LIPA 'finalizing' plans to buy shuttered Country Fair in Medford
The Country Fair Entertainment Park in Medford will be converted for use as a PSEG Long Island storage depot, utility officials said. Credit: Randee Daddona
The Long Island Power Authority said Friday it is close to buying a Medford amusement park and converting the site for use as a PSEG Long Island storage depot.
LIPA spokeswoman Jen Hayen said in an email the utility was "finalizing" the purchase of the Route 112 site of Country Fair Entertainment and Event Park. The amusement park announced Wednesday on its website it would not reopen this summer, Newsday previously reported, but had provided no information about why it closed.
Elizabeth Flagler, spokesperson for PSEG, which provides electric service to Long Island homes and businesses under contract to LIPA, said in an email the utility plans to open an operations center on the 24.3-acre site between July and September of 2026. The facility would employ about 115 people, she said.
Operations centers are used to store trucks and equipment but do not generate power.
"This property will be used for a new centralized operational center to enhance response times and the quality of service in the Brookhaven area," Flagler wrote.
Real estate records show the property's owner is Country Fair Leasing LLC, whose managing partner, Rocco Trotta, is chairman and co-founder of the LiRo Group, a Syosset-based construction and engineering firm.
Attempts to reach Trotta through LiRo Group and the firm's current and past attorneys and spokespeople were unsuccessful.
Country Fair had operated for 23 years at the site, offering go-kart racing, mini-golf, arcade games and other amusements.
The park had been closed since the end of its summer season. Employees said they were told Tuesday the park would not reopen.
Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said Friday he had spoken to LIPA officials about the utility's plans. The town has no role in approving the new use of the property because LIPA, as a public utility, is exempt from local zoning, he said.
Panico said he enjoyed bringing his two young children to Country Fair for the batting cages and to ride go-karts.
"I think it's unfortunate," he said of Country Fair's closing. "People need more access to commercial recreation."
He said he planned to ask LIPA to consider donating part of the property to the town for recreation.
LIPA and PSEG plan to build two warehouses totaling 37,000 square feet and use an existing 10,690-square-foot building for administration, according to documents filed with state regulators. Those documents show there would be about 400 parking spaces for employees, visitors and the PSEG fleet.
The state Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission voted 4-0 on Dec. 20 to approve a hardship waiver allowing LIPA to use the site, according to minutes of the meeting provided by a commission spokesman. The waiver was required because the property is in the compatible growth area of the pine barrens, where development is limited.
Pine barrens commission spokesman Tim Motz declined to comment.
Brett Houdek, president of the Medford Taxpayers and Civic Association, said he regretted that Country Fair had closed, but said he was pleased the property was purchased by LIPA. He said the civic group preferred the utility over potential private development.
“LIPA is a good neighbor and they’re willing to work with us,” Houdek said, adding that LIPA officials have promised to maintain Country Fair's berm and trees to shield the operations site from traffic on Route 112. “They’re willing to leave that and put in additional plantings.”
He said it was known around Medford that the Country Fair property had been up for sale since last year.
“My first impression was I’d rather see Country Fair stay," Houdek said, recalling times when he and his family played games and took thrill rides there. “It would have been nice to have the park for the kids.”
With Mark Harrington and Beth Whitehouse
The Long Island Power Authority said Friday it is close to buying a Medford amusement park and converting the site for use as a PSEG Long Island storage depot.
LIPA spokeswoman Jen Hayen said in an email the utility was "finalizing" the purchase of the Route 112 site of Country Fair Entertainment and Event Park. The amusement park announced Wednesday on its website it would not reopen this summer, Newsday previously reported, but had provided no information about why it closed.
Elizabeth Flagler, spokesperson for PSEG, which provides electric service to Long Island homes and businesses under contract to LIPA, said in an email the utility plans to open an operations center on the 24.3-acre site between July and September of 2026. The facility would employ about 115 people, she said.
Operations centers are used to store trucks and equipment but do not generate power.
"This property will be used for a new centralized operational center to enhance response times and the quality of service in the Brookhaven area," Flagler wrote.
Real estate records show the property's owner is Country Fair Leasing LLC, whose managing partner, Rocco Trotta, is chairman and co-founder of the LiRo Group, a Syosset-based construction and engineering firm.
Attempts to reach Trotta through LiRo Group and the firm's current and past attorneys and spokespeople were unsuccessful.
Country Fair had operated for 23 years at the site, offering go-kart racing, mini-golf, arcade games and other amusements.
The park had been closed since the end of its summer season. Employees said they were told Tuesday the park would not reopen.
Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said Friday he had spoken to LIPA officials about the utility's plans. The town has no role in approving the new use of the property because LIPA, as a public utility, is exempt from local zoning, he said.
Panico said he enjoyed bringing his two young children to Country Fair for the batting cages and to ride go-karts.
"I think it's unfortunate," he said of Country Fair's closing. "People need more access to commercial recreation."
He said he planned to ask LIPA to consider donating part of the property to the town for recreation.
LIPA and PSEG plan to build two warehouses totaling 37,000 square feet and use an existing 10,690-square-foot building for administration, according to documents filed with state regulators. Those documents show there would be about 400 parking spaces for employees, visitors and the PSEG fleet.
The state Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission voted 4-0 on Dec. 20 to approve a hardship waiver allowing LIPA to use the site, according to minutes of the meeting provided by a commission spokesman. The waiver was required because the property is in the compatible growth area of the pine barrens, where development is limited.
Pine barrens commission spokesman Tim Motz declined to comment.
Brett Houdek, president of the Medford Taxpayers and Civic Association, said he regretted that Country Fair had closed, but said he was pleased the property was purchased by LIPA. He said the civic group preferred the utility over potential private development.
“LIPA is a good neighbor and they’re willing to work with us,” Houdek said, adding that LIPA officials have promised to maintain Country Fair's berm and trees to shield the operations site from traffic on Route 112. “They’re willing to leave that and put in additional plantings.”
He said it was known around Medford that the Country Fair property had been up for sale since last year.
“My first impression was I’d rather see Country Fair stay," Houdek said, recalling times when he and his family played games and took thrill rides there. “It would have been nice to have the park for the kids.”
With Mark Harrington and Beth Whitehouse
Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.
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