Cover photo: A slide showing the proposed areas of focus within the Kings Park Business District (Credit – Smithtown Planning Department)
In anticipation of project fulfillments pursuant to the $10 million Kings Park Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant that Smithtown received from New York State, code changes are being proposed to not only aid the direct DRI proposals, but to also overhaul the Kings Park Business District at large.
The Town of Smithtown Planning Department has compiled recommended changes to the business district, which were presented to a packed house at the Eugene Cannataro Senior Center last Thursday night. Allison Murray, of the Planning Department, led the presentation.
The proposals now enter a period of public comment with a deadline of February 3 at 5:00p.m. Written comments must be submitted to the Town Clerk at [email protected].
Background
The master plan for the business district is similar in scope to the Town’s comprehensive master plan, but this master plan is specific to Downtown Kings Park. The master plan is not a development proposal. Adoption of the plan does not automatically implement any recommended changes, but that each measure would need to be considered on their merits and implementation.
The Downtown area begins in the east at Patiky Street and East Main Street, extending as far west as Meridian Avenue. Within those boundaries, the district contains all of Main Street, the Kings Park LIRR station and parking lot, the Key Foods shopping center cornered at Indian Head Road and Meadow Road West, as well as parcels along Indian Head Road from Stattel Drive to Church Street.
Allison Murray gave context for the revitalization needs in Kings Park, as community dynamics, demands, and shopping and entertainment patterns have changed since the district’s heyday in the 1980s and 1990s.
“Large shopping centers and malls were constructed, which drew people away from the downtown for shopping. The Kings Park Psychiatric Center had slowly been shutting down services. The number of employees dropped from roughly 1,000 in 1950 to only a handful in the late 1990s. The number of employees who frequented the local lunch spots, and retail establishments had greatly diminished,” said Murray. “Further, existing restaurant establishments had a hard time restructuring and expanding due to wastewater management regulations that were adopted in the early 1980s. By the early 2000s, it had become clear that in order to change the trajectory of the downtown, there would need to be significant investment in infrastructure and downtown assets, as well as engagement with the business community.”
Murray outlined such changes, including sewer feasibility studies, managing and treating existing sewage at the treatment plant, and installing and updating sewers while simultaneously updating zoning regulations. In response, the Kings Park Civic Association and Chamber of Commerce engaged Vision Long Island to consult and develop an “action plan” for the downtown. Additionally, the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) commissioned the Regional Plan Association to “undertake an opportunity analysis” for the area. At the same time, the Town had hired a consultant to conduct market analysis to gauge consumer demand and shopping behaviors.
Thursday’s board meeting was the next stop in the process, following the 2024 submission of the final plan and final generic environmental impact statement (EIS).
Proposed Changes
The proposed changes are with the intent to “improve economic and market conditions, improve traffic safety, and reduce traffic congestion, enhance the appearance of the downtown, preserve the character of the downtown and surrounding residential neighborhoods, allow residential development to meet the needs of the community, and promote pedestrian and bicycle friendly downtown environments,” said Murray.
Currently, the downtown area has a mix of zoning, with all of Main Street classified as Central Business (CB). The TJ Maxx-Key Food shopping center is zoned as Shopping Center Business (SCB), which Murray says prioritizes “car-centric” shopping, as opposed to downtown shopping. Three acres of property on Meadow Road West is currently zoned for Heavy Industry (HI). The area has a mix of small-scale retail, professional offices, personal service establishments, and community facilities. The area also includes about two dozen apartments and a handful of single- and two-family residences.
Murray said that the vacancy rate over the past decade has “consistently remained at approximately 12%,” with Main Street’s occupancy rate being slightly worse.
“Typically, a vacancy rate above 10% is an indicator of economic stress and is something that the plan seeks to address,” said Murray, adding that the “strongest asset” of Downtown Kings Park is the concentration of community facilities, such as the library, the fire department, and the train station. All are located at the eastern entrance. St. Joseph’s Church and the RJO School bound the western front of the district. The area is also situated between Nissequogue River State Park and miles of hiking and biking trails just minutes from the downtown.
Murray also stressed that architecture is “quite varied,” and the historic core is composed of early Twentieth Century buildings. Storefronts are close to the sidewalks, there is little separation between the buildings, and there is minimal or no on-site parking.
“Although there are sidewalks throughout the downtown, there are obstacles and unfaithful conditions to pedestrians as well. There are difficult mid-block crossings and a wide crossing at Main Street and Church Street. We also have the particularly long crossing between Church Street and Main Street that you see in the middle picture,” said Murray.
