Cover photo: A packed house at the Senior Center to oppose the rail yard proposal (Credit – Matt Meduri)
The proposal to build a rail yard near Old Northport Road in Kings Park has been the subject of heated debate and controversy for nearly two years. The goal of the proposal would be to address solid waste issues not only in Smithtown, but regionally across Long Island, especially with the recent closure of the Brookhaven landfill to construction and demolition (C & D) debris. The landfill is slated to stop taking ash in 2028.
Proponents of the project argue that such a facility, under the appropriate management and scrutiny, could alleviate that problem, while also bypassing the alternative of trucking the waste off Long Island, which would likely entail denser traffic, heightened air pollution, and a slower hauling process altogether.
Opponents, of which there are many, say the rail yard passes a massive danger to the health, quality of life, and possibly the lives of themselves and their families, on top of potentially decreased property taxes and returns on property investments, and added truck traffic around the facility, namely on the arterial roads in Kings Park and Fort Salonga. Opponents also wonder where the buck would stop if such a project were to come to fruition, estimating that all of Long Island’s waste will end up at the plant, instead of being shipped directly off-island.
The rail yard has been proposed by Toby Carlson of Carlson Corp., the current proprietor of the land. The Surface Transportation Board (STB), a federal agency tasked with overseeing the railroad industry, recently deemed the area suitable for the rail yard, followed by similar assent from the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
Currently, there is no application before the Town, nor has the project been approved for construction. The Town held their own public hearing for the purpose of collecting comments for their own environmental review and the potential Town Code changes to accommodate a project, should it be approved. The hearing dealt with amendments to Chapters 322 and 177 of the Town Code, the former entitled “Zoning,” and the latter entitled “Solid Waste Management,” to change the definitions of both as it relates to “rail freight terminals and rail transfer stations,” as well as wood chipping in relation to the former and mulching facilities in the latter.
“This public hearing is strictly code changes for the specific purpose of coinciding with the new comprehensive master plan that the Town Board has put in place,” said Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R-Kings Park) (pictured above).
“We’re here tonight because we agree with you; we do not agree with it either,” said Wehrheim at the end of the meeting regarding the result of the STB’s environmental study, the appeal of which, led by the Townline Association, was rejected last month.
“We found some flaws in that system [STB] too, which is why we’re here to do a full environmental impact study by a consultant and all of your comments and concerns will be taken into effect again before this [Town] Board makes any decisions on whether or not this facility gets built.”
Peter Hans, Town Planning Director, presented the draft code amendments. The Town’s Zoning Ordinances currently prohibit rail transfer stations throughout the entirety of the Town, but the closure of the Brookhaven Landfill is stated as the primary reason.
“The Planning Department has been working in conjunction with the Town Department of Environmental Water Waste and the Town Attorney’s Office to draft several proposed ordinance amendments,” said Hans. The proposed ordinance amendment would allow rail transfer stations as a “special exception” use in the area zoned for Heavy Industrial (HI). “The amendment would allow such uses to handle uncontaminated recyclables, construction and demolition debris, incinerator ash, and some yard waste. However, it would maintain the prohibition of transfer stations for other waste streams, including municipal solid waste and hazardous waste. The proposed amendment includes ten criteria that would need to be satisfied in order to be eligible for special exception approval.”
Hans says that some of the criteria include requirements for buffers, height and size restrictions of train cars, environmental monitoring, and proof of compliance with DEC regulations. The proposed ordinance amendment would also include the addition of the term “rail freight terminal” to the zoning language.
“Essentially, this use is much like a warehouse that is served by rail. This use would only be allowed in the L.I., the light industrial, and H.I., heavy industrial zones, by TownBoard Special Exception use in the H.I. zoning district. It establishes four criteria that would need to be satisfied in order to be eligible for approval,” said Hans, listing limitations on maximum height, an area of outdoor storage, and screening. Hans added that the Department of Environment and Waterways has reviewed the amendment and has recommended a State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) Study, requiring an additional Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), owing to the numerous concerns with the proposed amendment.
