Huntington Town Board Meeting - August 11, 2026

The Town of Huntington Town Board met on August 11, 2026, opening at 19:15 UTC. It conducted five town board public hearings and two Board of Trustees hearings, heard public comments, adopted a series of resolutions, and then convened as the Community Development Agency Board. Resolution 2026-418, the tax levy limit override, was removed from the agenda before the meeting. Most actions passed 5-0; the vote to schedule a public hearing for The Cornerstone Melville special use permit passed 3-2.

Consent Calendar

• Resolution 2026-417, adopted 5-0, scheduled a public hearing on the proposed Northport fire protection services agreement for Fire Protection District No. 1.
• Routine resolutions adopted 5-0 included: 2026-419 (NYS DCJS Law Enforcement Technology Grant application), 2026-420 (public hearing on Sept. 15, 2026, at 6 p.m. for Local Law Intro. No. 30-2026, disabled veterans property tax exemption), 2026-421 (Italian-American Heritage Month), 2026-422 (Northport fire protection agreement), 2026-423 (New York Islanders Learn-to-Play hockey program), 2026-424 (Pickle Festival license), 2026-425 (Heckscher Museum Palette Cafe), 2026-426 (Lions Club car show), 2026-432 (General Services budget amendment), 2026-435 as amended (blighted property enforcement), 2026-438 (Dino Safari permit extension), 2026-439 (vehicle donation), 2026-441 (surplus equipment disposal), 2026-444 (blighted property hearing), 2026-445 (Manor Farm Park hearing), 2026-446 (Barkers Lane truck exclusion hearing), and 2026-449 (paper shredding services at the Senior Center parking lot on Aug. 18 and Oct. 27, 2026).
• The consent calendar covering 2026-427 through 2026-452, excluding items already voted individually, was adopted 5-0. It included the PACOLI Pakistan Independence Day event, Island Harvest MOU, CDBG entitlement grant application, budget amendments, foreign fire insurance tax transfer to Northport Fire Department, interim settlement agreement with LIPA, DECALS vendor termination, stop-sign local law 24-2026, the town land license/covenants resolution, the USA 250th/Pakistan 79th Birthday event, and the late-start traffic signal agreement with the South Huntington Union Free School District (2026-452).

Public Hearings

• Public Hearing #1 (Northport fire protection): no public speakers.
• Public Hearing #2 (blighted properties): John Ruggiero said 13 Plymouth Road belonged to his mother and that he planned to fix it up; the supervisor referred him to the town attorney's office to develop a remediation plan. Robert Lamont described the sale of a family property and raised affordability concerns. The board later amended Resolution 2026-435 to remove 13 Plymouth Road from the enforcement list.
• Public Hearing #3 (license/covenants for 602 McKinley Terrace): Gerald Blum questioned the notice wording; the supervisor explained that a retaining wall encroached on town land and the license/covenant would let the owner keep it while compensating the town.
• Public Hearings #4 and #5 (Local Law Intro. Nos. 28-2026 and 29-2026, stop signs at Mill Lane/Prime Avenue and multiple Commack intersections): no public speakers.
• Board of Trustees Hearings #1 and #2 (Patrick and Jeanne Tomlinson, 271 Little Neck Road, Centerport): the board considered variances, a special use permit, and a license agreement for a residential fixed pier and floating dock assembly totaling 164.5 feet. Attorney Ryan Brown noted nearby docks of 165 and 170 feet and said DEC and Army Corps approvals had been obtained. Jeff Bartels raised liability and insurance concerns about docks breaking loose in storms. Dan Hall, the owner's environmental consultant, said the license includes a hold-harmless provision, the floats are removed seasonally, and water depths justify the dock length. No final vote was taken on the dock applications during this session.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Several residents opposed a property tax levy override, including Anna Finn, David Westman, Jim Darcy, Denise Schwartz, and Margaret Roebuck. They cited fixed incomes, seniors, young families, existing high property taxes, and the need to reduce spending before raising taxes. The supervisor said he would produce a budget below the tax cap and noted that the Covanta garbage contract renewal, nearly $4 million annually, represents about the entire 2 percent cap. Board members also noted that the town receives about 7 percent of a typical resident's total tax bill.
• Eddie O'Brien Carroll opposed the proposed African American Museum at Fair Meadow Park, calling it a patronage project. Daniel Carpin also opposed it as parkland alienation and suggested alternative sites. Cheryl Blum spoke in favor of the museum but asked questions about the LIPA interim settlement, Manor Farm Park, the Cornerstone Melville proposal, and school district financial impact agreements.
• Huntington Bay Mayor Mark Dower asked the town to grant his village a temporary renewable 100-foot easement from mean high water into the bay while village and town LWRP documents are completed, citing cumulative environmental, recreational, and emergency-access impacts of private docks. The supervisor said the board would sit down with him to discuss the request.
• Jeff Bartels urged restoration of West Neck Beach and larger culverts, saying stormwater from the town parking lot flows into the marsh.
• Leslie Tollop read a communication from the school district questioning the Melville Town Center Overlay District pause, and Gail Jospa quoted code language requiring a pause after each 400 residential units to assess impacts. Lisa Bloomstein asked who lifted the pause and opposed scheduling a new Cornerstone hearing before cumulative impacts on traffic, schools, sewers, and drainage are evaluated. Anthony Cacciato supported the next Melville mixed-use application as needed for young residents struggling with housing costs, citing a median home price of about $750,000.
• Samuel Ashkenazi opposed Flock license plate reader cameras as a privacy invasion and cited high misidentification rates and a low share of legitimate alerts. Johanna Suchau asked the board to post preliminary resolution texts earlier and to provide line-by-line budget transparency, including projections for lifetime retiree medical benefits.

Discussion Items

• Tax levy override: Resolution 2026-418 was removed from the agenda at workshop. Councilwoman Maury said she had requested its removal and that the board remains committed to fiscally sound budgeting.
• MTCOD pause: The supervisor explained that the 400-unit figure came from county sewer capacity and that the pause was intended as a pace-control mechanism, not a requirement to build and occupy the first 400 units before accepting another application. He said only one application has been approved since the overlay district was enacted and it has not broken ground.
• Water advisory committee: Councilwoman Lupinacci announced a funded advisory committee to study water quality and quantity impacts of Melville-area development, including a possible NYU Langone project.
• Resolution transparency: The supervisor said he would try to publish agendas and resolution texts earlier than 24 hours, ideally approaching 10 days before meetings, and asked department heads to submit materials early.

Key Outcomes

• Resolution 2026-417 and all routine resolutions on the main agenda passed 5-0.
• Resolution 2026-435 was amended to remove 13 Plymouth Road from the blighted property action, then adopted 5-0.
• Resolution 2026-447, scheduling a public hearing for The Cornerstone Melville special use permit application MTCO-25-2, passed 3-2; Councilwomen Lupinacci and Hebert voted no. Councilwoman Lupinacci said her vote reflected the lack of clear pause parameters and announced the funded water advisory committee.
• The late-start Resolution 2026-452, authorizing an intermunicipal traffic signal agreement with the South Huntington Union Free School District, was added and adopted on the consent calendar.
• As the Community Development Agency, the board adopted 2026-CD-4 to transfer funds from the Huntington Community Development Agency to the Highway Department, 5-0.
• No vote was taken on 2026-418, the tax levy limit override.
• A public hearing was scheduled for Sept. 15, 2026, at 6 p.m. on Local Law Intro. No. 30-2026, the permanently and totally disabled veterans tax exemption.