Kings Park rail line developer says he has withdrawn project

The developer behind a controversial Kings Park project that called for construction of a 5,000-foot rail line has informed the Town of Smithtown that he has withdrawn the plan.

Toby Carlson, who owns CarlsonCorp, told Newsday the project is no longer moving forward.

Since 2022, Townline Rail Terminal LLC, a subsidiary of CarlsonCorp, had been seeking approval to build the rail line on 82 acres near Town Line and Pulaski roads. It would have been used to haul away incinerator ash and construction debris.

The proposal was met with fierce opposition from residents and civic groups who expressed concerns about the impact the project could have on their communities and the environment.

Carlson provided a letter to Newsday on Thursday night that he said he sent to Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim and other county and town officials earlier in the week. In it, he wrote that the project “is parked” and he would “not push this rail initiative forward without consensus.”

“After deep reflection, I’ve concluded that the project, in its current form, is not in alignment with all stakeholders,” Carlson wrote. “The truth is, the Town Board took a bullet it should not have had to take. I, too, have carried weight I should not have.”

Nicole Garguilo, the Town of Smithtown’s public information officer, confirmed Friday the town had received the letter.

A 'waste crisis'

Wehrheim, in a statement Friday, said while the proposal “may no longer be moving forward,” Suffolk County and all of Long Island face “an unavoidable waste crisis” that needs long-term solutions.

“Our landfills are nearing capacity, and the need to find responsible, environmentally sound, and sustainable solutions for solid waste and recyclables is urgent,” Wehrheim said. “If we want to protect our environment and preserve our quality of life, we must begin identifying a long-term, regional strategy that balances community concerns with the reality of how we handle solid waste.”

Newsday previously reported that Smithtown was considering zoning changes that would allow rail freight terminals, among other development. A January public hearing on the proposed changes drew more than 200 people, many of whom voiced their opposition. Carlson was on hand at that hearing and spoke in defense of the rail project.

When asked if those zoning changes would be canceled or still go forward, Garguilo said Friday the town would pause the process. However, officials would not take the zoning changes proposal completely off the table, she said, since the community input gathered “will play a big role if something does change, so we don’t have to start the process all over again.”

When asked if he planned on bringing the project back in the future, Carlson told Newsday, “If there is a genuine need across the state, the county, the towns and the people, and we can come to an alignment that there’s a problem that needs solving, I’m absolutely happy to throw my hat in. I cannot carry it alone.”

This marks the second waste transfer project on Long Island that has been dropped in the past year. Winters Bros. of West Babylon last September canceled plans for a Yaphank waste transfer station that environmentalists, the state and Brookhaven NAACP had opposed.

Carlson said he felt the county had not given enough support when it came to finding a regional solution for waste management in the wake of the planned closure of the Brookhaven landfill, which Long Island officials and waste industry experts have predicted will eventually cause higher costs of waste disposal and worsened environmental pollution.

“I’ve been trying to get the county to get on board, because what I would need is for this to be part of a much larger solution to this big [waste] crisis,” he said. “But there’s no support on the county level in any way whatsoever to help the process along. Unless everyone is pulling for the project, I don’t want to push anything forward.”

When reached for comment, Michael Martino, director of communications for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, said in a statement: “This issue is under the jurisdiction of the Town of Smithtown and not Suffolk County.”

Opponents relieved, guarded

Linda Henninger, president of the Townline Association, a civic group that opposed the rail project, said the group was happy to hear the plan had been withdrawn. Henninger said the most recent development was “a long time coming” after years of community outreach the group had done to rally opposition.

The association previously argued the proposal was bad for the community because of potentially harmful effects on groundwater, noise generation and the overall environment in the area, among other concerns.

“It was a lot of community consensus and … it was clear very quickly that the community did not want this,” Henninger said. 

She said the group is in favor of a regional solution to the waste issue, but members felt that Carlson's project "was not a regional solution."

Bob Semprini, president of the Commack Community Association, which opposed the project, said in an interview Friday he is not convinced the community has seen the last of it.

Semprini said he worried the rail project may still be built in the future with the town's approval, so his group and others that opposed it will continue to gather more information and “continue to make their voices heard.”

“We are not going to let go of the efforts we’ve already put into this thing so they think, ‘Oh, they’re backing off,’” Semprini said. “No, we’re not backing off until it’s final.”