Hans also says that when the STB released their draft environmental assessment for Townline Rail, the Town Planning and Environmental Departments outlined concerns in writing such as “effects on groundwater, noise, site operations, amount of material to be handled, air quality impacts, and impacts on the existing roadway network.”
“These environmental concerns require greater study and, therefore, it is being recommended that the SEQRA positive declaration (pos-dec) be adopted,” said Hans.
Should the Town Board adopt all or some of the amendments, only then would Carlson Corp. be able to submit a proposal, but that proposal would have to satisfy the special exception criteria and would be the subject of its own public hearings.
Public Comments
The Eugene Cannataro Senior Center in St. James played host to a packed house that overflowed into the hallways and the lobby, full of residents eager to voice their concerns for the public record, the vast majority of whom have been and remain opposed to the project. The few supporters of the project were heckled by the audience, often requiring Supervisor Wehrheim to intervene and the clerk to stop the clock.
A long-time Fort Salonga resident who described herself as having grown up in an “LIRR family” said her concern was of steel dust blown into the air from the tracks and wheels, stating it can lead to pulmonary problems with excessive exposure.
“We’re also informed that there’s going to be a sports complex that’s going to be somewhere near this rail yard. Kids playing outside will be inhaling this,” said the resident. “They’re not informed that they’re going to be exposed to this,” she added, analogizing the situation to that of a coal miner, an adult who can make informed decisions about health risks from an environment. Children, to her point, cannot.
Nigel Lee, a Bread and Cheese Hollow Road resident, called the rail yard a “pet project” of Carlson Corp.
“They have a monopoly on the trucking facilities that are going to be built on the site,” said Lee. “I believe that we in Smithtown moved into this area and paid taxes based on the residential zoning laws. Now, we are arbitrarily changing them to heavy industrial, which will be adjacent to our houses, which will decrease the value of our houses. Therefore, our property taxes should be readjusted down.”
Another Fort Salonga resident, one who still lives in the same house that she grew up in, raised the issue of the train trellis, stating that her years-long commutes to and from New York City were “white knuckle” experiences for her.
“The train shook; I thought the whole bridge was going to collapse. I can’t imagine that trellis holding up with the weight that’s going to be on that if we’re pulling all the debris there,” said the resident, adding that residents of East Palestine, Ohio, received the same “environmental assurances.” The reference is to a February 2023 incident, in which thirty-eight train cars carrying hazardous materials derailed outside the Ohio town, prompting health and cleanup concerns for months.
Joanne Lukinski, a Smithtown resident and member of the Environmental Information Association (EIA) (pictured above), spoke in support of the project, calling it “an opportunity for our community to move forward with an innovative solution that balances development with environmental responsibility.”
“Their [STB] findings were based on rigorous analysis and scientific data that shows that this project combines environmental and physical goals of scientists and the community,” said Lukinski. “I believe the local SEQRA review would only confirm what the federal review has already demonstrated. We cannot let baseless objections hold back the growth and opportunities this project promises.”
Nicholas Chipollo, of Commack, accused the Town Board of, from “day one,” “not considering possible alternatives to the freight yard or of the impact it could have” on the community, namely impacts to wildlife and drinking water.
“What about the impact it could have on the value of our homes, which most Long Islanders have for their retirement plan? What about the health of our seniors and our children, which can be vulnerable if our single-use aquifer is tainted by toxic ash?” asked Chipollo.
Michael Masino voiced his opposition on the grounds that he lives just fifty yards from the boundary of the property and that he is “devastated” over the possibility of his young children being exposed to pollution from fumes, waste, light pollution, and noise pollution.
“What happens when one of these trains derails like it did in Ohio? Will it smash through my house? It’s close enough,” said Masino.
Will Flowers, representing “waste management,” said that among the near-three million people who live in both Nassau and Suffolk counties, each resident generates about five pounds of garbage per day.
“Smithtown is generating more than 580,000 pounds of waste every single day. So, we do need a system to manage that waste. We need to talk about every tool in the toolbox,” said Flowers, adding that the rail solution, while not the “only” one, is the most “environmentally sound” one.
