St. James residents to developer looking to build on former farm: 'Go someplace else!'

Neighbors of the former Bull Run Farm in St. James came out in throngs Thursday night to oppose a developer's plan to build an assisted living facility there.

Lawyers for developer Frank Amicizia said at the community meeting that the plan would keep much of the 9.2-acre Mills Pond Road site as green space — matching neighborhood character while meeting or exceeding town code requirements for setback, lot coverage and parking.   

“We have this meeting in an effort to be a good neighbor and in complete candor,” said lawyer David Moran.

But his message was met with anger.

“Go someplace else!” yelled someone from the crowd.

“If you want to be a good neighbor, please do not build this in our backyard,” another resident said.

Amicizia has proposed a two-story, 69,614-square-foot facility with 97 beds, 74 parking spots and a sewage treatment plant on the south of the site, near Long Island Rail Road tracks. 

Dubbed Whisper Mills, the facility would offer its residents 24-hour supervision, meal service and scheduled activities, providing what a lawyer for Amicizia said Thursday was a “necessary housing option for the community of St. James.” 

The site is in a district zoned for single-family homes, so the developer would need a special exception from the town board to allow for the assisted living use.

More than 20 mostly residential properties are located within 200 feet of the former farm, and former defense contractor Gyrodyne owns the light industrial site across the street where more extensive development also is being contemplated. 

A hearing related to the special exception could come as early as April.

Thursday night's meeting, sponsored by Amicizia at the St. James firehouse, offered a preview of likely opposition, with a group of about 100 residents venting concerns about the proposal that included overdevelopment, traffic, lighting, noise and other environmental impacts to the once-rural area.

Some meeting attendees in Newsday interviews recalled the farm's working days, when cattle and sheep grazed on its pasture. 

Steve Ochs, 66, a mortgage consultant who moved to the area 30 years ago, said he and his son used to feed apples to a horse named Baron.

Ochs said he wants to keep the site's open space and fears lights from the facility would shine into his yard.

“I don’t want to give up without a fight,” he said.

Diane Weyer, a Suffolk County employee whose backyard abuts the farm, said there were cattle and sheep on the land when she bought her house in the early 1990s.

“It doesn’t fit in,” she told Newsday of the proposed development. “There’s so much other land they can go to.”

Jillian Milin, a physical therapist who moved to the area more recently, said the facility would undercut her long-held dream of living in the neighborhood as it is now.

“My husband and I saved for years to be part of this community," Milin added. 

New York State Department of Health lists 62 facilities providing long-term residential care for adults in Suffolk County and 44 in Nassau. At least four, with a combined 526 beds, are in Smithtown.

The department lists six pending applications for assisted living residences on Long Island, with locations including Port Jefferson, Huntington and Commack. Whisper Mills does not appear on the department's list.   

Lisa Newcomb, executive director of Empire State Association of Assisted Living, a group representing home operators, said it can take years for an operator to secure the necessary state licensing.

As part of that process, operators must provide a marketing study to demonstrate a need for the facility, but need appears to be growing, she said. "We are at the very beginning of the Baby Boomers seeking assisted living," she said, adding that demand is expected to spike in 2030. 

Smithtown Supervisor Edward Wehrheim told Newsday on Friday that town leaders would meet next week with town planners who attended the meeting and discuss residents' concerns about the St. James proposal.

“We are aware there is some opposition to the request for a special exception,” he said.

Amicizia owns one of three parcels that make up the site. Members of the Elderkin family, who farmed the land through much of the 20th century, own the other two.

Amicizia attended Thursday's meeting but said little. Afterward, Newsday asked him to respond to the opposition.

“I understand it — no one likes change," the developer said.

Asked if he'd been swayed, he replied: “I think I have a good project.”