Port Jefferson Station residents question mall revamp plan that would add apartments, food court, gym

A plan to redevelop an aging Port Jefferson Station shopping center by adding up to 280 apartments — including about 56 set aside for developmentally disabled adults — is facing questions from some residents who want the proposal scaled down.

Jefferson Plaza would be the first property in Brookhaven to use a 2020 town law that sought to revitalize struggling shopping areas, and add badly needed affordable housing, by permitting apartments in areas zoned for retail or commercial use. The mall sits on a 10-acre site on Route 112, about a mile north of Route 347.

Some residents say that while they don't oppose redevelopment of the site, they think the plan is too big for the hamlet and would add too much traffic to a busy neighborhood not far from Port Jefferson.

“I am concerned about that level of density on a relatively small parcel,” said Ira Costell, 65, president of the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Civic Association. “We’re talking about 28 dwelling units to the acre. I’m not aware of anywhere near that level of density anywhere in the town of Brookhaven.” 

Staller Associates Realty, the Islandia company that owns Jefferson Plaza, wants to turn the 64-year-old mall into a mixed-use development, with the new residential units on one side of the property, and stores and eateries on the other, divided by a boulevard.

Valentin Staller, the company's vice president, did not return phone and email messages seeking comment.

Jefferson Plaza is the first Brookhaven property to seek town approval of a Commercial Redevelopment District, a so-called "overlay district" designed to aid struggling business properties by allowing residential development in addition to retail and office uses. The district requires approval of the town board.

A public hearing on the plan is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville.

Plans announced last year called for 280 apartments and a 49,400-square-foot retail section including a food court, gym and other shops. The mall, which opened around 1959, currently includes a gym, paint store and a coffee shop. Several tenants have left the 112,000-square-foot shopping center in recent years, including a Rite Aid pharmacy, Staller said last year.

Brookhaven Councilman Jonathan Kornreich, who represents the area on the town board, defended some aspects of the proposal, saying homes likely would generate less traffic than retail stores.

But he said he wants the town to commission a traffic study, adding the town could require new road signs and changes to street design around the plaza.

“I like it conceptually [but] I just need to make sure we address issues such as traffic,” Kornreich said, adding Staller should consider reducing the number of apartments to address residents' concerns. “I don’t know what the right number is," he said. “Any time there is a development, the developer always wants more units and the community wants less units.”

Jerry Maxin, 62, of Port Jefferson Station said some residents believe Staller officials have left them in the dark since first announcing the proposal. 

"We’re not opposed to redevelopment, but somebody needs to talk to us,” Maxin said. “We just need to pump the brakes on this thing. We want everyone to step back, talk to people who want to be involved and come up with a good plan together.”

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.