“Rail does reduce congestion on roadways, it saves roads and bridges from damage from heavy trucks, it results in cleaner air – specifically less particulate matter, less volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and less greenhouse gases,” said Flowers.
A retired special ed teacher from Commack who lives behind the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) center shared her concerns of truck traffic that could be generated from the plant.
“There are residents within the UCP Center who I am sure will have issues with noises from trucks at all times of day and evening. Currently, you can hear the sounds of large trucks making their way north and south on that road. In the summer, the smell of diesel can often be detected. We are also concerned with the increase of traffic in the area, an area which has had numerous car accidents that have resulted in a loss of life,” she said, adding that Indian Head Road is a common route used by high-school students during the school year.
A Commack mother of two young children stated her reason for moving to the area was for the “safety and quiet” of Smithtown.
“What’s going to happen when it’s no longer safe for my children, or other children?” What’s going to happen when no more young families want to move into the town? There’s going to be no more community if no one wants to move here because this is here,” she said, asking if it would even be safe for her kids to play on the playground at their school with “constant trucks up and down the street.”
Her comments were echoed by a neighbor, who moved to Smithtown from the Upper East Side for the same reason, adding that she wants to expand their family but is “scared to be pregnant” if the rail yard should be constructed.
Charles Voorhis, of Nelson, Pope, and Voorhis, a Meville-based environmental planning firm (pictured below), spoke in favor of the “process” and the provision of “environmental context” from the Town Board.
“Railroad lines provide a major opportunity to promote intermodal transportation. Rail transport is more sustainable with less environmental impacts when compared to truck transportation. The ability to reduce truck traffic activity on roads within the town has the potential to provide community benefits,” said Voorhis. “Both Suffolk County and New York State support wider use of rail transport. The New York State Climate Action Council of 2002 recommended wider use of rail freight. Suffolk County’s Comprehensive Master Plan, referred to as the ‘framework for the future,’ also seeks to build a Twenty-First Century transit network and one of those priority actions is to promote and expand freight rail use and reduce truck traffic.”
Voorhis added that the 2024 comprehensive master plan notes that “heavy industry only makes up about 1.3% of the entire town, with major areas located in Kings Park,” with a majority of the Town’s heavy industrial zones south of the tracks, north of Old Northport Road, and west of Sunken Meadow. Voorhis also believes that the special exception criteria is an “excellent way” to manage such a project.
Before closing, Voorhis stated that the Suffolk County Management Report for Solid Waste provides EPA estimates that “shifting 10% of long-haul freight from the highway to the rail would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than twelve million tons.”
Joseph Tergiano, a six-year resident of Kings Park from Queens, then Seaford, said that he no longer wants to hear of children in his young son’s class becoming sick with cancer.
“A lot of that has to come from waste staying on site. We need to have a solution on both sides. Trucking is dangerous; if a truck spills, the hazard that it has on the roads, in the air, on the property, and anywhere nearby is horrendous,” said Tergiano. He said that if mitigation plans for noise, pollution, and dust contamination are in place, as well as if the plant would, as he has heard, keep the materials in barrels, that those factors “should try to help the solution with dust being in the air.”
“Let’s vote cleanly and clearly here; not just dollars and cents,” said Tergiano.
Linda Henniger, co-president of the Townline Association, asserted that there “is no crushing waste crisis in Suffolk,” that C&D debris can be taken to other facilities, and that Brookhaven will receive ash until 2028.
“There is time for thoughtful and regional consideration,” said Henniger. “Life is hard enough as it is without our own Town government making it harder.”
A fellow co-president said that a “regional freight yard and transloading facility located near 150 feet from people’s bedroom windows and on top of a deep recharge area of the sole source aquifer, which is strictly protected by Article 7 of the Suffolk County Sanitary Code, is totally inappropriate and irresponsible.”
