TOBAY Board Rezones Liberty Site

After almost 15 years of cleanup, has been rezoned for development.

The Town of Oyster Bay board passed a resolution at Tuesday's meeting that will rezone the lot at 55 Motor Avenue in Farmingdale, known as the Liberty Site, from light industry to recreation.

A portion of the former industrial site is already home to . With the new zoning, the rest of the land will become an extension of the neighboring

According to Karen Underwood, the deputy attorney for the town, the property and business owners within 500 feet of the property were notified and the plan is consistent with groundwater and open space protection regulations.

“When we first dealt with this problem, that property was a cauldron of God knows what, and residents were afraid to drink the water,” said Town Supervisor John Venditto. “In 14 years, we’ve gone from a mess to a great location and a new supermarket.”

The area will be converted with C-fund money that has been designated for parks and recreational use. In addition, Underwood said that back filling services will amount to $25 per cubic yard and will be paid through the town.

The EPA designated the area a Superfund site due to a contaminated groundwater plume former site owners like Liberty Aircraft Products Company left behind. In 1986, the EPA took the lead role in the $32 million cleanup, which involved creating a filtration system to remove the heavy metals and volatile organic compounds from the groundwater. Some of the soil was also hauled from the site.

Ultimately, the EPA plan only cleaned up the property to industrial standards. This became an issue in 2001 when the town announced its intention of acquiring the property and building recreational facilities there.

The town took over the next cleanup stage, spending $4 million to haul the rest of the soil from the site, according to an EPA report.

“We always said, if we have to do it ourselves, we will," said Town Clerk Steven Labriolla.

The rezoning serves two purposes by designating a broad use for the vacant land and justifying the higher level of cleanup by turning it into recreational space, according to Underwood.

In May 2007, the town board held a meeting for the rezoning of the same portion of land, but the decision was reserved, according to Underwood.

“I was always told that councilmen come and go, but Liberty will always be there,” Councilman Joe Muscarella said. “People always dreamed about expanding that park, and this is monumental.”

The board voted unanimously in favor of the proposed resolution. The town engineers are pricing out different options for the site and in the fall a meeting will be held for residents to make cases for what they want there, according to the town public information office.

Some residents have already said they want a or on the property.

“14 years ago this was a dream, and 14 years later it is a reality,” Supervisor Venditto said. “The next step is to go out into the community. You all just tell us what we need to do.”