Kings Park Psychiatric Center building is torn down as Smithtown sewer project gains steam

Demolition crews began tearing down part of an abandoned hospital building at the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center on Thursday morning.

Officials said demolishing the exterior of the former Northeast Nassau Building, which was purchased by Suffolk County several years ago to create leaching fields, will help bring new sewers to Main Street in Smithtown.

The building, whose name dates to a brief period when the hospital was called the Northeast Nassau Psychiatric Center, is one of dozens of buildings at the shuttered hospital awaiting demolition or reuse.

Among the buildings expected to be razed is the iconic Building 93 — a towering, 13-story former infirmary in the center of the former hospital complex. State parks officials last year sought bids to tear down the structure. Officials could not be immediately reached on Thursday for an update.

Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy Jr., who worked at the Northeast Nassau Building for 10 years beginning in June 1976 as a custodian, said on Thursday the demolition would make way for leaching fields for the planned Smithtown Main Street sewer project. The building’s demolition and the construction of the leaching fields will take roughly a year, according to Dan Levler, assistant director of sewer district activation for the Suffolk County Department of Public Works.

"It’s very significant and a real measure of progress," Kennedy said, calling the planned construction "a critical next step for bringing the expansion and enhancement of the sewer district."

In September 2022, the Suffolk County Legislature approved purchasing the 17-acre site at the former psychiatric center for $1.7 million, Newsday previously reported. Once knocked down, the building will be converted into underground leaching fields that will be used to dispose of treated Smithtown wastewater released from a nearby sewage treatment plant.

Project advocates

Earlier photos show the Northeast Nassau Building, about 3 miles from downtown Smithtown, was badly deteriorated, partly covered by vines and graffiti and with boarded-up windows. 

Kennedy and Smithtown Councilwoman Lynne Nowick, previously a Suffolk County legislator, advocated for the project dating back to 2007, according to Kennedy.

Suffolk County Legis. Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) said in an interview at the site that once constructed, the leaching fields would improve drinking water quality and increase economic opportunities for Main Street businesses by allowing them to expand with the availability of sewers. Although officials said asbestos removal had delayed the building’s demolition, it could now proceed as planned.

Leslie Kennedy noted some residents previously opposed the project due to concerns about potential smells coming from the leaching fields. However, she and other officials said the fields would be built underground with precautions in place to ensure no disruptions for residents.

"The water will be clean, you won’t see it, it will have no smell ... no one will know that it’s here," she said. "It will increase our economic opportunities in the town, it will be better for our drinking water ... and we’re ready to take [the building] down and to begin again."

Tony Tanzi, president of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, said at the site the project would bring about environmental and economic benefits for the town, with sewers being vital for economic development for downtown Smithtown Main Street businesses.

"When you see something that’s been defunct for so long ... to be able to do it in a way that provides something for the community is great. There’s so much that happens just because of this," Tanzi said.

Most of the former hospital now is the 521-acre Nissequogue River State Park. The park includes bird sanctuaries, marinas, ballfields, trails and spectacular views of Long Island Sound.

Officials and local residents hope to refurbish the former hospital's York Hall, a theater that had been used by staff and hospital patients for shows and other events. That project and other plans for the park have been slowed by a lack of funding, officials have said.