Keith McCartney, President of the Fort Salonga Association, says that he has lived on Bread and Cheese Hollow Road since 1957, a time at which he says the area was “plentiful with shallow wells,” but now, the water is “no longer safe to drink” as a result of the pollution from south of Pulaski Road. He also says that the air is no longer breathable when the “wind blows from the south with visible particles” landing on cars.
“Now, we are taking a decision to promote the environment to be further polluted with the introduction of new contributors, if allowed,” said McCartney.
Diane Calderone, of Fort Salonga, called the plan a “square peg in a round hole,” while John Rigrod (pictured above) told The Messenger after the hearing that, while he can see the logic in shipping waste off-island via rail, he feels the proposal is “shooting a mouse with a shotgun” in terms of size and scope.
The meeting took an interesting turn when the man behind the project himself took the podium: Toby Carlson (pictured below).
“My family has been in this town since 1880,” said Carlson, sharing that his family has had to move due to eminent domain at request of the Town Board twice since then, the first time being when his family farm was replaced with the current Kings Park High School, and the second time from a factory that “invented the concrete cesspool in our town” when the Town create a municipal parking lot.
“In 1960, the town’s population was 60,000 people. In 1960, each person made three pounds of waste each; now, it’s six. But unlike our town and other towns, we are not prepared for it,” said Carlson. “The amount of waste that we have to move on a daily basis is staggering. We are working around the clock to keep things functioning. I am here not to propose something to happen, but I’m asking you and I’m asking the town board and the people to study it. I commit to you that if you study it under a full SEQRA environmental application and you can find something that is gravely wrong with this, we are not going to build it.”
Mike Rosato said that the rail terminal, if in compliance with Town Code, “would be the most transformative project in Smithtown in over fifty years,” adding that the project has been “carefully considered for several years as the most economically and environmentally sound method of removing our community’s waste after the last of Long Island’s operational landfills are permanently closed.”
Wendy Haverman, of Commack, accused Rosato and Carlson of having been business partners and that Rosato supports the project because his boss, Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) does. She also asserted that Carlson lives in New Jersey.
Rosato and Carlson both conferred to The Messenger that they were never business partners to any degree. Rather, Rosato served as a president and a vice president of the Kings Park Civic Association in the late 2000s to early 2010s, a time during which the group came to Carlson, then an industrial figure whose consultation the civic group would seek to address industrial problems, to help remediate the Steck-Philbin landfill, a twenty-five-acre facility located on Old Northport Road that was abandoned by its owners in the 1990s.
“The former owners used to let people come in the middle of the night and dump toxic material into that landfill. When I was president of the Kings Park Civic Association, I was told about the landfill and how it was sitting there idle and how the County was forced to pay the property taxes on the property and nobody was cleaning it up,” Rosato told The Messenger. Rosato tried to bring the site to the County’s attention, eventually grabbing the interest of Sarah Lansdale, who had just taken over the County’s Planning Department at the time.
Rosato proposed to the County that the site become part of the County’s Land Bank, who he said “struggled” to get the Lank Bank going.
“I went to Toby and asked if he could help remediate the property and reuse it for a solar farm. Toby has all the materials, machinery, and the know-how,” said Rosato, at this point, several years after his initial conversations with Lansdale. “He [Carlson] took part in the capping of the Smithtown landfill, so I knew he would be the perfect guy, considering he’s local.”
Rosato says that the plan to remediate the site was eventually killed by Linda Henniger, co-president of the Townline Association, over what he recalls as Henniger’s complaints of “disturbing the vegetation.”
“The County refused to sign our contract and we put in a bid for the adjacent site of the former Izzo Tire Dump, five acres right next to the Steck landfill,” said Rosato. “The property was then sold to Michael Cox, who has never been in compliance with Town Code for thirty-five years.”
Rosato currently works for Legislator Trotta two days per week specifically on open space preservation.
Carlson told The Messenger he moved back to Kings Park four years ago.
Public comments on the Town Code changes for the rail project may be submitted in writing to the Town Clerk at 99 Main Street in Smithtown until January 21, 2025.
