Community Corner

Holbrook Woman Launches Anti Islip Pines Petition

Change.org protest effort is a plea to lawmakers from Albany to Islip.

This article was written by Judy Mottl, editor of the Sayville-Bayport Patch.

A Sachem resident has created and distributed an an online petition to stop the Islip Pines proposal, which is a 136-acre part residential part commercial development slated to go up along the Sunrise Highway in Holbrook.

Stephanie Volpe, of Holbrook, created the Change.org petitionthis week and it’s a plea to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, as well as Senate leaders and Islip Town officials to stop the mega project proposal by Serota Properties.

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The Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce, which is leading the anti-Islip Pines initiative, is urging business owners to sign and support the latest protest effort.

The project received Suffolk County planning approval last week and is now back in the hands of the Islip Planning Board which will make a recommendation to the Islip Town Board.

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The petition notes that there is already plenty of retail in the nearby communities and that there will be a negative impact to the local school district.

“We also need to consider the impact this project will have on small businesses that are already struggling against the gluttony of big box retailers,” states the petition.

”If you travel around our community you will see examples of struggling retail. For example Sun Vet mall is not full, Gateway Plaza not full, countless of empty retail stores on Main Street in Holbrook and on Grundy Avenue, The closed down movie theater (Patchogue UA) on Sunrise Highway (Serota wants another theater built) and I can continue to go on and on.”

As of Friday the petition had 37 signatures, with support as far as West Babylon. Sachem Patch was unable to reach Volpe for comment.

Sayville business woman and chamber member Barbara Whitbread, a supporter, states that that the change of zoning needed for the project will create dangerous traffic issues and “stress an area already overloaded with thousands and thousands of existing square footage of long vacant space waiting redevelopment," and will "negatively impact and drain business from existing businesses on Sunrise Highway and in downtowns in surrounding towns.”

Holbrook resident William Mueller, who also signed the petition, notes there are already too many strip malls in the area.

“All this will do is lower our property values, put small local businesses out of business and the jobs it creates will not pay well or have good benefits. the infrastructure of the area is not equipped to handle the extra traffic congestion that will occur on Vet's Highway, Broadway Ave. and the Nicolls Road / Sunrise Highway interchange.”


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