The primary roadways are Main Street, Indian Head Road, and Pulaski road, all of which see the most traffic congestion in the area, but are also under the jurisdictions of New York State and Suffolk County. Traffic moves relatively well along Indian Head Road, but train crossings can lead to significant congestion.
Murray stipulated that while the Planning Department has not found a “shortage of parking,” they have found that the majority of the parking is located in the eastern portion of the downtown. The western end, on the other hand, is served by private, separate, and smaller lots. The Town’s recent construction of a twenty-three stall lot on Pulaski Road “partially satisfies the demand,” said Murray, but the 120 on-street parking stalls, with their varying time restrictions, hinders simple parking. Recommended changes would fall on the Town to implement, should they be approved.
Proposed zoning changes consist of a new framework. The Kings Park Core would extend from just east of Main Street and Indian Head Road to Main Street and Pulaski, taking in the LIRR station and parking lot, as well as the library. Proposed changes would increase the maximum height of buildings to three stories and forty feet, but third floors would be required to be set back from the first two stories. Mix-used buildings would no longer require a special exception.
The Downtown Transition Core would consist of the western end of the downtown, Main Street from Pulaski to Park Avenue, the small portion of East Main Street businesses ending at Patiky Street in the east, and the businesses immediately bordering Indian Head Road south of the railroad tracks, with its terminus at Stattel Drive. The proposal recommends reducing density in these parcels, entailing fewer and smaller buildings, and increases in the minimum lot area and width. The purpose is to ease the transition between downtown and residential areas.
The Downtown TOD Core would just contain the TJ Maxx-Key Foods shopping center, its parking lot, and the industrial spaces along Meadow Road West. Proposals include a maximum height of three stories and forty-five feet for mixed-use developments not adjacent to a residential district. This area is adjacent to the railroad tracks.
At-large, the plan recommends “excluding non-compatible uses such as gas stations and repair garages,” said Murray, and would “recommend modifying the signage requirement and also requiring landscaping to screen farming areas.”
Draft guidelines for aesthetics include matching, building orientation, building elements, facade materials, signage, and landscaping. The plan recommends a facade improvement program that could partially subsidize the costs.
Importantly, the plan recommends “reinforcing the downtown identity,” such as event organization to attract visitors and promote use of public space, repurposing underutilized commuter parking lots, and implementing uniform street signage.
For pedestrian safety, recommendations include caving and crosswalk flags, bulb-outs for pull-in diagonal parking, widening sidewalks to reduce road-crossing distances, and combining private parking lots to be more available to downtown patrons. The Main Street recommendations include folded pedestrian crossings, new traffic signals, and traffic-calming measures. The hiking and biking trail is recommended to be connected to the Greenbelt Trail and the northern portion of Nissequogue River State Park.
Public Comments
The public comment period opened with Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), who has long railed against proposals that, in his view, contribute to making Suffolk more similar to Queens. While Trotta said he agreed with “almost everything” in the proposal, he remains opposed to the building density.
“We’re going to build for the younger generation, they’re going to pay $2500 a month, and they’re never going to be able to afford anything. They become indentured servants,” said Trotta, adding that the school districts within the Town have seen drastic decreases in tuition over the years.
“A fifty-unit apartment building in the parking lot of a hardware store with underground parking: that benefits none of these people here,” said Trotta, referencing a proposal by lifelong Kings Park resident Tony Tanzi. The proposal is situated at the blighted property near the LIRR station. “When I hear of underground parking, I think of Queens and something that is going to set precedent.”
“I am not against building. I do not want overdevelopment of the town. I think they should adopt the plan, but lower the status to what the variances were,” said Trotta.
A St. James resident, who claimed his pride in living in Smithtown, said that the revitalization plan “allows others that live here to feel proud as well.”
“I want to thank Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R-Kings Park) and the entire Town Board for their tireless efforts to bring Smithtown into the Twenty-First Century,” adding that he disagrees with Trotta’s position that the Town will allow Smithtownt to turn into Queens.
“Restaurants are the driving force for all other retail stores. Kings Park is in dire straits right now for development, for the right development,” said the resident.
Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James) (pictured above) fully endorsed the proposals, mentioning federal sewer money obtained by Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), partnerships with local building trades, and the Town’s grit in obtaining $10 million from the State for the Kings Park DRI.
“We work very, very hard to build our community the right way,” said Mattera, adding that he disagrees with Legislator Trotta’s characterization of the plans for Smithtown. Mattera, along with Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) (pictured below), were instrumental in saving $20 million in sewer funds that were set to expire.
“Assemblyman Fitzpatrick and I will be here to help in any way we can,” said Mattera, thanking the Board for their dedication.
Fitzpatrick then took the podium, acknowledging that some recent proposals have been controversial, but mentioned instances where such projects worked out “very, very well in spite of the controversy.”
