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Friday, May 18, 2018
Vol. 78, No. 20
Residents ask town for testing of development site
A MORE BEAUTIFUL SYOSSET
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
Residents for a more beautiful Syosset recently held its annual flower planting at Memorial Park on the corner of Underhill Boulevard in preparation for Memorial Day. Community residents volunteered their time to assist in planting many flats of annual flowers in the garden. Special thanks to Peter Meyer of Meyer’s Farm on Woodbury Road and Jen Lodico, manager, of Stop & Shop on Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury, who graciously donated all of the flowers. Thank you to all who made this event so successful!
Comment period extended
To provide residents an extended opportunity to remark, Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino announced this week that the comment period for the Syosset Park Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) has been extended until July 31, 2018. Supervisor Saladino stated, “The Town recently held a public SEQRA hearing on the Syosset Park DEIS at Syosset High School, which obtained testimony from the
project applicants and subsequent comments from residents. While many residents were able to join us that evening and share their comments, our Town Board extended the comment period to ensure all voices are heard regarding this proposed mixed-use development.” Residents who wish to review the DEIS may visit the Office of the Town Clerk in Oyster Bay, as well as at the Syosset Library and Jericho Library, or log onto www.
oysterbaytown.com to view a digital copy. Written comments will be accepted until July 31st and should be directed to George Baptista, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Resources, 29 Spring Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 or via e-mail at gbaptista@oysterbay-ny.gov. Comments can also be submitted through the Town’s website, www. oysterbaytown.com.
Following a six-hour Town of Oyster Bay public hearing on Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the 92.8-acre residential/retail and recreation development proposed as Syosset Park, 790 local residents have signed a Change.org petition opposing the project, as of May 14th. The petition, to the Town Board of Oyster Bay, is targeted towards securing an independent contracting firm to test the grounds of the large site adjacent to Syosset homes and the Long Island Expressway. Kevin McKenna, an outspoken and concerned Syosset resident, has led the initiative as creator of the online petition and by trying vigorously to organize a community rally at the Town of Oyster Bay government and officials’ offices at 54 Audrey Avenue. He has communicated via Facebook with many in the Syosset, Woodbury and Hicksville areas about the lack of information to date on the former town landfill and Cerro Wire site. “The residential area and school surrounding this toxic Superfund site has a history of above average sickness and death. The site was capped with toxic materials buried beneath to seep in to ground. I have friends who as kids witnessed dumping of 55 gallon green liquids. The DEC (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) recently found radioactive results in Bethpage and Lake Success. They still have not put Syosset on new list of sites to be tested. Within the distance to Bethpage this must happen. The Town of Oyster Bay has been the responsible party to monitor and provide test results to authorities,” McKenna stated on the petition. McKenna has had phone and email exchanges with the Town Board for nearly two years on thie matter, as he says fellow Syosset resident, former Town Councilman Chris Coshignano had also asked former Supervisor John Venditto and his fellow members of the Town Board (in 2016 and early 2017) for independent testing of the site. McKenna was recently contacted by Councilwoman Rebecca Alesia, as she’s responded to his request for a community meeting on Syosset Park and its enviSee page 19
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