Beaches, roads and bingo: Babylon approves $16M in borrowing for town projects
Overlook Beach in the Town of Babylon on Jan. 12. The town plans to spend $2 million on sand replenishment at Overlook and other beaches to fight erosion. Credit: Howard Schnapp
The Town of Babylon has approved bonding for nearly $16 million to address dozens of projects that range from road resurfacing to buying a new senior center bingo board.
Town board members voted last week to approve 15 bonding amounts, ranging from $20,000 to $9 million. While they authorized the borrowing, Babylon may not end up actually bonding for all of it.
The plan is for the biggest chunk to go toward road work, from vacuuming drains to crack sealing to resurfacing. That spending is connected to an eight-year, $100 million commitment the town announced in 2019 to repair its entire road network.
The next largest piece of bonding is the $2 million the town plans to spend on sand replenishment at Overlook Beach and other town beaches to fight erosion.
The town is waiting to hear if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will sell the town the sand from a nearby dredging project, but Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez said the prospect is “looking very promising.”
Martinez said the overall need for borrowing is related to inflation and construction costs that increased substantially since the pandemic hit.
“It’s costing more to do less,” Martinez said. “But we’re strong like bamboo. We bend.”
Nearly $1 million in the borrowing will go to support park improvements, including at Birchwood Park in Deer Park and at Anthony Sanchez Memorial Park in West Babylon, according to the deputy supervisor.
Babylon plans to spend close to $1 million of the borrowed money on its Wyandanch Rising redevelopment project. The project is a $500 million public-private partnership between Babylon and master developer Albanese Organization Inc., of Garden City, that aims to revitalize the hamlet — one of the most economically distressed communities on Long Island.
The town plans to use $600,000 toward infrastructure for the next phase of revitalization south of the Long Island Rail Road tracks. Another $300,000 is slated for the town to buy two private homes on a portion of Grand Boulevard that Albanese has targeted for building townhomes.
Martinez said the town is in negotiations with the homeowners in an effort to buy their homes and relocate the residents elsewhere in Wyandanch.
The smallest amount of bonding is $20,000 to buy a bingo board for the North Amityville senior center, which Martinez said patrons asked for from the town.
“They never complain about anything, but last year I heard from them,” he said.
Vinny Sciacca, president of the Sunset City Civic Association in North Babylon, said he thinks the town is borrowing for the right reasons. He said he has “full confidence” Supervisor Rich Schaffer “has the best interest of this community” and the town in mind when it comes to the projects planned for the bonding.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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