Buying abandoned Dowling College, preserving Vanderbilt mansion a long-shot effort being floated by Suffolk lawmaker

A Suffolk lawmaker has launched a long-shot effort to have the county purchase the abandoned Dowling College campus in Oakdale and preserve its iconic Vanderbilt mansion.

Buying the 25-acre property would protect the campus and its centerpiece — the ornate early 20th-century Idle Hour estate once owned by railroad heir William K. Vanderbilt — from neglect and deterioration, Legis. Anthony Piccirillo said.

Islip Town officials and Oakdale residents have complained that the site's current owner, Delaware-based Mercury International, a subsidiary of Beijing investment firm China Orient Asset Management Co. Ltd., has failed to provide adequate security since buying the campus in 2017 for $26.1 million at a bankruptcy auction.

“It’s a long process. It isn’t easy, but it’s worth a shot,” Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) said Wednesday, adding two appraisals would be commissioned by the county to determine the land's value if Mercury International expresses an interest in selling. "It’s worth it to try to save the mansion.”

He said it was premature to discuss possible uses of the site, adding his primary goal is preserving the estate.

Suffolk police have reported multiple trespassing incidents at Dowling in recent years. On Thursday, police said they were looking for four people suspected of breaking a window on the campus at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.

Acquiring the dormant property faces steep challenges, including raising money to complete the purchase and making contact with the owner.

At Piccirillo's request, the Suffolk Department of Economic Development and Planning sent a letter June 13 to Mercury's office in Wilmington, Delaware, gauging the firm's interest in discussing a possible sale of the campus.

There has been no response, Piccirillo said.

“It’s been hard contacting anybody there,” he said.

Don Cook, the Dowling property's Huntington-based caretaker and a Mercury employee, said he was not aware of Piccirillo's proposal or the county's letter. Cook said he didn't know if the company had any interest in selling the land.

“I really don’t know,” he said Wednesday. “I would think that we should wait till that letter shows up and we can respond.”

Attempts by Newsday to reach Mercury's Delaware office were unsuccessful.

A spokesperson for County Executive Steve Bellone said in an email the letter "is the first step of the process for the county’s open space preservation program and we are currently awaiting a response from the owners.”

Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter called Dowling "a unique parcel," but in a statement declined to say whether she supported Piccirillo's idea.

"If there is to be an acquisition by the county, we are hopeful there would be assurances of ongoing support and maintenance of this treasured site," Carpenter said.

Piccirillo said financing for the purchase would come from county land preservation funds and a state open space protection bond.

Mercury had initially proposed developing the site as an educational facility, but its current plans for the property are unknown.

Piccirillo acknowledged that buying the site faces long odds.

“It is, but we don’t really have a lot of other options to save the mansion," he said. "This company [Mercury] doesn’t seem interested in any of it.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

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.