Wyandanch industrial park plan clears Suffolk County hurdle

A proposed 100-acre industrial park in Wyandanch has cleared another hurdle with the approval of the Suffolk County Planning Commission.

San Francisco-based Bristol Group is seeking to build Suffolk Technology Park, with nine one-story buildings that would serve up to 40 companies. It would be built on wooded land owned by Pinelawn Memorial Park and leased to Bristol. The property runs from Little East Neck Road east to North 28th Street, and from south of Circle Drive to Long Island Avenue.

The proposed development has caused a rift among residents as the technology park would border Wheatley Heights residential areas, as well as a historic Black and Indigenous cemetery owned by Pinelawn.

The county planning commission gave the green light to the project on May 6, writing in a report that the approval comes because the “proposed development of the industrial facility is not incompatible with the adjacent land uses” and would be allowed under Babylon Town’s Planned Industrial Park District-2 zoning. The town board voted unanimously in December to create the zoning, which is site-specific to the project.

The commission's recommendation comes with two conditions: approval of the project from the state cemetery board and a required 100-foot wooded buffer between the park and the historic cemetery.

Bram Weber, an attorney representing Bristol, said the buffer is already included in the project's site plan and that the state requires the plan receive the cemetery board's approval. He said the company is "thrilled" with the county's decision. 

"A major economic development opportunity like Suffolk Technology Park needs to be reviewed and approved in a timely manner so it can have the best chance to succeed and deliver the anticipated benefits to Long Island businesses and the community," Weber wrote in an email.

Opposing views

The project has divided the communities of Wyandanch and Wheatley Heights, with Wyandanch residents largely praising the plan, which promises nearly 2,000 permanent jobs and an infusion of more than $5.6 million in tax revenue to the town, including more than $3.6 million to the Wyandanch school district.

Wheatley Heights residents are opposed to the project, expressing concerns about increased traffic and potential environmental, noise and water pollution.

Bristol has promised more than $2 million in givebacks to both communities for benefits including scholarships, renovations and beautification projects.

Latesha Walker, who is president of the Wyandanch school board and leads the Concerned Citizens of Wyandanch Civic Association, said the organization fully supports the project.

“When you look around our town, you can clearly see we are being developed to promote a more sustainable future for Wyandanch families,” she wrote in a text to Newsday. “Schools and behavioral health clinics are expanding and our infrastructure is being strengthened in a significantly impressive way. I have every hope the Bristol will follow through with their commitment to my community, as well.”

Wheatley Heights resident Love Foy filed an Article 78 lawsuit against the town board over the park that was later thrown out by a judge for being "premature" but she said she intends to refile the suit. The proposed industrial park spurred Foy to help form a conservation group that proposes a park be created on the project site.

After learning of the county’s decision, Foy told Newsday in a text that the county and town “lack creativity in imagining the best use for this 100 acres of untouched land.”

“With their authority they could push Pinelawn to build something more appropriate for wooded land centered in the middle of two small bedroom communities,” she wrote. “A local botanic garden for the county that includes an event center for county residents — or something similar that enhances the beauty of the space and preserves the land as opposed to destroying it would be more appropriate.”

Next steps

With the county's approval, the proposed project now comes back before the town board, which must vote on Bristol’s rezoning and subdivision applications, town spokesman Ryan Bonner said. The town’s planning board would then have to approve the site plan before the industrial park could move forward, he said.

Weber said Bristol anticipates completing the town's "review and approval process quickly from this point."

Bonner did not provide an estimate as to when the town board will make a decision on the remaining aspects of Bristol's application.