Mayor Starkie: Creating a 'Healthy, Vital and Livable Downtown'

Dear Farmingdale Residents,

This is to invite you to a public hearing on the environmental analysis of the Village of Farmingdale’s downtown revitalization efforts on Monday, July 11, 2011 at 7 pm at the Farmingdale Public Library.

The Village began formulating a strategy to revitalize its downtown area in 2006 by initiating a visioning process. A master planning process followed in 2009 to evaluate the downtown area to guide development and public investment in Downtown Farmingdale over the next 25 years.

As the Downtown Master Plan was being drafted, New York State awarded a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Step 2 Nomination Study grant to the Village, and the Village was able to use the BOA funding for additional studies regarding the proposed Downtown Master Plan. In compliance with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), the Village has conducted an environmental review of the proposed Downtown Master Plan, in a document called a Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS), taking all aspects of downtown development into consideration. As part of the BOA Program, the DGEIS and BOA Nomination Study have been combined into one document to fulfill both requirements.

We invite all Farmingdale residents to provide comments at the public hearing regarding the proposed Downtown Master Plan DGEIS/BOA Nomination Study.

What does the DGEIS/BOA Nomination Study Consider?

The Proposed Action in the DGEIS/BOA Nomination Study entails the implementation of the draft proposed Downtown Master Plan, including a new Downtown Mixed-Use (D-MU) Zoning District, which would, among other things, allow for a mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) at the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station. Implementation of the Downtown Master Plan envisions (up to, but not more):

• An increase in residential opportunities (upwards of 375 units), including allowing residential units above stores and offices;
• A small increase in retail uses and larger increase in restaurant uses, to continue Farmingdale’s recent history as a shopping and dining destination;
• Increases in open/green spaces, including a proposed “Station Green” near the LIRR station; and
• Associated infrastructural improvements, including additional parking (surface and possibly structured), in order to properly accommodate revitalization of the downtown.

The Village is committed to revitalizing downtown Farmingdale with as much involvement from the public as possible since everybody benefits from a healthy, vital and livable downtown.

Sincerely,

Mayor George Starkie

Editor's Note: The DGEIS documents can be found in the gallery above.