each of the parties involved.  According to the report, the developer of the property, identified as “Developer A,” was pressured into demolishing the property and at one point received a handwritten, unsolicited tax map chart from a town official, identified in the report as “Town Employee C,” which showed a tax reduction of more than $40,000 if the land were vacant.

The report continued, after being notified of the potential $40,000 tax reduction if the demolition was done before the March assessment deadline, the developer began the demolition and was issued a Stop Work Order.  Soon after the issuance of the stop work order, in a phone conversation, “Town Official A” pressured Developer A to continue the demolition, telling him, “Yeah, what’s the big deal?  You get a summons.”

Although the report utilized letters to represent the names of the parties, local media was quick to identify certain aspects kept from the record.  In a 2009 article, The New York Times reported that the Smithtown property was owned by North Fork Management and Maintenance, headed by East Hampton resident Salvatore DiCarlo; in a recent interview with Newsday, Councilman Robert Creighton identified the lot, stated as “Commercial Parcel A” as the former site of Nassau Suffolk Lumber and Supply.

Councilman Edward Wehrheim has identified himself as “Town Employee E”, although he did not confirm the names of others in the report. 

Despite the report’s findings, of unlawful activity no indictments were issued. Instead, the Grand Jury issued 17 “recommendations” they include:

Smithtown must enact legislation establishing an independent Board of Site Plan Review to ensure “that the legal mandates of site plan review are enforced”.   Currently town board members serve in this capacity.

Smithtown must amend the town code requiring property owners adjacent to a construction or demolition project be notified to allow them to be heard.

Smithtown must amend the town’s Code of Ethics to mandate any public servant with personal knowledge of the violation of town code “has an affirmative obligation” to report it the appropriate town department.

Smithtown must adopt a statute authorizing the removal of any public servant “who engages in misconduct” consistent with the provisions of New York State’s Public Officers Law. 

Calling on town officials to refrain from interceding in commercial projects “in a manner that undermines the town code”, the Grand Jury recommended the town obtain an “independent review” by the state of the Office of Town Assessor to insure all properties are assessed “on a uniform and equitable basis” and that Smithtown “audit the practices and procedures administer by the town Assessor “particularly…the assessment of commercial properties”.         

Wehrheim commented that numerous suggestions from the report should be drafted into law, although appointing a Board of Site Plan Review could face the problem of having to pay additional employees selected for such a task.

According to the report, Developer A was fined $3,500. The report indicated that Town Employee “C” reconsidered the $40,000 reduction after the District Attorney’s office started its investigation. The property taxes were reduced by $4,000.

The Grand Jury findings come following a full investigation by Suffolk County DA Sputa, which concluded last June.  During the investigation investigators who left with boxes of official town documents raided numerous town offices, including Smithtown Town Hall. 

Until this week’s Grand Jury presentation, the nature of Spota’s investigation was unknown, 21 witnesses were called and over 1,000 documents were used as evidence.

Click Here For Grand Jury Report

NOTE: Smithtown Matters founder and editor Patricia Biancaniello, former Councilwoman for The Town of Smithtown, is identified as “H” in the Grand Jury’s report.  

Grand Jury Report Critical of Smithtown Town Government's Supervision of Commercial Property Demolition

February 7, 2012

Grand Jury report critical of Smithtown town government’s supervision  of commercial property demolition

Photo by Paul J. Bereswill for The New York TimesA 40 page report issued by a Suffolk Grand Jury is critical of the manner in which the demolition of a commercial parcel in Smithtown occurred, concluding that certain Town employees pressured the parcel’s owner to raze the site in violation of state and local law.  The report determined that a number of legitimate safety issues were created by the unlawful demolition.

The report is critical of the actions of Town Employees “A” and “C”, each of whom was found to have pressured the developer to unlawfully demolish the site.  The Grand Jury determined that both Employee “A” and Employee “C” were aware that the prospective demolition lacked lawful permits and had also been issued a Building Department Stop Work Order.

