kings park psychiatric center

Site cleanup funds OK'd

State sets aside $25M in next year's budget to take care of former home of Kings Park Psychiatric Center

By Stacey Altherr and Emi Endo

April 1, 2006 - Newsday

Apr. 1--In what Kings Park residents would consider a victory, state lawmakers approved $25 million in next year's budget to begin cleaning up the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center. The money, included in a budget bill passed Friday in Albany, could dramatically change the outlook for development of the state-owned land. "I'm just very happy that the money was in there and it passed," said sponsor state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) on Friday. "It will help make sure that if there is development on this property, the community is not jammed with overdevelopment." Flanagan added it was his "hope and expectation" that Gov. George Pataki would approve the spending.

Reducing the burden of cleaning up the contaminated hospital grounds could relieve the pressure to sell it to developers who have said they would need to build at a higher density than current zoning allows to pay for remediation, estimated at $50 million to $60 million.

Landfills and a defunct power plant sit on the site, which would require extensive lead and asbestos removal. State environmental restrictions allow development on only 90 of the 368 acres. Linda Henninger, president of the Kings Park Neighbors Association, called the news of state funding "extraordinary." "Our position has been that the state polluted the property, they should clean up the property," she said. Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said he would encourage the town board to consider acquiring a portion of the land. "It certainly should motivate the town board to consider taking the property, hopefully for $1, so that we can control our own destiny on that site," he said.

"I think if there's going to be some type of housing, this should be decided by the Town of Smithtown," said Flanagan, who has expressed a preference for a mix of uses. The site once was home to one of the largest psychiatric facilities in the country, housing at its peak more than 2,600 patients and 450 staff members. The center was shuttered in 1996. Three years later, Pataki dedicated 153 acres of the property along the Nissequogue River as a state park. In the decade since the center was closed, controversies have erupted over how the land should be developed. Three separate corporations have either pulled back from bids or been shut out because of community opposition.

The most recent development team to attempt a purchase wanted to build 1,800 housing units and is suing the state to force the sale of the property. Residents had organized to stop high-density housing, fearing its impact on their streets, schools and property tax bills. The Empire State Development Corp., the state's economic development agency handling the sale of the property, backed out of a deal with Woodmere-based Arker Companies and North Carolina-based Cherokee Investment Partners. Anselm Fusco, senior vice president of Cherokee Northeast, said the team still was anxious to pursue its project. "We welcome any initiative that facilitates a successful redevelopment project by helping to address environmental remediation, development density and public benefits," Fusco said Friday in a written statement.

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