Plan to transfer Stillwell Woods Park, preserve in Syosset to Oyster Bay Town sparks concern about open space boundary

Michael Vitti recalls the fight nearly two decades ago when Nassau County sought to transfer the nearly 300-acre Stillwell Woods Preserve in Syosset to the Town of Oyster Bay. 

Vitti, who runs a local group that promotes safe mountain biking on Long Island, had led a letter-writing campaign urging officials to keep the preserve — its trailways popular with bikers and hikers — "forever wild." A transfer, he and opponents of the plan argued in 2008, could lead to the development of open space.

The once-rebuffed effort is now back on their radar. In January, the Nassau County Legislature approved the transfer of the preserve and park — a popular youth sports destination with ballfields — for $1. The Town of Oyster Bay has leased the park from the county for decades, but it's never controlled the preserve. The town and county would contribute $6 million each toward upgrades.

The agreement still requires sign-off from the State Legislature, which approves alienation-of-parkland requests.

Detractors say there is no official boundary between the park and preserve, which puts trailway and open space at risk to development interests. 

"They need to do a survey and have a demarcation line where the recreational fields begin and end, and where the preserve begins and ends," Vitti, president of Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists, said in an interview.

"There's an environmental functional link there and a recreational link with all these trails, and they want to risk really decimating a piece of it by giving it away to the Town of Oyster Bay?" Guy Jacob, the conservation co-chair of the South Shore Audubon Society, said in an interview.

Late last year — before county lawmakers approved the transfer — an attorney for the town said there was no need to conduct a survey, which would cost $30,000. But Brian Nevin, a town spokesman, said in an email Tuesday that Oyster Bay plans to retain a surveyor "to delineate the park and preserve boundaries." The final deed would include a covenant and restrictions, he said.

"The Town has managed Stillwell Woods for decades with good stewardship," Nevin said in the email. In an earlier email, Nevin said Oyster Bay "remains committed to preserving the natural beauty of the neighboring preserve and has no current plans for park expansion in that area.”

Boundary issue

Environmental advocates say there are few safeguards in place to prevent future development at the preserve.

One point of contention, they argue, is the lack of a clear boundary between the preserve and the park.

The Nassau County Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee, or OSPAC, voted against recommending the transfer to county lawmakers in December. The committee, which plays an advisory role in assessing county land deals, held several hearings about Stillwell.

Town officials say there are no plans to build on the preserve. But opponents of the transfer argue that without a formal boundary in place, a future administration could allow it.

Jacob said in a letter to state parks officials that the agreement does not assure “that development would not result in the removal of valuable open space or otherwise impact Stillwell Woods Preserve.” 

The agreement, he noted, says the property cannot be altered “if such improvements were not consistent with the recreational, historical and environmental purposes of the land.”

But, Jacob and others have argued, developers years ago likely built ballfields on property where the preserve once extended. Jacob said in the letter that "the precedent of the development that already has transpired on approximately 30 acres" — meaning the park area — could be used to justify further encroachment. He also expressed concern, "particularly if the parcels are combined into one park."

The town “certainly won’t take down any trees” and will “fully protect the preserve area," Nevin said in an email. “The only development of the non-preserve property is for park uses, including fields, bathrooms, parking, etc.,” Nevin said. 

Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) said Nassau residents "deserve to know, at the very least, the land boundaries of what's involved here." He added, "That's just basic good government." 

Nassau Legis. Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview) said there has been a "tug of war" for years over Stillwell's future. Renovations are sorely needed there since the park "has fallen into disrepair to some extent," he said.

Todd Cirella, director of field and maintenance for the Syosset Soccer Club, said there is a "drastic need" for additional funding, particularly to fix drainage issues and level the ballfields.

"What's better for the kids is better for the community," Cirella said. 

Questions over transfer

Efforts to transfer parts of the Stillwell property to Oyster Bay have failed at least twice.

In 2021, Syosset voters rejected a referendum allowing Nassau County to transfer 35 acres of Stillwell Woods Park to the school district. The cost was to total $10.5 million, with $3 million coming from the county; $2 million from school district reserves; and $5.5 million in new borrowing, according to the district's website. 

That plan called for transferring the park property — but not the preserve — to the district.

In 2008, Nassau County attempted to transfer authority over a series of parks and preserves, including Stillwell, to Oyster Bay, Newsday reported at the time.

John Venditto, the town supervisor then, said there were no plans to alter the preserve. 

During a November OSPAC meeting, Ralph Fumante Jr., the committee's chairman, said the agreement does not clearly separate the park from the preserve and asked whether the town could raze wooded areas under the deal.

“There is no divide line,” he said.

Matthew Meng, a longtime OSPAC member, told Newsday the committee had concerns about “further encroachment."

“We have to make sure that there’s a demarcation line,” Meng said in an interview.

Fumante referred to an older map of the Stillwell property that he said described the whole area as a "perpetual preserve.” He noted the presence of ballfields on that map.

“If you’re telling me that it’s all perpetually preserved, but we have playing fields and parking lots and it’s expanded a bit, could they indeed go in there and take out the rest?” Fumante asked officials representing the town and county.

During a meeting in December, an attorney for Oyster Bay said there was no need to survey the property to determine a boundary line.

“We’re not willing to do a subdivision,” said Anthony Curcio, an attorney who represented the Town of Oyster Bay at the meeting. When asked if the town was open to adjusting the agreement to better differentiate the park and the preserve, Curcio said: “I don’t want to have to amend it again.”

A future town administration could move to develop the preserve, Fumante said. “I’m not questioning the present administration, but this is forever and I’m concerned that somewhere down the road … when push comes to shove, active versus passive has been at war with each other,” he said.

The committee voted against recommending the transfer on Dec. 11 by a vote of 5-1. 

The Nassau County Planning Commission voted to approve it the following day.  

During the planning commission meeting, Curcio said “nothing is really going to be changing when we obtain the property.” He added, “the open space is going to remain that way.”

For the transfer to take place, a member of the State Assembly and State Senate must sponsor a bill that wins passage in both bodies, said Assemb. Jake Blumencranz (R-Oyster Bay).

Nevin said he doesn't expect the legislature to take up the bill until next year.

A sweeping nature preserve

Greg Schleich, whose family has lived in the vicinity of the park for decades, said he’s in the preserve at least once a week.

During the transfer process, he said there has been a “deliberate vagueness” about the boundaries of the park and preserve. “I find that quite disturbing,” he said.

Steve Finkelstein, an environmental science teacher at Nassau Community College, said rare birds such as woodcocks and meadowlarks would be harmed if natural space is developed.

“We live on an island; there is only so much acreage available,” Finkelstein said. “We’re at the very end of open space in Nassau County. At some point you have to say, ‘OK, no more.’ ”

Ron Ganz, who lives near the Stillwell property, said the athletic fields are evidence of “significant encroachment” on the preserve.

On a recent spring day, beyond the green fields and basepaths at Stillwell Woods Park, a vast wall of trees was spattered with garbage: Stray cups, cans and signs from the sports teams that play on the fields lay near the entrance to the expansive preserve.

“There is a huge amount of garbage that has flown in from the sports fields," Ganz said during a walk through the park. Pondering the overall deal, Ganz said, "this is alienation of perpetual preserve with no controls on future development."

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