Among the consequences of these actions was the Grand Jury’s determination that the unsupervised demolition “constituted an utter disregard for the well-being of local citizens”, noting that residents living adjacent to the parcel were given no advance notice of the action.  Equally troubling were findings that the commercial site was demolished with asbestos within its structures.  The Grand Jury found that asbestos abatement documentation previously furnished to the Town “was insufficient in all respects”, and that the Town’s failure to recognize significant issues with this documentation was a contributing factor to problems that arose as a result of the demolition.

The Grand Jury also determined that Employee “C” championed a property tax assessment reduction of approximately $40,000 for the unlawful demolition, but ultimately demurred when it became apparent the District Attorney’s Office was investigating.  Employee “C” was found to have issued misleading internal Town correspondences in a subsequent attempt to disavow personal involvement with the demolition.  The Town eventually granted the developer a more modest tax adjustment of $4,000. 

The report concluded that summonses issued to the developer post-demolition resulted in a fine of $3,500.

Among the other conclusions published in its report, the Grand Jury found that the Smithtown Code of Ethics fails to mandate that town employees report activities known to violate the town code to an appropriate town department or authority and that the ethics code does not adequately provide for the removal of its public servants, currently addressing the removal of “a limited category of appointed officials” upon violation of the code, “a provision that fails to cover all public servants”.  

The legislative actions recommended by the grand jury in its report include:

Smithtown must increase fines to, at a minimum, at least double a site plan application fee, to discourage developers and builders who fail to obtain site plan approval,

Smithtown must amend and increase the town’s fine schedule for demolition or construction occurring in the town without proper building department permits,

Smithtown must enact legislation establishing an independent Board of Site Plan Review to ensure “that the legal mandates of site plan review are enforced”.   Currently town board members serve in this capacity.

Smithtown must amend the town code requiring property owners adjacent to a construction or demolition project be notified to allow them to be heard.

Smithtown must amend the town’s Code of Ethics to mandate any public servant with personal knowledge of the violation of town code “has an affirmative obligation” to report it the appropriate town department.

Smithtown must adopt a statute authorizing the removal of any public servant “who engages in misconduct” consistent with the provisions of New York State’s Public Officers Law. 

Administrative changes recommended by grand jurors include requiring town building inspectors and clerical staff to receive training in asbestos inspection and abatement and establishing protocols for the building department’s notification to town officials when a Stop Work order is issued.  The report also calls on Smithtown to identify and sanction commercial demolition and construction contractors who proceed on projects without verifying the proper permits have been issued.

Calling on town officials to refrain from interceding in commercial projects “in a manner that undermines the town code”, the Grand Jury recommended the town obtain an “independent review” by the state of the Office of Town Assessor to insure all properties are assessed “on a uniform and equitable basis” and that Smithtown “audit the practices and procedures administer by the town Assessor “particularly…the assessment of commercial properties”.           

One of the roles of the grand jury, District Attorney Thomas Spota observed, “is to investigate and propose recommendations for legislative, executive or administrative action in the public interest.  These findings and recommendations are based upon the credible evidence grand jurors reviewed during their six month investigation.”

The grand jury may submit to the court by which it was impaneled a report proposing recommendations for legislative, executive or administrative action in the public interest based upon stated findings. This grand jury report and the minutes of grand jury proceedings were submitted to the court for examination.   The court issued an order accepting and filing the report as a public record in accordance with New York State Law.

Click on link for Full Report

Wrong Way Driver On Sunken Meadow Parkway

(photo NYS Police) Walter TortoraOn 1/29/12 at 1:45 AM, Troopers responded to a report of a wrong way driver on the Sunken Meadow Parkway, southbound in the northbound lanes near Pulaski Road.  Responding Troopers observed a gray Mini-Cooper driving southbound in the northbound  lanes coming to a slow stop between Pulaski Road and Route 25.  While interviewing the vehicle operator, Walter Tortora, age 35, of New Hyde Park NY, Troopers observed him to have bloodshot, watery eyes, and impaired motor coordination.  Mr. Tortora was also incoherent and had slurred speech.  He was subsequently arrested for DWI.

The defendant later admitted to smoking marihuana and taking Valium earlier in the evening.  Mr. Tortora was also found to possess a small amount of Valium(4 pills) on his person.  Mr. Tortora was arrested for DWI Drugs, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th Degree(A Misd.), and traffic violations.  All charges returnable in Suffolk County First District Court.