On June 23, Ed Smyth, Supervisor, Town of Huntington, was the guest speaker at LIMBA (Long Island Metro Business Action), which was held at the Candlelight Diner in Commack. During his presentation, he shared his vision for the town.
Mr. Smyth spoke about the elevated vacancy rates in Class B and Class C buildings at the Melville Corporate Center. He noted that the tenants of those buildings are moving into Class A buildings. He said he was concerned about the prevalence of empty buildings in the town because they can be “a magnet for trouble.”
To determine what can be done about the vacant buildings, he held a listening session with the residents in January, then a breakout session with local first responders, fire departments, developers, landlords and civic groups. The biggest takeaway from this meeting was that they wanted a “walkable downtown” in Melville.
After having much agreement, Smyth proposed a “walkable downtown” along Maxxess Road and Baylis Road running east-west, basically as a town center. In addition, there would be mixed-use buildings with residential areas above storefronts, with double-wide sidewalks and three separate overlay districts. He said it will be a “transformative” project.
In January, Huntington received a $10 million DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) grant to revitalize the downtown Huntington Station area. He said, in the past, there were “numerous attempts” over the past 50 years to make Huntington Station a thriving area, but nothing ever came from it. Smyth also addressed the need for sewers in the area south of Route 110 to the Walt Whitman Mall. He noted that there is a two-mile gap along Route 110 south of Jericho Turnpike.
The town recently secured a total of $66 million in county, state and federal funding for new sewers from the Huntington train station south to Jericho Turnpike. He said, once the sewers are installed, “you are going to see major capital investments in Huntington Station.” Other plans include installing outdoor lighting along the walkways and underground power lines.
One “aspirational” project is a proposed production studio that would be located at the two town-owned lots and the site of a former recycling company southwest of the train station at Huntington Station. The western part of the town is within the 40-mile radius of the New York City production zone — with Columbus Circle at the center — that allows cast and crew members to be paid the going union rates. He also noted that Oheka Castle is within the zone, as well as Lloyd Harbor, and West Neck Beach. Smyth said he has put together packages for production companies looking for staging areas and wide parking lots to fit up to five trailers. In return, the town would provide HART transportation, public safety and recommend local makeup artists, hair stylists and caterers.
Huntington has been used as the location for many TV shows and movies. The crew members, who come from New York City, have used the LIRR to Cold Spring Harbor to go directly to the location shoot. “So far, it’s been very successful,” he said.
Other topics Smyth addressed included garbage and roads. He praised New York State Assemblyman Steve Stern for providing emergency funding to buy new garbage trucks after a fire at the town’s sanitation facility destroyed its fleet of trucks last December. He reminded those in attendance that the Brookhaven landfill will close next year and other municipalities will need to find another place to dispose of their trash.
He also cited Stern’s assistance in securing money for a milling machine to fix the roads which Smyth said were “in dire need of repair.” He said the town will perform “in-house paving” on the narrower residential streets.
He said roads and infrastructure are his number one goals, as well as water quality. “Anything that winds up on the roads eventually washes up in a storm drain and washes downstream into our bays and waterways.”
The biggest challenge he has faced so far as Town Supervisor is obtaining funding for large-scale projects within Huntington. As a result, the town has had to either cancel or scale back its projects.
For more information about upcoming LIMBA programs, visit https://limba.net/.
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* Photo is attached.
About LIMBA
Since 1968, LIMBA (Long Island Metro Business Action) has been Long Island’s catalyst for economic investment and improvement, sponsoring lively breakfast forums featuring Long Island business activists and government officials. Its mission is to promote and address issues that affect the quality of life on Long Island. For more information, call (631) 757-1698 or visit www.limba.net.