“Today, communities like Kings Park, St. James, Smithtown can’t afford to stand still. Huntington, Port Jefferson, and other communities are not standing still. If you’re standing still, you’re going nowhere,” said Fitzpatrick, adding that he has “no problem with apartments, the proper numbers, the proper height,” and that he thinks underground parking would “enhance the value of apartment construction in Kings Park, St. James, and elsewhere.
“The Smith Haven Mall decimated the downtown. It was a new shopping concept; living patterns were changing. Now, after the pandemic, work and living patterns have changed. Amazon has changed everything,” said Fitzpatrick, calling for “alternative living opportunities,” not just for young people, but active adults fifty-five and over.
John Flynn, a business owner in Kings Park and a descendant of a Smithtown pedigree that dates back to 1898, said that he and his family are “100% in favor” of the proposal. One reason he stated is that his niece moved to Babylon village with her fiance.
“They enjoy it down there, they’re having fun down there, but we lost a good person to the south shore. These young professionals should be coming back to our town and maybe they’ll rent for a few years, save some money,and then they’ll buy a house,” said Flynn.
Flynn also disagrees with concerns of three-story buildings, stating that there are many such structures in the downtown area that are all fully occupied.
Mike Rosato, a former Kings Park Civic Association president, said that while he finds the proposals “noble,” the “intensification of residential development outlined” in the plan is “worrisome.”
“The plan should cap the number of residential units permitted per acre, as it does in every other zoning district, and building heights should be limited to no more than two-and-a-half stories to preserve the historical and suburban character of the community,” said Rosato, sharing is disapproval of the proposed Tanzi property. Rosato said that, if approved, the apartment building would require many “precedent-setting” variances, such as underground parking, ground-level apartments, and building height.
“Additionally, the master plan projects that commercial space will be reduced by approximately 35,000 square feet and would eliminate about seventy-six jobs,” said Rosato Every downtown master plan should be providing incentives to encourage commercial development and job creation, not the opposite. We want people to work, dine and socialize at businesses in the community to help support our tax base. Instead, this plan seems to be focused primarily on supporting residential development, which has traditionally harmed the town space.”
Rosato also called for the burial of power and service lines along the sidewalks, which pose dangers and present as eyesores. Supervisor Wehrheim clarified that the poles belong to PSE&G and that the Town cannot administer changes single-handedly.
Kevin Smith, a member of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, claimed that he was once a business owner in the downtown area, but had to close due to a lack of foot traffic. He finds Kings Park “desperately needs” the improvements seen on the main streets of Smithtown hamlet and St. James.
“I’m sure, like many other people that I grew up with, you know, they want to spend money in their own communities. They want to go to restaurants;
they want to go to good bars,” said Smith, adding that many people he grew up with, who previously frequented Babylon and Patchogue for nightlife, are now finding themselves enjoying Smithtown’s emerging entertainment alternatives.
Smith also dismissed claims of three-story buildings harming the character of the community, since, as a Queens-born Suffolk resident, “the smallest building in Queens is three stories.”
Tony Tanzi (pictured below) then took the podium.
“There is no reason that people have to be forced to buy their own. There are people that do not want that,” said Tanzi, clarifying that many different living and family situations are conducive to good rental options, and that such options can resupply the housing stock.
Tanzi also clarified the specifications of his proposal near the Kings Park LIRR station.
“It is not fifty units on one-third of an acre. The actual tax lot is almost a half-acre, and the site itself, just like every other site plan in the world, is almost two and a half acres,” said Tanzi, adding that the scale of the project has been reduced pursuant to public comments and opinions.
“Three stories just sounds overkill to me. I think a scaled-down project would be more suitable for the area,” said Frank Black in response specifically to the Tanzi project.
Natalie Weinstein (pictured above), the driving force behind the restoration of the historic Calderone Theatre in St. James, praised the current Board’s accessibility and penchant for change, a difference she has noted from her time working with former Supervisor Pat Vecchio. Weinstein also said that she sees much of the former Main Street in St. James in the current Main Street in Kings Park.
Linda Henninger, co-president of the Townline Association, endorsed the plan, stating that transit-oriented development is just “one of the many tools to help bring about downtown revitalization,” adding that it is economically, socially, and environmentally beneficial as well.
Brian Clancy (pictured above), a realtor in Kings Park, condemned the use of the word “Queens-ification,” calling it “underlyingly racist.” He also endorsed the idea of the Tanzi development occupying the current blighted lot near the train station, saying that an apartment would be much more aesthetically pleasing to those entering Kings Park on the LIRR.
Written comments can be submitted to the Town Clerk at [email protected]. Deadline for submissions is February 3 at 5:00p.m.
