East Patchogue Superfund Site to Become a Nature Preserve
A superfund property in East Patchogue will now become a nature preserve thanks to an agreement between Suffolk County and the Post-Morrow Foundation, officials announced last month.
The 14-acre site, known as the Bianchi-Weiss Greenhouse property, was cleaned up by the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation in 2016, and then put under county control. The Post-Morrow Foundation has purchased it for $10,000 and will turn it into a walkable nature preserve.
“This is a tremendous win for the community and the taxpayers of Suffolk County,” said Suffolk County Legislator Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue). “I want to thank Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey and the rest of my colleagues in the legislature for their support in bringing this deal to fruition. We have to preserve every inch of land we can.”
Thorne, along with Commissioner of Suffolk County Economic Development and Planning Sarah Lansdale and Post-Morrow Vice President Tom Williams, have been working toward a deal for the land since the beginning of 2022. It will alleviate about $22,000 in county taxes per year.
“Our idea is to leave it as is, clean up the edges, put up a fence, and install a walking trail around the circumference,” Williams said.
Thorne held three Zoom meetings and an in-person meeting with residents who live near the site, who said they wanted it to remain as open space. From 1929 to 2005, the site was used for commercial growing. It was then meant to become residential space, but residents voiced concerns about water contamination.
Cleanup of the area will start this spring.
