President's Letter Feb. 2023
Hello to my neighbors,
As many of you are already well aware of, 2023 has started off with a bang (and a screech, squeal and other noises rail cars and train diesel engines make). For those who haven’t heard, CarlsonCorp, parent company of Townline Rail Terminal, LLC and owned by Toby Carlson has applied to the federal government to permit him to build a rail terminal immediately south of our Fort Salonga boarder. Adding to that, several of those elected to serve and protect our community are now doing the opposite, supporting the destruction of our way of life.
This proposed railyard, in my opinion (as well as many others) I believe is the most important and aggreges factor to affect Fort Salonga in many decades. But we are fortunate in the fact that the Townline (civic) Association has reformed out of the ashes (pun intended), with the sole intent (initially) of defeating CarlsonCorp’s attempt to build this terminal, which will run immediately behind the community of Glen Ln. and Glen Rd. This railyard will affect most residents of Fort Salonga, as well as Commack, Kings Park and East Northport, with diesel engines running at all hours, spewing toxic fumes into our air, affecting the quality of air we breathe and leaking toxins into the water we drink. In addition, the noise generated by these locomotives and trucks, running at all hours, shuffling rail cars and freight around in order to fill them with ash from the COVANTA incinerator (another issue that severely affects Fort Salonga).
According to Leg. Rob Trotta, this is our ONLY resolve to the impending garbage situation we will be facing in the near future. With the closure of the landfill in Brookhaven in the next two years (where COVANTA currently ships their ash from burnt garbage), I do agree, we will be faced with this situation as we can no longer kick the can down the road. BUT, building a new railyard adjacent to residential homes and within immediate proximity to thousands of residents in the communities that surround the site IS NOT the answer. I ask that you visit the fortsalonga.org website regularly to keep tabs not on what is happening in the fight, but also to educate yourselves on the effects this will have on your way of life, both short and long term. And after learning more I implore you to write letters to your elected officials opposing this from happening, whether now or in the future. Information will be coming on the website soon with all the information needed for you to voice your opposition. As well, visit the Fort Salonga Association Facebook page, to learn about events and community updates.
On the lighter side, Fort Salonga residents turned out for our first Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. From friendly to scary, everyone had a good time. Next was holiday caroling, again at the IGA Shopping Center in December, enjoying hot chocolate, hot dogs and a visit from the man in a red suit and white beard. Music was provided by former FSA president Paul Graf and students from Kings Park High School. Our thanks go out to all who helped, making this a fun event for all. Among other events the FSA hosted last fall was a new residents party at the Indian Hills Country Club. Though many homes were sold in Fort Salonga in the last two years, we had a wonderful influx of new families, many with small children. These children are the future of our community, and we have a mandate to protect them, their health, their wellbeing.
Other developments happening in our community are a medical office building to be built at the intersection of Bread and Cheese and Fort Salonga Rd. and a 90,000 sq. ft. self-storage facility on the corner of Town Line Rd. and Pulaski Rd. Suffolk County has made an offer to the developer of the property known as Owl Hill, to purchase the 27-acre estate, for preservation turning it into a County park. The property at 20 Sunken Meadow Rd was once again sold, and once again put back on the market, as we can only assume the most recent purchaser realized the force our community has when messed with.
In closing, I want to thank the FSA board of directors for their tireless efforts in serving our community. As I have voiced in the past, our issue is that we are small community with large community issues and are in need of help from our residents, especially with the myriad of issues we are dealing with. I also invite you to join us for our board meetings, usually on the second Monday of the month, whether attending in person at the Ft. Salonga Elem. School or via ZOOM (link on the FSA website/calendar), all are welcome.
Hoping you and your family have a wonderful spring and I continue to look forward to serving each and every one of you. Though this is a volunteer job, by joining the board of directors can be very rewarding.
Keith Macartney
President
Presidents Letter - Annual Meeting
December 13, 2022
Good evening to all – welcome to the Fort Salonga Association annual meeting.
Fort Salonga in recent years has started to undergo a facelift – one that people who live here never asked for. In most cases the Fort Salonga Association has been involved, with some of these endeavors there has not been a necessity because the developer has actually worked in order to keep within the building code – without the need for a bunch of variances. And then there are others where we have been active in the process and where we got the wool pulled over our eyes. Prime example – the new 7-Eleven.
One item that has been in the news are fires resulting from lithium-ion batteries. New York City has reported over 230 fires this year, resulting only from batteries for E-bikes. Now multiply the battery numbers by hundreds and you have a proposed battery storage facility on Pulaski Rd., across from Richters Orchard, a few hundred feet from homes, only feet away from the Iroquois natural gas pipeline, backing up to the LIRR tracks. This is asking for real trouble, and Fort Salonga should not be the victim of this potential catastrophe, plus the homes just up the hill in East Northport.
In the same area, there will be built a 90,000 sq. ft. self-storage facility and a rail spur running behind homes in order to take out ash from the COVANTA rubbish facility. On Fort Salonga Rd. at Bread and Cheese a developer is planning on building a medical office building, diagonally across from the Shell station. It is our belief that this will be ripe for numerous traffic accidents.
For those who remember, the Fort Salonga Association, along with some very angry residents was successful in stopping a 50-bed drug rehab center, huge success for all Fort Salonga, and was only successful because people like yourselves spoke up to make a difference.
Owl Hill, which is a 27-acre property on Sunken Meadow Rd. at Meadow Glen Rd. has been a real thorn in our side, with the current property owner wanting to build a group of homes, requesting numerous variances and with some homes overlooking the backyards of existing neighbors. Suffolk County has their eye on this property, potentially buying the acreage with the mansion. We understand the County will be making an offer to purchase this property in the immediate future.
2022 brought back several things that had been cancelled due to COVID. Earlier this year we had the return of the Spring Egg Hunt, where we had a huge turn-out and the kids had a blast. On Saturday I am told that we will be honored a visit by a guy in a big red suit and white beard, visiting us at the IGA Plaza around 3pm. And a long-cherished event, the Spring Brunch will be returning to the Indian Hills country Club in several months. Keep your eyes peeled for details, both on the Fort Salonga website and in your email inbox.
So, as you can see the Fort Salonga Association has been busy trying to protect our community. We can’t stop progress, but we can try to stop wrong progress. At the bottom of the email sent on Sunday we ask for your help by becoming a member of the board of directors. If that is something you might be interested in, please email us at info@fortsalonga.org. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
As an alternative, if you want to help but don’t want to make a firm commitment, possibly you can help your community by writing emails or making phone calls. There is always a need for extra voices to bring our values to those who make the final decisions, whether town, county or state, and dedicating 5 minutes of time at a time would help. As the saying goes, many voices accomplish a lot.
Now I would like to introduce Legislature Rob Trotta. Rob, who with his family have been a long time Fort Salonga residents and has been a huge supporter of the Fort Salonga Association. With redistricting he now covers the Smithtown side of our community. I am sure he will address some of the topics I’ve covered, and possibly something else I may have forgotten.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to hearing from you, whether to help or just give us a pat on the back. That said, here is Leg. Rob Trotta.