Hearing Set On Village Apartments Plan

A rendering depicts a Main Street portion of a mixed-use development with 84 luxury apartments proposed for Huntington village. Developers have promised to preserve and restore the facade of the 1911 Huntington Firehouse, depicted above, as part of their proposal.

By Connor Beach

cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The Huntington Zoning Board of Appeals will hear next month developers’ plans to construct a more than 271,000-square-foot, four-story mixed-use development with 84 luxury apartments in Huntington village.

Developers John Kean and Alan Fromkin are scheduled to present their plans for the demolition and re-construction of buildings fronting Main Street, Gerard Street and Stewart Avenue in Huntington village to the ZBA at a public hearing on Jan. 24, according to legal notices submitted by the town.

Fromkin is the owner of owner of Classic Galleries at 243 Main Street, which is located in one of the buildings involved in the plan.

The project was previously set for a ZBA public hearing last June, but the hearing was adjourned to allow the developers time to address concerns raised by the Huntington planning board.

Huntington-based attorney Jim Margolin, who is representing the developers, said in an interview Wednesday at the time there “seemed to be a disconnect” between his clients and the planning board. He said additional information has since been submitted to town planners, including updated traffic and drainage studies.

Margolin added that, although some details are different, the proposed development remains largely unchanged

After several meetings with historians, Margolin presenting an updated version of the development to the planning board in February. He also said Kean and Fromkin promised to restore and preserve the facade of the historic 1911 Huntington Firehouse at 235 Main Street.

Kean and Fromkin need the ZBA to approve a number of variances and a special use permit in order to move forward with the development.

The variances include approval to build a four-story building, which would exceed the code-allowed limit of three, and parking relief. The proposal is required by town code to provide 262 parking spaces and plans call for 127 onsite stalls.

Margolin said Wednesday the ZBA hearing would be a good opportunity to explain the details of the proposed development to Huntington residents.

The public hearing is slated for Thursday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. at town hall.

No More Mixing Your Recyclables

You’ll need two pails to sort recycling starting Jan. 2 when Huntington returns to separate collection days for paper and cardboard, and glass and plastic recyclables.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Huntington residents will again have to sort their recycling next year when the town switches back to dual-stream recycling.

Starting on Jan. 2, 2019 the town is switching from a single-stream to a dual-stream recycling system. Dual-stream recycling means the town refuse department and it’s contractors will collect bottles, cans and plastics one week and paper and corrugated cardboard the following week, according to town documents.

Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said alternating the material on recycling days requires less sorting and decreased the cost.

“Huntington is 100 percent committed to recycling and protecting our environment, which is why we are adopting dual-stream recycling as of January 2019,” Lupinacci said.

A Town-issued handout gives a guide to what can and can’t be put out for recycling.

“Dual-stream recycling is the only cost-effective, environmentally responsible option available that will allow the Town to continue our recycling program.”

The change is a result of “a dramatic and downward shift in worldwide commodity markets for recyclables- specifically in China” environmental waste management director John Clark told the town board during a budget hearing in early November.

Clark said the switch from single to dual stream recycling lowers the town’s processing costs for recycling from an estimated $950,000 to about $250,000.

Huntington previously had an agreement with the Town of Brookhaven for the processing of single-stream recyclables. Huntington officials received a letter on Oct. 23 from Brookhaven stating they would not accept any of Huntington’s recycling after Oct. 29 due to “catastrophic changes in international markets for recyclables.”

To help increase the quality of recycled materials, Lupinacci suggested residents keep paper dry by putting a lid on paper recycling containers, rinse out bottles, cans and jars and avoid glass because it is difficult and costly to recycle.

More information on dual-stream recycling and a full schedule of pick-up dates can be found on the town website at Huntingtonny.gov.

Housing Summit Sparks Legislative Proposals

In addition to advocating for more affordable developments like Avalon Bay, above, Huntington Housing Coalition will make recommendations to the town board based on issues raised at its housing summit held in November.

Housing Summit Sparks Ideas For Change

By Sophia Ricco
sricco@longislandergroup.com

An engaging summit on affordable housing hosted Huntington Township Housing Coalition gave residents an opportunity to give input on legislative actions and proposals. One proposal on accessory apartments is being submitted to the town this month.

A Community Conversation On Housing For All was held on Nov. 17 and covered a wide variety topics, from accessory apartments to housing choice impacts. The coalition was delighted to have the largest turnout for its annual summit yet with around 170 people registered.

Attendees were eager to share their opinions and present questions to panels that discussed elements of economical housing. A large number of questions were submitted and many could not be addressed in the allotted time; they have been answered on the coalition’s website.

The coalition found many people inquired about the accessory apartment process, a discussion they recorded and have also added to their website.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people, both older people who want to stay in their house but don’t have a fixed income and want to cover their bills, as well as younger people who want to buy a house but would be cash strapped to pay a mortgage but if they lived in an accessory apartment that would help them to pay their bills,” President of Huntington Township Housing Coalition, Roger Weaving Jr. said. “There seems to be a lot of interest in it.”

The coalition plans to bring their proposed accessory apartment legislation to the Huntington Town Board in January. A proposal has been in the works for some time, according to Weaving, but the coalition brought it to summit attendees to gain their insights.

“I don’t think we actually made any changes, people were reasonably confident with what we are proposing,” Weaving said. “People always want you to do a little more, but I think what we have in the bill, is fairly simple, straightforward changes that seem to make a lot of sense to most people.”

They have been working with town board members and hope to have a bipartisan representation among board members proposing the legislation. The goal is to get the legislation changes passed, before trying to “push the envelope” with additional proposals.

“People have all kinds of ideas of what would be great, but if you can’t get it passed then it doesn’t matter,” Weaving said.

The bill addresses issues within the current legislation that prevent many homeowners from getting legal accessory apartment permits. For instance, many elderly and single people are prevented from living in an accessory apartment while renting out their home.

Another proposed change would roll back the frontage requirement from 75 to 50 feet, which would make many more properties eligible, especially in pthe parts of town with the greatest number of illegal apartments.

“A lot of the time, the older parts of town is where the illegal apartments are,” Weaving said. “Changing the law didn’t change the fact of apartments, it changed the fact that there are illegal apartments.”

The Huntington Township Housing Coalition hopes that if their legislation is passed it will be reduce the amount of illegal apartments. These apartments are the ones that put residents most at risk, since they’re not inspected.