Brookhaven buys 40 acres of Lawrence Aviation Superfund site for open space
An aerial view of the former Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station, seen in March. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
Brookhaven Town has completed its purchase of a 40-acre section of the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station, which will be preserved for open space protection, officials said Thursday.
The town borrowed $400,000 to purchase the wooded parcel, which will serve as a buffer between neighboring homes and a solar array and a Metropolitan Transportation Authority train yard that Suffolk County officials hope to see on other parts of the 126-acre site, Town Supervisor Dan Panico said in an interview.
The town's purchase closed Wednesday, Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino said.
The parcel in the northwest section of the site on Sheep Pasture Road is the first section of the vacant property to be sold as part of a complex plan to sell off the shuttered aircraft parts manufacturing plant after years of litigation and a $50 million federal cleanup.
"Clearly there are opportunities for development of other areas of [the Lawrence Aviation] site, but it was important to the town of Brookhaven that we preserve this site,” Panico said. “We want to preserve as much wooded areas as possible.”
The Lawrence property's southern section has been reserved for a solar power array, and officials hope to sell the northeastern section to the MTA for a possible Long Island Rail Road rail yard.
Lawrence Aviation Industries closed in 2003, three years after the property entered the federal Superfund cleanup program following the discovery of trichloroethene, or TCE, a solvent used to remove paint and grease. Inspectors also found acid waste, oils, sludge, metals and other toxic debris at the site.
Federal prosecutors last year announced a settlement intended to sell off pieces of the property to repay debt accrued by Lawrence Aviation owner Gerald Cohen, who died in 2020, leaving about $17.9 million in unpaid property taxes and $48.1 million he owed to pay for the federal cleanup, officials said at the time.
The federal settlement temporarily transferred the Lawrence site to the Suffolk County Landbank, a nonprofit arm of county government that disposes so-called "brownfields" properties. The land bank struck a deal last December to sell about 40 acres to the MTA for $10.
The MTA in June asked county officials for more time to complete the purchase. MTA officials did not give a reason, but Suffolk and Brookhaven officials said it was to provide time for officials to re-route a state walking trail that cuts through part of the potential MTA property.
The MTA's deadline was extended to Dec. 31 by county officials.
MTA spokesman David Steckel said Thursday he had "no updates" on the purchase.
Brookhaven Town has completed its purchase of a 40-acre section of the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station, which will be preserved for open space protection, officials said Thursday.
The town borrowed $400,000 to purchase the wooded parcel, which will serve as a buffer between neighboring homes and a solar array and a Metropolitan Transportation Authority train yard that Suffolk County officials hope to see on other parts of the 126-acre site, Town Supervisor Dan Panico said in an interview.
The town's purchase closed Wednesday, Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino said.
The parcel in the northwest section of the site on Sheep Pasture Road is the first section of the vacant property to be sold as part of a complex plan to sell off the shuttered aircraft parts manufacturing plant after years of litigation and a $50 million federal cleanup.
"Clearly there are opportunities for development of other areas of [the Lawrence Aviation] site, but it was important to the town of Brookhaven that we preserve this site,” Panico said. “We want to preserve as much wooded areas as possible.”
The Lawrence property's southern section has been reserved for a solar power array, and officials hope to sell the northeastern section to the MTA for a possible Long Island Rail Road rail yard.
Lawrence Aviation Industries closed in 2003, three years after the property entered the federal Superfund cleanup program following the discovery of trichloroethene, or TCE, a solvent used to remove paint and grease. Inspectors also found acid waste, oils, sludge, metals and other toxic debris at the site.
Federal prosecutors last year announced a settlement intended to sell off pieces of the property to repay debt accrued by Lawrence Aviation owner Gerald Cohen, who died in 2020, leaving about $17.9 million in unpaid property taxes and $48.1 million he owed to pay for the federal cleanup, officials said at the time.
The federal settlement temporarily transferred the Lawrence site to the Suffolk County Landbank, a nonprofit arm of county government that disposes so-called "brownfields" properties. The land bank struck a deal last December to sell about 40 acres to the MTA for $10.
The MTA in June asked county officials for more time to complete the purchase. MTA officials did not give a reason, but Suffolk and Brookhaven officials said it was to provide time for officials to re-route a state walking trail that cuts through part of the potential MTA property.
The MTA's deadline was extended to Dec. 31 by county officials.
MTA spokesman David Steckel said Thursday he had "no updates" on the purchase.
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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