Hauppauge nonprofit Long Island Cares withdraws proposal to operate Huntington's Manor Farm
Cable Jamison, director of parks and recreation for the Town of Huntington, at Manor Farm in Huntington Wednesday. Credit: Barry Sloan
Long Island Cares has voted to formally withdraw its proposal to operate the town-owned Manor Farm in Huntington on the border of Dix Hills, according to a statement from the nonprofit’s board president.
The town board was scheduled to vote on approving a license agreement with the Hauppauge-based nonprofit at the Nov. 5 town board meeting. Town spokeswoman Christine Geed said the resolution has been pulled from the agenda.
"The Board of Directors of Long Island Cares voted to formally withdraw our proposal from the Town of Huntington's RFP process for Manor Farm, and that decision remains in effect," an emailed statement to Newsday from the nonprofit's president and CEO, Katherine Fritz, said.
A Long Island Cares spokesperson said in an email that Fritz' statement was the only comments being released and did not elaborate on why the proposal had been withdrawn.
Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said Long Island Cares was the only party to bid on the RFP.
"Our choices now, because we don't have a second highest bidder, is to either operate it ourselves as the town or rebid it," he told Newsday.
Geed said the property is currently being cared for by the town's general services department.
The nonprofit won the bid this summer to take over operations of the farm, which includes seasonal attractions and activities such as gardening to learn and provide for food pantries and environmental and agricultural programing.
This spring, the town declined to renew its license agreement with Starflower Experiences, which has been the only operator of the facility, which was purchased by the town in 2000. Instead, the town put out a request for proposal for a new operator of the 5½-acre parcel at 210 Manor Rd., town officials said.
The town board was to vote on the Long Island Cares agreement at the September Town Board meeting but pulled it at the last minute to take time to inform the public following what town officials called "misinformation spreading in the community" about changes coming to the farm and concern about the longtime operator Starflower Experiences.
Cable T. Jamison, director of parks and recreation for the town, said last month that there were rumors spreading that the facility was going to have a food pantry located on the property and that much of the property was going to be paved over to accommodate more cars and buses.
"We needed to address these issues and take time to educate the community," Jamison said. "None of that was true."
He said that in seeking a new operator, the town wanted better educational programs, more collaboration with the town's eight school districts and produce grown at the farm sent to local food pantries.
Jamison said they also needed improvements to the gardens on the property to make them ADA compliant.
Geed said with any new operator there will need to be some paving to create ADA-compliant parking.
Jamison tried to reassure anyone with concerns that any improvements to the farm would not interfere with access to the trails from the farm to Berkeley Jackson County Park, which abuts the property.
Deborah Morris is a native Long Islander and covers the town of Huntington.
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