Support Cold Spring Harbor scientists by giving them a home in Oyster Bay Cove
The proposed housing for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists in Oyster Bay Cove, and inset, a view of the interior. Credit: Newsday/Randi F. Marshall
Along the winding, bucolic path of Sandy Hill Road in Oyster Bay Cove lie wide swaths of land, dominated by large homes, set back from the street, some of the driveways gated.
That setting has become the site of an angry outcry, as some residents object to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's efforts to use a historic home there for 28 of its postdoctoral fellows.
"Say NO to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 25+ Unit Housing Development in Oyster Bay Cove" reads a large banner across one of the gates amid an otherwise unmarred stretch of snow and towering trees.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory last year bought the Wrexleigh Estate, a 115-year old mansion on nearly 12 acres of land on Sandy Hill Road that until 2023, housed a high school and home for girls with special needs. Lab officials hope to modernize it so 16 scientists can call it home. After renovating the accompanying carriage house, 12 more researchers will be welcomed. These postdocs will pay the lab $1,500 a month for rent and utilities; none will have spouses or children.
The main house, with three expansive floors of large living spaces, old fireplaces, dark wood trim and even a dumbwaiter, already has 16 bedrooms. It needs a few extra bathrooms, an updated kitchen, accessibility improvements and some better windows and upgraded plumbing.
No one is building a "25+ Unit Housing Development."
Lab officials have reached out to the community in advance of next week's village zoning board meeting to provide facts and address concerns.
"We want to assure them we're a very good neighbor to have," said Steve Monez, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's chief facilities officer.
That isn't easy. In an era when misinformation quickly festers and spreads, whether about a home where scientists will live or the actual science, it's unsurprising that village residents would fight the lab's effort to provide their young researchers with an affordable place to live. And it's even more troubling that such a fight comes as science more broadly is often questioned and when research dollars, such as those funded through the National Institutes of Health, are threatened.
Long Island's not-in-my-backyard housing battles are nothing new. The ripple effect in this case is significant, as Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has a key place in the region's economy, and as its young scientists are doing work that could one day heal their neighbors.
"The fact that the lab provides a mechanism for us to launch our lives in the area while making sure we can fulfill the work in the beginning is such a blessing," said lab postdoc fellow Viet Hang Le, 31.
A neuroscientist, Le is studying the interaction between the nervous system and cancer, in search of new targeted therapies. The work isn't easy, sometimes requiring overnight hours to get experiments right. But it's worth it, she said, as her research could lead to new cancer treatments.
And Le rightly suggests that the Oyster Bay Cove home won't only help the scientists. The scientists could help the community, too.
"Having us in the area only gives more of the motivation for the next generation in the area to think about science as having a real impact and also being approachable for them," she said. "And the work we do is directly impacting patients in the future."
If only the neighbors would listen.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
